Christmas Traditions

Epiphany Gift Giving Epiphany gift giving also varies among different cultures. Some open all presents on the first day of Christmas (December 25th), while others stagger gift opening throughout the twelve days o...

King's CakeAnother common thread in Epiphany celebrations is baking a "King's Cake," which is a cake that has a small doll or trinket inside of it. King's Cake is commonly baked in France, Puerto Rico, Spain, Mex...

Epiphany FeastThe easiest Epiphany tradition to incorporate into your family's Christmas festivities is the Epiphany feast. Being the last day of the Christmas celebration, the most common tradition throughout di...

History of the Epiphany CelebrationThe Epiphany is the day Christians believe the three wise men commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ with feasting and presents. It is also said to be the day that Christ's baptism took place, and is the day of his ...

Feliz Navidad!Christmas in Mexico is a big, colorful celebration filled with rich traditions focused on food, family and religion.Mexicans begin their celebrations on December 12,  the birthday of "La Guadalupana" (Virgin of Guadalupe) and continue ...

Froehliche Weihnachten! In Germany, Christmas celebrations begin as early as December 1st. Germans are usually busy baking cookies and creating little dolls made out of dried fruit.Gingerbread houses are a huge tradition in Germany. As is the German ...

Joyeux Noel! In France, Christmas is celebrated with respect to family, friends and religious beliefs.Just as in Italy, displaying The Nativity is a tradition so many across the country take part in. So much so that lthe ittle clay figures called "sa...

Buon Natale!Italians celebrate Christmas in a big way, with most of their customs focused on their deep religious beliefs.The festivities begin eight days before Christmas when Italians celebrate the Novena, a Roman Catholic service that consists of ...

Inspired by the gospels of Matthew and Luke, nativity scenes depict the birth of Jesus Christ. They have played a symbolic role in the lives of Christians for centuries, but St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first living version played out in Rome in 1224. These early nativities presented a simple depiction of the miracle birth with only a manger, an ox and a donkey.

While most modern nativity scenes, whether live performances or tabletop sets, display all the characters at one time, this is not how nativities began. Traditional nativity scenes followed the teachings of the gospels of Matthew and Luke with charac...