Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/433160
V Christmas 2014 maltatoday, Sunday, 14 december 2014 Christmas around the world our christmas may not be 'merry and white' thanks to our mild winters, but our christmas traditions closely resemble those in the uK and the uS. other countries around the world have their own festive traditions. here are some of the more fascinating christmas celebrations. India goes bananas with Christmas In India, only about 2.3% of the population is Christians, but because of the large population they have, we are still talking about 25 million people! Christians here celebrate Christmas with midnight mass and gift giving like the rest of the world, but with the absence of fir trees or pine trees to decorate, they usually made do with banana trees and mango trees in- stead. That means instead of Christmas pine trees lining up celebrating house- holds, you'll find brightly lit, well-decorated Christmas banana or mango trees on the streets. They even use the leaves of those trees to decorate their houses. A Christmas of remembrance in Finland Families in Finland usually visit the graves of their ancestors and relatives on Christmas Eve to light candles in memory of the deceased. Even those who don't have their kin's graves nearby visit cemeteries to place candles in honour of their family members buried elsewhere. Hence, on Christmas Eve, cemeteries would be lit up with candles presenting a beautiful sight. Food will also be left on tables and family members leave their beds to sleep on the floor to give the dead a nice meal and a place to rest when they visit. Ukraine's spidey Christmas Instead of glittering orna- ments and tinsel, Ukrainian Christmas trees are covered with artificial spiders and cob- webs. Why the eccentric taste in spiders? According to the local folklore, there was a poor woman who could not afford to decorate their Christmas tree. But the next morning, her children woke up to see the tree covered with webs and when the first light of Christ- mas morning touched the web threads, they turned into gold and silver and the family was never left wanting again. Hence, it is believed that see- ing a spider web on Christmas morning brings luck. Shiny shoes replace stockings in the Philippines Christmas is huge in the Philippines since 80% of the population is Christian. Celebra- tions last all the way to January. Children will leave their brightly pol- ished shoes and freshly washed socks on the windowsills for the Three Kings to leave gifts in when they pass through their houses at night. The "Feast of the Three Kings" marks the end of the Christ- mas celebrations. Skating to Christmas in Caracas In the capital city, Caracas, before young children go to bed on Christmas Eve, they tie one end of a string to their big toe, leaving the other end out- side their bedroom window. The fun part of the Christmas celebration is on the day of the "Early Morning Mass". Streets are closed off to cars until 8 a.m. for people to roller-skate to the service, and they cus- tomarily proceed to tug on any of the strings they see hang- ing.