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Twelve years in Europe and I never really paid much attention about the European way of celebrating Christmas – until I had kids! And then I realized that despite the similarities in traditions (Christmas trees, carols, and gift-giving) on both sides of the Atlantic, there are actually some big differences that makes the Christmas season for multicultural families like ours very interesting – and yes, sometimes a bit confusing. Here are just a few examples.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day in Germany is not on December 25th! An American colleague learned this the hard way when she invited her German in-laws for lunch on “Christmas Day” and had them turn up on her doorstep at 12:00 noon sharp – on December 24th!

Christmas Eve

It’s on the evening of the 24th, alright. It’s also the evening when presents are delivered and opened – at exactly 6 pm. There are no tiny tots with eyes all aglow who’ll find it hard to sleep this night. But the kids are allowed to stay up later than usual to play with their new toys…

Christmas morning

Theoretically it’s on December 25th, except that the presents were already unwrapped the night before. The 25th is the day to relax, go to church if you are a church goer, or simply to recover from that hangover.

Santa Claus

He’s actually called St Nikolaus and he was comes rather early in the season – on the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th of December depending on the country or region where you live. He brings simple presents like nuts, oranges, and sweets. But yes, he does have a list and knows who’s naughty or nice.

So who’s bringing the presents on Christmas Eve? It’s the “Christkind” (the baby Jesus) or the “Weihnachtsman” (Father Christmas), all depending on your religious inclinations. It doesn’t matter. Those who’ve been good get the present they wished for anyway.

So there I was last night (December 23rd), reading “’Twas the Night before Christmas” to my twins.

“So tomorrow’s Christmas Day, Mommy.”

“That’s right.”

“So tonight’s the night before Christmas! Santa and his reindeers are flying in tonight.”

A 4-year’s old logic is definitely unbeatable – and tricky.

“Maybe.”

“So we should hang our stockings tonight.” Uh-uh. What am I getting into?

“You can. But the presents will only be delivered tomorrow evening.”

“Why, mommy?”

“Well, there are so many kids in the world, it takes Santa some time to deliver everything.”

“So when does Alex (cousin in the US) get her presents?”

“On Christmas morning.”

“You mean she gets hers first?” Indignation!

“No, actually you get yours first.”

“But she gets hers in the morning. We get ours only in the evening!”

Now, tell me, how do I explain time zones and cultural differences to kids?

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Day, culture, Europe, Santa