As we get ready for Christmas here in the states, I thought it'd be fun to look at how Christmas is celebrated in Kenya and Uganda, since I'll be headed over there in 12 days:)
Uganda
As I did some research, I found that much of the Ugandan traditions are similar to ours, especially as Uganda becomes more westernized. Only recently has gift giving and Santa Claus become popular over there, whereas it seems they have had Christmas trees for quite some time. There were a few traditions, though not as popular now, that I did find interesting. For instance, Ugandans used to decorate with balloons, cotton and colored toilet paper. As more families replace their real trees with artificial ones, the new year tradition of burning the Christmas tree is also going to the wayside. Personally, I would consider letting my future household have a real Christmas tree if it meant I could burn it a few days later:)
KENYA
In Kenya, the focus is not on materialism and commercialism, but really focuses on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. While they do use fake snow to decorate, other aspects of Christmas like Santa or trees are not present. Christmas is one of the most cherished holidays of the year. Commonly, people leave the cities, like Nairobi, and travel to their parents and grandparents out in the villages.
As I continued looking around online, I thought it would be fun to see some of the more... unique traditions from around the world.
Austria/nearby areas: Santa has a twin, named Krampus Night, whose job it is to beat and punish children who misbehave.
Spain, Portugal, Italy: As a part of the nativity, a Caganer (shitter in English) is included in the corner. The Caganer is a figurine, traditionally of a man, in the act of defecating, pants around his knees bending over with pile of feces at his heels. While once in traditional dress, the Caganer has changed to look like predominant political figures.
Norway: Households hide their brooms and men fire a shotgun outside to thwart witches and evil spirits on Christmas Day.
Japan: Reservations will be made at the nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken for a traditional Christmas meal.
Ukraine: An artificial spider and web are hidden in the tree and good luck is given to the one who finds it. A Ukrainian folk tale says that a poor widowed mother could not afford decorations for her family’s Christmas tree. One Christmas morning she awoke to find a spider had beautifully decorated the tree with its web, making for a very happy Christmas.
What traditions does your family have? Do you know why that tradition exists? In my own family, we always have a birthday cake for Jesus, where we sing "Happy Birthday" and read the Christmas story.
Have a merry Christmas and a happy 2015!!
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