“Christmas in Italy is mostly like Christmas in America, but when we celebrate in Italy we have some different religious traditions that we follow. One of them being that we put our tree up and light it on Dec. 8, because that is the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We light the tree on that day because that is the universal day in which Christians celebrate the conception of Jesus Christ by the Virgin Mary. We put lights on the tree and have them all shine and also set up a nativity set with the little statues depicting the village where Jesus Christ was born. However, we don’t put the statue of the baby Jesus with the rest of the set until Christmas Day, because Jesus wasn’t born until the 25th. Decorating the tree and setting up the village with my family is my favorite thing during the Christmas season. Another tradition that we follow is one that is very similar to an American tradition. My family has an advent calendar. It’s a calendar with little flaps on each of the dates, and on each day leading up to Christmas we will open the flaps to reveal a present or small gift. Every year my sister and I will make the advent calendar for Christmas and my mother will make the chocolates or gifts to fill it with. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and I enjoy the family and festivities that come with it.”

“The first event we celebrate every year is St. Nicholas’ Day on Dec. 6. It’s sort of like a mini-Christmas that we celebrate with friends and family a few weeks before actual Christmas Day.We celebrate the holiday in honor of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of travelers and merchants. Because he is known for his gift giving, many people attribute St. Nicholas to inspiring modern day Santa Claus. St. Nicholas’ Day is spent by having a small family party where we exchange small gifts, like candies and chocolates. Everything else about Christmas in Germany is very similar to the way people celebrate in America, except for the fact that we celebrate Christmas on the 24th, a day before the American Christmas. That is probably the only difference in Germany. We spend the day on the 24th hanging out with our close family members and relaxing at home.”

“I celebrate Christmas in Mexico with my family, but some of our traditions are a little different. All my relatives come on Christmas Day to exchange gifts. I especially love Santa Claus because he comes in the middle of the night and puts gifts in our house. Santa in Mexico is just like the American Santa, except that along with putting gifts under the tree he also puts little boots in the chimney. I don’t know what to expect from my first American Christmas, but I think it should be good.”

“It’s hard to say how holidays compare in America because everyone is doing something different. In Germany, most people get presents two days before Christmas. The city I live in, Hamburg, has a huge population of 2 million people. The city itself is really pretty on Christmas. We have a huge Christmas tree downtown and there are a lot of lights all around the city. Most people travel to our city to see the Christmas decorations and the malls. There are a lot of decorations in the mall, and on the streets of Hamburg there are winter markets outside where you can buy hot chocolate, gingerbread, and Kebabs. My parents are Persian, so we eat Persian food on Christmas Day. In our house we decorate our Christmas tree in the living room and place all our presents underneath, just like in America. On Christmas Day some people go to take mass at church or they just stay home with their family and friends, which is what I do. We actually do not open our presents on Christmas Day, but rather the day after on the 26th. And on the 31st we celebrate New Year’s Eve. Last year I was in the city because they have a huge firework celebration and it’s amazing to watch. It’s 15 minutes long and really nice. I usually end up celebrating New Year’s eve with my mom and some of my friends, which is a lot of fun.”