Prompt Cast
Christmas Traditions Around the World
TLDR Christmas is celebrated in various ways around the world, with traditions including decorated trees in India, Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner in Japan, visiting ancestors' graves in Finland, and building a giant straw goat in Sweden. Other traditions include elaborate window displays, fruit cake, sugar plums, oranges in stockings, and the affirmation of Santa Claus.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Christmas is celebrated all throughout the world, among Christians, non-Christians, secular, humanists, everybody.
04:18
In India, Christmas is celebrated with decorated mango and orange trees, while in Japan, it is traditional to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner.
08:34
In Finland, it is traditional to visit the graves of ancestors and light candles on Christmas Eve, and they also leave their beds and saunas open for the spirits of their ancestors to use.
12:53
The town of Gävle in Sweden has a tradition of building a giant straw goat for Christmas, which has been burned down 25 times between 1966 and 2011.
17:09
Department stores, such as R.H. Macy, began putting up elaborate window displays around Christmas time in the mid-1800s, which eventually caught on and became a popular attraction for shoppers.
21:31
Fruit cake is a maligned food product that started out as a luxury item and is now made fun of, but it used to be made with sought-after ingredients like spices, nuts, and fruit.
26:14
Sugar plums were actually candies made of sugar balls surrounded by nuts, spices, or seeds, and had nothing to do with plums.
30:35
Oranges used to be a special treat in Christmas stockings because they were rare and hard to come by, and the tradition has endured to this day.
34:59
Will Ferrell worked as a department store Santa before filming Elf, and he and fellow actor Chris Cattan ended up on Saturday Night Live together.
39:25
The hosts read a letter from a little girl to the New York Sun asking if there is a Santa Claus, and the editors respond with a heartfelt and poetic affirmation of Santa's existence.
Categories:
Society & Culture
