Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Christmas Around the World

Episode Date: December 24, 2019

Happy holidays! How are you celebrating?   I’m visiting my family in the States but always love hearing how people are enjoying the holidays in other parts of the globe. What are the traditions? What are the foods they’re eating?   So, I invited some of my favorite guests on this show to call in and tell me about Christmas in their adopted cities.    So tuck in, pour yourself some hot chocolate — or maybe something cold and fizzy if you’re somewhere warm — and enjoy the show.  *** I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. Did you know I host another show called Podcasting Step by Step? Check it out if you’ve been wanting to start a podcast. Every week, I break down ‘how to podcast’ with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams.   Ready to travel? Get your free guide to cheap airfare.   Thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.   This podcast is brought to you by Audible. Not a member yet? Postcard Academy listeners can get a FREE audiobook and a 30-day free trial if you sign up via audibletrial.com/postcard   This podcast is also brought to you by World Nomads. Need simple and flexible travel insurance? Get a cost estimate from World Nomads using their handy calculator at postcardacademy.co/insurance    Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Welcome to the Postcard Academy. I'm your host, Sarah Micatel, and today I am wishing you a very merry holiday season wherever you are in the world. How are you celebrating? I'm visiting my family in the States, but I'm always curious about how people are enjoying the holidays and other parts of the globe. What are their traditions? What are the foods that they're eating? So I invited some of my favorite guests on the show to call in and tell me about Christmas and their adopted cities. So tuck in, pour yourself some hot chocolate or maybe something cold and busy if you're somewhere warm and enjoy the show. Hi there, this is Ting Zhang. I was on the Queensland episode of Postcard Academy. Thinking about the holidays, I grew up in the Northern Hemisphere in New York,

so your classic Christmas song description of the holidays were pretty spot on. Always wish for a white Christmas so you can get cozy with your hot chocolate, maybe around your heater or fire with a Christmas tree and probably your family. Since moving to Queenstown in New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere, about five years ago, it's been quite a different Christmas here. It is summertime Christmas and people are having barbecues, eating cherries, wearing jandles. That is the term for flip-flops in New Zealand and hanging out on the beach. So while I love the good weather, I can't quite forget the houga and the coziness of a northern hemisphere Christmas. So I am enjoying the parts where I can, but sometimes I secretly wish we'll have a cold day so I can

cozy up by the fire and get the coziness going. My name is Debbie Stowe and I was on the Romania episode of the Postcard Academy. So in Romania, the Christmas holidays are fairly similar to what I experienced growing up in the UK. The big family occasion on the 25th of December, lots of eating, drinking. Food is slightly different. They don't eat turkey. They eat pig and traditionally the pig was killed by relatives in the country and then almost every part of the pig would be put to use in the Christmas meal in some way. Weather-wise, it often can be really snowy in December, even in Bucharest. My partner said that growing up, he remembers deep snow most years. So that's different to the UK when we sometimes have a bit of snow and then the whole country

grinds to a halt. In terms of parties and drinking, it's pretty much the same for the Christmas. It's the same. One thing that's relevant is that it was just a few days before Christmas that the Romanian revolution began. The Chowcesthus were famously executed, I believe, on Christmas Day. And this year, because it's 30 years since communism, that story has been looming large. And there have been a lot of memories shared about those times. So that sort of hangs over Christmas. Not generally every year, but this year especially being a 30 year anniversary. But Christmas was celebrated even under Communism. The communists were not big fans of religion in general, but people celebrated Christmas and because they didn't have much, it was really special to say find like an orange or a

banana among your gifts because under ordinary circumstances, Romanians didn't have that kind of thing or it was really, really hard to get. Another tradition that's slightly different is St. Nicholas Day celebrated in Romania. That's the 6th of December. Parents and kindergarten teachers, high little presents in children's shoes could be something like an orange. So that's quite a nice tradition and my kids enjoyed that. Hello, this is Cathy from Watch Me See. You might remember me from the Glasgow episode of the Postcard Academy. I'm originally from Austria, but moved to Glasgow in Scotland about six years ago.

And I'm about to experience my first Christmas here with my partner's family. The biggest difference to Christmas growing up is that back home we celebrate on Christmas Eve, but in Scotland we celebrate on Christmas Day. I basically get two Christmases, as I still open my presents and Skype my parents on the 24th, but then celebrate with my partner's family on the 25th. They also put their Christmas trees up way earlier than I'm used to. My dad always put up our Christmas tree in the morning of the 24th, but here people have the trees up a month before Christmas.

Christmas jumpers are also very popular here, and it's an unwritten rule that you can wear your Christmas jumper throughout December without batting an eyelid. The traditional meal for Christmas is turkey with all the trimmings, rose potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, mashed potatoes, root veggies, stuffing, gravy, Brussels sprouts, that sort of stuff. But many people actually order food in. Chinese is a popular takeaway for Christmas dinner in the UK. I'm vegan, so we always do things a little differently with a nut roast, or homemade veggie haggis.

One thing that is special in the UK, and all Commonwealth countries actually, is tradition of Christmas crackers. They are round paper decorations that make a loud bang when you pull them apart. They are filled with confetti, a small goodie and a joke, and you also get a paper crown that you can wear all night. Everybody gets one at Christmas dinner,

and it's so much fun to pull them open. A lot of people don't like them because they're not very environmentally friendly, and the jokes are super cheesy. But you can also get some filled with local designs or useful items or even reusable ones that you can fill again next year. Hi, this is Tony calling from Florence, Italy. I've been on a couple of episodes,

and I am excited because this year, on Christmas, I'm going to have the best of both worlds. On the 25th, I will be having an American-style Christmas with all the turkey and fixings. And then on the next day, the 26th is what's called, Santo Stefano and we celebrate that here too and I will be having all the classic Italian food or I should say what we have here in Tuscany. So tortellini and broth and grilled meats and lots of different vegetables and every family has different traditions. This year I'll be with my friend

and her kids and her husband and her husband is Brazilian so we will also be having Fijuarda. So I'm having a multinational Christmas. for 2019. Then on January 6th, we have La Bifana, and that is, the tradition is she is a witch who comes in and leaves a stocking for the children. And the stocking, if the children are good, has treats, sweets and toys and things like that. But if the children are bad, she leaves coal. So it's kind of fun because it spreads Christmas out a little longer. And instead of having your stocking and all your presents on one day, you have your presents on Christmas, and then on the day of the Bifana, that's when you get your Christmas stocking from the Bifana.

I would say the most surprising thing about Christmas in Italy for me is that even though it is very important and the food is great and it's still very family oriented, it doesn't feel as cozy as it tends to feel in North America and also in northern European countries, especially Germany and the UK. So it took a little getting used to. But now I've got to. quite used to Christmas in Italy and I quite enjoy it. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas or whatever you're celebrating. And of course, I hope you're eating the most delicious things with your family and friends. Hi, Sarah. Thanks for letting me contribute to your special holiday episode. It's Crystal. I write for Tofu Traveler, a veggie-loving travel blog, and I currently

live in Playa del Common in Mexico. It's on the Caribbean coast. I was on your originally your How to Find the Cheapest Flights and Travel Deals podcast way, way back in the day. And since then, I think we've done, we definitely did a Wahaka podcast when you came to visit me. And this year we did the Croatia and Albania road trip, which was super fun. The first thing is in Mexico, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. And it's all about family. So it's a pretty quiet day. And then on Christmas day, it's a little bit more festive.

So people come out, go to restaurants, more drinking. And especially with, because I live in more of a touristy, beachy community, it's almost like just another day. But the expats do tend to get together on Christmas Day to keep each other company and make sure nobody's left out. And this year, I know a whole bunch of people are going to meet at a beach club and just spend the day there together. And we've just invited everybody who wants to come along.

One really special thing that happens that I love is a lot of people have gotten into the habit of donating. So whether that's buying somebody's groceries or getting some kids bikes. So it's almost like giving back to the local community, which is really special. And I know that for a lot of your listeners, it's probably cold. I know you're cold right now. but it's beautiful here. So there's a lot of beach time. I've definitely been swimming in the last week.

So for me, it's much of the same because, you know, I'm from the Caribbean. So I'm used to just living in warm weather places. I couldn't imagine being cold right now. But I'm sure it's beautiful with all of the snow. So that's me here in Mexico. I hope you're having a great Christmas. And thank you again for inviting me to share. Thank you so much for listening to the Postcard Academy this year. It really means the world to me that you are tuning in. And I promise to make this podcast even better for you next year. So take it easy this week, wherever you are. And I will talk to you in 2020.

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