CHRISTMAS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Although Christmas is celebrated similarly around the world, different customs have emerged around the festival in many countries. In our Christmas exhibition (until January 12, 2025) we have set a few highlights from Europe, Latin America and Asia.

All figures on display of this year come from Br. Anselm Hartmann OSB's nativity collection (1940-2023), which has grown over the last 40 years. Most of the nativity scenes came to St. Ottilien as donations or bequests or were travel souvenirs from Br. Anselm's confreres from the worldwide active Congregation of the Missionary Benedictines.

 

Peru

In Peru, the pre-Christmas season begins when families begin to prepare the centerpiece of Peruvian Christmas, el nacimiento (the nativity scene, literally "the birth"), and create pompous miniature landscapes. Plastic Christmas trees with artificial snow are now becoming increasingly common.

In Cuzco, the large Christmas market "Santurantikuy" takes place on December 24th in the main square of the historic old town. Clothes and shoes for the figures of the baby Jesus in the manger are sold here, along with religious art and gift items - and cotton candy. 

Christmas, La Noche Buena ("the good night") is celebrated in summer temperatures. Christmas begins at midnight with fireworks and the Christ child is laid in the manger. Afterwards we eat, traditionally with turkey and tamales (filled pockets made from corn dough); For dessert there is panetón cake and hot chocolate.

Retablo, unknown artist

These detailed portable wooden "houses" with double doors, depicting religious, historical or everyday scenes, are typical of the Peruvian region around the town of Ayacucho, among others.

The word retablo is derived from the Latin retro-tabulum, which means "behind the table or altar". The first retablos, three-dimensional figures in a frame, were placed on or behind the altar of Catholic churches and were used in sermons to explain biblical events.

The figures of the retablos are made from salt dough or a similar mass and painted with colorful lacquer paints. The previously purely religious motifs changed from the 1940s onwards and increasingly showed scenes from rural life. 

The shape of the retablos also gradually changed; the artisans oriented themselves towards the wishes of their customers. Retablos originated in matchboxes, eggshells or in the pumpkins that are very well known today.

Calabash nativity scene (Peru), unknown artist

This representation of the nativity figures made from pumpkins Pumpkins with pyrography and paint is very rare. 

In Peru, round pumpkins are usually used to cut a semicircular cavity in the front into which small, colorfully painted figures made of corn flour are placed.

Nativity figures by Hilario Mendivil Velasco (1929-1977)

The folk artist Hilario Mendivil Velasco (1929-1977) from an old artisan family in Cuzco developed a special style of colored nativity figures in the old Spanish colonial style with characteristic elongated necks as a child.

The figures consist of a wooden body that is covered with a mixture of flour, clay and plaster according to old Inca recipes and painted with lacquer and gold. 

The clothes are "laminated", i.e. made of paper and textiles that are soaked in glue water. The figures, colorfully painted with lacquer and decoration in gold or dots of color, are decorated with flame bushes made of dyed bird feathers. Nativity figures by Hilario Mendivil are now sought-after collector's items.

 

Poland

On Christmas Eve, a large Christmas wafer with Jesus, Mary and angels embossed on it is broken into pieces and distributed to all family members. Everyone goes to all family members with their piece of wafer, breaks off a piece and gives it to the other person. We wish you luck next year.

The Wigilia, the traditional Christmas meal, only begins when the first star can be seen in the sky. The festive menu consists of twelve courses of non-meat dishes, all of which should be tried. Traditionally, one more seat is set aside for an unexpected guest.

In some families, some hay is placed under the white tablecloth in memory of the birth of Jesus. At midnight the family attends Pasterka, the Christmas mass. 

And of course everyone wishes each other Boze Narodzenie - Merry Christmas!

Straw nativity scene from Poland, a gift from the wife of a forest worker who worked in St. Ottilien after the “Wiebke” storm (1990).

The small stable with permanently installed figures is made from small bundles of straw held together with twine.

Szopka from Poland, unknown artist

Typical Szopka (Polish = nativity scene) made of cardboard in the shape of a church, covered with colored aluminum paper - usually chocolate and candy foil. The Szopkas are mostly modeled on famous Kraków churches. 

This form of nativity scene, which has been common in Kraków since the second half of the 19th century, is reminiscent of elements of the puppet theater. The construction was originally carried out by master bricklayers who were unemployed in the winter, but today the Szopkas are made by the family in countless hours of work.

The nativity scenes became more and more elaborately decorated, and in 1937 a competition for the most beautiful nativity scene was held in Kraków. 

The highest tower of the Szopka on display is crowned with a star, the two lower towers display the white and red Polish national flag.

 

Indonesia

In the predominantly Islamic island state, the relationship between religions is characterized by tensions in many places. Christmas is therefore only celebrated publicly in areas with a Christian majority, such as Jakarta; The shopping centers there are also decorated for Christmas. Selamat hari Natal (Merry Christmas) is wished from the beginning of December.

Christmas is celebrated at temperatures near 30 degrees, with lots of good food and church services, often with gamelan music. There are several Christian villages in southern Bali that are decorated for Christmas. Balinese people place long bamboo branches and coconut leaves (penjor) in front of their houses. Another Christmas tradition of Christian Indonesians is ngejot; Christians give their neighbors something to eat on Christmas Eve.

Bamboo nativity scene from Indonesia, estate of Fr. Benedikt Kominiak OSB from Newton Abbey (U.S.A.) belonging to St. Ottilien

The nativity figures are carved from a bamboo trunk - hence the semicircular curved shape. The bamboo material was sparingly painted and glazed with red, blue, white and yellow accents. 

An interesting detail is that all the characters except the Holy Family ride water buffaloes. The domesticated form (domestic buffalo) is used in many Asian countries for plowing rice fields and as a pack and riding animal. Leather, milk and meat are also used. In contrast to their wild relatives, domestic buffaloes are very peaceful and can even be controlled by small children. 

 

Lebanon

Not only the churches but also the streets and houses are festively decorated at Christmas time. Preparations begin approximately two weeks before the festival. Pea, wheat, bean or lentil seeds are sown in cotton balls. By Christmas, the seedlings are 15 centimeters tall and decorate the nativity scenes. 

On the last nine days before Christmas Eve, special evening sermons are held in all churches across the country. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. You visit your friends in the morning and they offer coffee, liqueurs, pastries and sweetened almonds. Christmas dinner takes place at lunchtime; everyone meets at the house of the oldest family member.

Cedar wood nativity scene from Lebanon, giver Fr. Winfried Mayr OSB

The log nativity scene, carved from a cedar trunk, shows the characteristic reddish-yellow wood of the Lebanon cedar. The trees reach a height of 30 to 50 meters and are up to 1000 years old. 

The sought-after and valuable wood was exported to Israel and throughout the Ancient Near East. The "cedars of Lebanon" are mentioned several times in the Bible as a symbol of strength and abundance. 

The cedar is the national symbol of Lebanon. The once high tree population has been decimated by centuries of clearing for ship and railway construction, and the remaining small stands are severely threatened by climate change.

 

Tanzania

In Tanzania, Christmas also falls in midsummer. However, it is rare to find lavish Christmas decorations here. 

Christmas is a time of family reunions as many Tanzanian families are separated during the year. Many people travel from the big cities to their home villages to visit their parents and grandparents. 

A few days before the festival, the decorations are hung up, mostly made from recycled materials. The cow or goat bought at the beginning of the year and carefully fed throughout the year must give up its life for the traditional Christmas roast. In the villages, beer is brewed from bananas or millet. 

Many Tanzanians attend church on the evening of December 24th, as well as the next morning, which is actually Christmas Day. Then the gift are distributed; children usually get new clothes, books and simple toys.

Nativity relief from Tanzania with two-tone wood, gift from "Tansania-Hilfe Braunschweig".

The half-relief shows the nativity scene with two different colored African woods.