The night before Christmas, Christmas Eve, is a very magical and special time of the year. Children are “wide-eyed” with anticipation on what tomorrow will bring. They have been waiting for this time of the year for a long, long time, and it is finally here. Christmas Eve traditions differ in various countries around the world, and in this article we will be exploring some of these traditions.

Traveling around the world can work up quite the appetite, and even Santa needs to have a bit of refreshment now and then. In America and Canada, one popular Christmas Eve tradition is to leave Santa a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. In Australia and Britain they prefer to leave sherry and mince pies. The children of Sweden are aware that Santa has a love of chocolate…so they leave brownies.

Now that Santa has been fed, attention must be turned to the reindeer. After all, who can pull a sleigh full of Christmas presents around the world and not work up a big appetite? Children to the rescue one more time. Kids from Canada, Australia, Britain, and the United States leave a carrot to help give Santa’s reindeer a “bit of a push” as they span the globe. Children who follow the Dutch custom of sinterklass go a bit further. They will leave a carrot and some hay in a shoe. When they wake up the next morning it will be replaced by a gift.

Reading books and watching television or videos have become a Christmas Eve tradition as well. One popular book is “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clark Moore. Popular videos are: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or Frosty the Snowman. For those who like to sing Christmas Carols, popular titles are: Here Comes Santa Claus, Up on the Housetop, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

On Christmas Eve, children all around the world will put their stockings on the mantel. They are full of anticipation that St. Nick will soon be here, and will fill their stocking with gifts, candy, and “other goodies”. Next they will look up the chimney to make sure that the “Big Guy” has not arrived yet. They will take a glance out the window to see if they can see a passing sleigh, and then perhaps unlock the front door (just in case Santa has problems getting down the chimney). With all the prep work done, it’s time to go off to bed…

Parents have their part to play in Christmas Eve as well. There are a lot of gifts that need to be placed under the tree, and they will often be signed “From Santa” or “Love Santa”.

Christmas Eve is a busy time of year, but a very magical time as well. We hope you enjoyed this little tour of the various traditions. In future articles we will be exploring other Christmas traditions…so stay tuned…

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