Christmas in Scotland
Christmas around the world is spent in a variety of ways with different music, recipes and Christmas traditions around the world.
Knowing and learning how other people spend their Christmas around the world is an excellent opportunity to understand both your neighborhood and the people who live in your community.
For many cultures Christmas around the world may fall on or be celebrated on a different day other than December 25th and the Christmas traditions around the world may be quite similar with only a slight variation.
In Scotland the biggest Christmas celebration takes place on New Year’s Day and is called Hogmanay.
On Christmas Day many people build big bonfires and dance around the fire to the music of bagpipes. Legend says that it is bad luck to let the fire go out before Christmas Eve as the elves are out and about and a good fire will keep them from coming down the chimney and performing mischief. Bannock cakes made of oatmeal are a favorite food eaten on this day. Christmas has usually been a quiet celebration as the Church of Scotland (The Presbyterian Church) has never placed a big value on the Christmas celebration.
Understanding how other people celebrate Christmas around the world is a great exercise for you and your children to participate in over the holidays. Knowing the origins of Christmas traditions can be both an educational and inspiring project.
