There's always a chance that someone will stuff your Christmas stocking with a ticket for a trip around the world. As gifts go, it's generous, thoughtful and easy to wrap. And hey, you were extra good, right?
If you suspect you might be the lucky recipient of an all-expenses-paid global voyage again this year, you probably don't want to waste the precious few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas studiously mimicking Burundi's holiday landscape in your living room. But if the closest you plan to come to the rest of the world this season is assembling a toy labeled "Made in Taiwan," you might consider adding a cross-cultural element to your holiday decor. You can even create a virtual international tour in your own home, leaving you free to return that around-the-world ticket and get what you really want.
North America
In Labrador, Canada's hulking province that forms most of its craggy eastern coastline, even the holidays have a rugged bent. When Labrador families harvest their summer turnip crops, a few choice roots are reserved to become children's treats. Come Christmastime, the turnips are hollowed out and fitted with candles in an old French twist on a Halloween tradition. Before attempting to make your own Jacques-o-lantern, take an inventory of your tool kit. Turnips are notoriously tough-skinned (just like the sea dogs who plied the frigid North Atlantic seas ... arrrrr). The roots will merely mock your knife. Woe be to he who approaches a turnip with a bendy, serrated pumpkin cutter. According to those who know, the only implement for turnip carving is a drill; the more powerful, the better. Best to lay off the eggnog until your work is done.
South America
In Argentina, as in many countries around the world, shoes trump stockings as a vessel for collecting bounty on Christmas morning. Argentinian children put their shoes beneath their bed or beside the Christmas tree, while children in other South American countries perch their shoes on the windowsill, which -- because many homes in the hottest climates lack a chimney -- is the mythic gift-bringer's point of entry.
You can reference this beloved tradition by setting out rows of Christmas-colored shoes in your home. This is the perfect excuse for buying gorgeous shoes that are the right price but the wrong size. But do err on the big side: Even Santa can't stuff too many goodies into a size-6 slingback.
Europe
Europe, having had the most time to develop its Christmas traditions, is like the big-box store of holiday-decoration inspiration. No matter how you want to prettify your surroundings for the season, there's likely a European antecedent.
In Iceland, the original Santa figure -- that would be Gryla the Ogre -- has been around so long, he has begotten 13 more Santas who vie for attention at Christmas. Once believed to be cannibals, these elfin figures now concentrate on making mischief throughout December: Candle Beggar swipes candles. Meat Hooker angles to snatch the roast. And Door Slammer shows up at night, keeping tired Icelanders awake by living up to his name.
If you're conversant in Icelandic, a quick search of the Internet will yield a nice selection of Jolasveinar (the Icelandic version of Santa) for sale. Otherwise, your own interpretations of the little imps will make an excellent addition to your holiday decor.
Africa
Decorating a tree for Christmas has become an almost universal habit, but firs are hard to find in Africa. In Ghana, the most popular trees for trimming are mango, guava and cashew trees. If your local Christmas-tree farm doesn't stock those varieties, a bowl filled with the trees' fruits (and nuts) is an attractive nod to Southern Hemisphere celebrations.
Asia
Christmas is relatively new to Asia, and only a small percentage of the population observes the holiday. The Japanese tradition usually recorded in children's books is the folding of origami swans, which swarm the nation's Christmas trees.
But it's another bird that gets the most attention on Christmas in Japan. On Christmas Eve, the lines at most KFC outlets stretch for hundreds of meters, as the unfortunate folks who didn't pre-order their buckets await their fix of the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices. Thanks to a 1970s KFC marketing strategy that linked Christmas and fried chicken -- a suitable stand-in for the rarely seen turkey dinner -- it just isn't the holidays without KFC. (It apparently doesn't hurt business any that the afore-mentioned colonel is a jolly-looking white man with a beard and a twinkling eye.)
To add KFC to your decorating scheme, get yourself some buckets. There are vintage buckets about, but any will do. Hang. Stack. Flip and use as a gift holder.
Australia
It isn't easy to get into the Christmas spirit when it's 100 degrees outside. Nineteenth-century Australians were forced to bury a gold nugget in their plum puddings partly to make polishing off the flaming dessert -- the highlight of any English dinner -- worthwhile.
Today, Australians have slightly modified the Christmas-tree tradition, decorating potted firs rather than the oversized trees which crowd American living rooms. At $19.95 a plant, adopting this adaptation is both cosmopolitan and cost-effective.
Antarctica
Every Christmas in Antarctica is an international Christmas, because researchers from around the world share quarters. The overriding Antarctic holiday tradition is to "make do," so scientists exchange interesting rocks as gifts and enjoy tinned meat for dinner.
To honor Antarctica this year, you can fashion holiday decorations from everyday materials. Technicians at McMurdo Station once unbraided a steel cable, painted it white and called it a Christmas tree. Allow creativity -- and scarcity -- to be your guide.
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