Guest post by Lindy Howard

December is the one time of the year when people throughout the world join together to celebrate Christmas. Although it may be referred to in different terms, Christmas is a time for celebration and hopes of ‘peace on earth’. It is a time that many spend with family and friends. All countries have unique, traditional ways of celebrating. Here are six different cultures around the globe and how they spend the festive season:

Hong Kong: Church Services are Prevalent

Hong Kong Church Service by Candlelight. (Source: Nat Chiu)

Hong Kong celebrates Christmas with hundreds of church services complete with choirs and candlelight, conducted in Chinese. There are dozens of other church services held in English for international speakers. The people spend a lot of time decorating their Christmas cards and the cards show the ‘Holy Family’ in a Chinese setting.

Hong Kong Friends at Christmas. (Source: PrincessCCCC)

Most of the homes are decorated with the Nativity scene along with Poinsettias. In many places Lan Khoong, or Dun Che Lao Ren, who we recognise as Santa Claus makes his presence.

Syria: A Unique Christmas Celebration

Old Syrian Church at Christmas Time. (Source: Laura’s Eye)

Many Syrians gather together on December 6 for a special mass is held in churches throughout the country. This is to honour Saint Nicholas Thaumaturgas, a legend who was said to have been a kind and generous man. On Christmas Eve, families gather outside their homes with each person holding a candle. The youngest child reads the Christmas story and then a bonfire is lit. Then, depending on the direction the flames spread, this informs the family about the luck of the house during the coming year. During the burning, psalms are sung. When it nears the end of the flames, everyone leaps over the embers as they make a wish.

Guatemala: A Celebration with Parades and Processions

A Christmas display in Guatamala (Source: Roberto Urrea)

This Central American country offers a number of religious statues which are put in an elaborate parade. Then, at the rear of the procession, there is an image that represents God. However, this white-bearded man also has a resemblance to Santa Claus.
The night before Christmas the festivities end at midnight with a Misa de Gallo – or the Mass of the Rooster. Although the churches and other public places offer manger scenes throughout the season the Christ child is not put on display until Christmas Eve.

All Smiles in Guatemala at Christmas (Source: Roberto Urrea)

Germany: Celebrations throughout December

People begin celebrating Christmas in Germany on December 6. Families spend a lot of time between this date until Christmas Eve baking all kinds of goodies; particularly ginger bread houses and spice cakes along with little dolls made from candy.

The tradition is that the Christ child had a messenger. This messenger brings toys to the children. The messenger appears in the form of an angel.

Christmas Angel at Nürnberg Christkindlemarkt (Source: Geach)

Children write decorated letters to the angel and place them on the window sill. Each home locks one room in the house. This is the special room where the presents are kept until the big day arrives. On Christmas Eve, at midnight, the parents wake their children. They take each child to the locked room. When the door is opened the children find all kinds of presents sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree.

A Christmas tree in Wirtheim, Germany (Source: Lauke)

In Germany, where Christmas trees are really loved, most every house has more than one tree. The family also keeps an advent calendar and the children track how many days remain until Christmas.

India: Christmas is Sacred Yet Joyful

Christmas Gujarati-Style, India (Source: Nat Chiu)

The Christians in India decorate the banana or mango tree. They light small oil burning lamps as Christmas decorations and celebrate in the week preceding advent. They fill their churches with red flowers and some put on nativity plays, often performed by young children, and carols are sung before Santa comes out to give out sweets. In their native language, Father Christmas is called ‘Christmas Thaathaa’ (Tamil) and ‘Christmas Baba’  (Hindi). Family members receive gifts as do the poorer members of society. Most Christian homes in India display a nativity scene in their front window and more remote tribal Christians spend the week carolling in nearby villages to spread the Christmas story

Japan: Christmas Cake and Hotei-osho as Santa Claus

The Japanese decorate their homes and offices with evergreens during the season. They also exchange gifts as part of the celebration. They have a Buddhist deity figure called Hotei-oshi who, I suppose, is the equivalent of Santa Claus. The story is that the gentle old Japanese god takes presents to each house where he leaves them for the children.  Like Santa Clause, Hotei-Osho has a large belly and carries around a linen bag (called hotel) which he uses to distribute gifts.

Happy Salesgirls Sell cakes in Southern Osaka, Japan (Source: Jannem)

Although Christmas in Japan adopts many western influences, probably the most traditional Christmas food in Japan is fried chicken and Christmas cake. The Japanese usually go to great lengths to decorate their Christmas cakes, often covering it extravagantly in ornaments, bright colours and textures.

Family Celebrations of Christmas (Source: Isado)

Christmas in Japan is not a day for the family and there is rarely turkey involved. But the Japanese do love any excuse to give each other lots of presents…but don’t we all!

This guest post was contributed by Anytrip.com, which offers Christmas deals including cheap hotels in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mumbai and in over 70 countries worldwide for all those who want to spend Christmas a little differently this year.

Guest post by @jodisagorin

Some rights reserved by telecentrepictures

Stuck behind a herd of cows, I peered out of the van doubling as an ambulance at the women working in the fields. I was visiting a rural village outside of Mathura, India. It was my first day in the field doing research for my project for my internship with Drishtee.

First, a little about Drishtee: Drishtee is a social enterprise focused exclusively on rural India. Drishtee was born from the passionate belief in professional solutions, and my colleagues here personify this passion for change-making. People at the base of the pyramid are difficult to reach, so Drishtee established a low cost supply chain to bring valuable goods and services to the most isolated rural villages. They are blazing the path for future rural suppliers, affecting positive social change and economic growth wherever they go.

So, back to my first day bumping and winding my way to a rural Indian village. I was heading towards a health camp with Doctor Virtike who specializes in women and children’s health. We passed cows and more cows, children running naked in the streets, a school house, women carrying bundles of wheat and rice harvest, and many curious people staring from inside their homes. Every time I entered a new village, curious children and then their parents would come out of their homes to try to figure me out… and to offer me a whole lot of chai! I drew quite a crowd from the moment I stepped out of the van.

I sat in the health camp as women and girls came in, one after another, saris covering their faces and accompanied by their mother-in-laws or someone older in the family. The men stayed outside. One girl came in and was visibly sick, her head hung low and she looked like she would fall if you gave her the slightest touch. She sat quietly while her mother in law explained her condition. She had a temperature of 102 degrees. She had been this way for an entire month.

(It is important to note that my experiences in these villages should not be mistaken for a broad generalization of all of rural India. These are just my findings from personal experience in one specific place.)

After further testing, it was found that she had contracted Malaria from the influx of mosquitoes after a recent flood. She was taken outside and provided treatment, paying a small fee for the cost of the medicines. Part of Drishtee’s model is that paying a small amount for health services increases the perceived value of health and, ironically, encourages women to come back for more checkups.

Doctor Virtike was incredible. She took time in testing and getting to know each patient. The women are usually ashamed at being seen by a doctor, viewing medicine and health care as unnecessary. There is a huge cultural taboo surrounding maternal health and women’s health issues. Doctor V not only has to diagnose the patients with basic tools, but then has to spend time counseling them so that they accept treatment. It is a frustrating and disheartening thing to watch. Woman after woman, girl after girl, would shake her head when given access to cures from everything from malnutrition during pregnancy to infections. The only thing saving the situation was Doctor V’s counseling and persuasion.

She explained to me that most of the girls get married at 15 and have multiple children by 19. Being 19 myself, the thought of being a mother at my age shook me to my core. She went on to explain that even from birth, girls are marginalized. The boys are the family’s legacy, while the girls will eventually be married off. They are someone else’s property. Her health suffers because of this neglect. Families don’t want to spend money on healthcare. They also have a very low self-worth. They are very shy, even in an all female environment and cover themselves. Doctor V had to repeatedly ask them to sit down or lay on the examining table instead of standing or lying on the floor to be less conspicuous that they were the ones being treated.

Drishtee’s aim is to turn these women into protagonists of their own destiny, into rural entrepreneurs. By embarking on a long road towards changing attitudes about health and women, Drishtee is starting a process that will result in women having the means to have a voice. They need to be empowered in three ways: emotionally, financially, and physically. Drishtee is aiming towards empowering these women financially by providing them income through entrepreneurship and physically, by providing access to healthcare.

I am proud to be a part of such an incredible family of change makers, even if it is only for a short while during this internship. I have learned so much here already and it has only been 10 days. I can’t even imagine what I will walk away with after my internship with Drishtee is over. For now, I will enjoy the organized chaos of India. Namaste.

Jodi Sagorin

Jodi Sagorin is an adventurer, college student, traveler, explorer, and aspiring change-maker. She is currently interning for a social business, Drishtee, in India. She writes about living on your own terms, kicking ass, adventures and travel on her site If You Never Did, You Should.

This is for everyone who found joy in the first collection of Faces Of The Future and for those who wanted to contribute their photos. I hope these photos brings a smile to your face because I couldn’t get rid of my Kool-Aid smile while I was putting this post together.

I received a large number of submission for this photo collection and I am very sorry to say that I was not able to use every single photo that was submitted. Please don’t hate me. Look at the babies instead!

Misones, Argentina

Michael Tieso

Michael Tieso started Art Of Backpacking with a vision of sharing cultural knowledge to the world and inspire more people to travel. He left the cubicle life to travel the world in May 2009 and he still continues the journey to this day with no end to it. He loves adventure, food, and music. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @djskylab.

Guatemala

Photo by Halle Hughes, aged 10 traveling near Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Halle was on her first trip overseas with her 2 sisters and parents and said the best part of going to Guatemala was doing Dog Meets World and meeting other kids.

Costa Rica

Photo by Kathryn Rouillard, a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica took pictures in Playa Panama and said that practicing DMW was "one of the highest highs I have experienced thus far as a PCV in Costa Rica.

Dominica Republic

Tanzania

Haiti

Taken by Carolyn Lane, founder of DMW in Lacul, Haiti in a village along the sea. None of the children had ever had their photos to own!

Carolyn Lane

Carolyn Lane is the founder and president of Dog Meets World, nonprofit organization seeking to put a photo in the hand of every child in need in the world.

The Caribbean

Taken at Grand Anse Beach, Grenada, Caribbean

Maharasthra, India

Taken in Ellora, Maharasthra, India

Cairo, Egypt

Taken at an engagement party held on the street, Cairo, Egypt

Connie Hum

Connie Hum is a bit of a loose canon. She gets an idea in her head and she just goes with it. After making the decision to live the life she’s always wanted, Connie left her amazing apartment in New York City and job at an international consulting firm in February 2009. Since that time, she’s lived in Istanbul, sailed in the Mediterranean, slept in a Bedouin cave in the mountains of Petra, bellydanced her way through Cairo, drank afternoon tea in London, danced with young Buddhist monks in Burma, learned the art of Vipassana meditation in an ashram in India, trekked the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal and sunbathed in the gorgeous beaches of Thailand. And this is only the beginning! You can follow her travel (mis)adventures on www.connvoyage.com or on Twitter at @connvoyage.

Sapa, Vietnam

Little Hmong girl carrying her baby brother. Click on the photo for the story.

Laos

Hmong girl from Laos

Another Hmong girl from Laos

Belaga, Borneo

Kayan mother and child

Theodora Sutcliffe

Theodora Sutcliffe is on a longterm round the world journey with her nine year old son. Since leaving London in January 2010 they’ve visited Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia: next stop Indonesia Visit www.travelswithanineyearold.com for more travel pics and stories.Theodora is a single parent from London, England traveling around the with her son Z. Follow her on Twitter @Mummy_T.

Bangkok, Thailand

From a train ride from Bangkok to the border of Cambodia. It was a 5 hour train ride on wooden benches and cost 50 cents so we were the only foreigners on the train and no one spoke English. Unlike in North America where we'd never give our children to strangers, we were greeted warmly by the people on the train who offered their baby to hold. Although we didn't speak a common language it was one of the most memorable events of my trip.

Ayngelina Brogran

Ayngelina left her job, apartment, boyfriend and friends to travel solo. You can read about her adventures at Bacon is Magic, as she eats her way through Latin America and beyond.

Granada, Nicaragua

Guatemala

Mexico

Lainie

Miro and Lainie (mother 43 and 11 year old son) share their adventures from the road of life, discussing issues of humanity, global citizenship, slow travel and living in the moment as they backpack through the world.Stay up to date with them on their blog & podcast at RaisingMiro.com which chronicles their nomadic adventures, Raising Miro on the Road of Life.

Cambodia

She was just a cutey. She has a huge smile on her face in every, single picture we have of her.

A couple of the younger boys just thought it was hilarious to use me as their own personal jungle gym. It got quite tiring after a while, and of course everyone wanted to try when they saw these two, so the next thing you know, I had 15-year-olds not much shorter than I trying to hang on me.

This is my boy again. It started pouring rain, and they all wanted to go out and play. In typical SE Asia monsoon season weather, it just POURED down buckets of rain, and they all had a blast.

You obviously can't tell it from this picture, but this little guy was the most surly and mad looking for the first couple hours after we arrived. Once he warmed up to us, he was like he is in this picture. Adorable.

This was the youngest girl, Nita, who was about 2 years old and as you can see, simply beautiful. Everyone was her bigger brother or sister, and they all took care of her and watched over her.

Adam & Megan

Adam and Megan set off on a year-long RTW trip in October 2008, touching down in eleven countries and ninety cities over three continents. Now back home in St. Louis, Megan is back at her career as an attorney, and Adam is trying to bust into the travel writing business. You can check out Adam’s brand new site, still a work in progress with new content being added daily, at www.worldtravelforcouples.com, or you can follow Adam’s journey to become a travel writer at www.journeyofatravelwriter.com. Adam and Megan also kept a blog of their RTW trip, at thewanderyear.com. They are both on twitter, @aseper and @wanderyearmeg.

Remember when you were five and you chose your best friend based on whether or not they’d share their box of Crayola Crayons with you? Losing my “best friend” of the day and getting rejected wasn’t fun but my crayons meant more to me than PlayDough and Pringles. Every child should have the opportunity go through these growing pains and make the decision for themselves. It could even guide them to their future as an artist or an architecture.

Unfortunately, children in a small village in Maharastra, India called Pusla won’t have the chance to develop their creativity with our help.  Are you an artist who can offer your talents while traveling the world? Dreams For Kids and Ayuda Shilip, an Indian Non-Profit, have teamed up together with a mission to provide the environment, training and resources necessary to help Indian children develop their creativity and artistic talents.

Their focus is on encouraging and enhacing art and creativity. Some immediate goals include:

• Building wells for clean drinking water
• Developing plans to build schools where none exist
• Creating art workshops in the schools
• Developing an art exchange program with the US Dream Leaders program
• Supplying adaptive equipment for children with disabilities.

If you have plans of inundating yourself with the beauty and wonders that India has to offer, give a little back by volunteering with Dreams For Kids in India.

Temples. Temples. Temples. What can I say about temples? I don’t know. Let’s just look at pretty pictures of temples instead.

Pura Luhur, Uluwatu

The silhouette of Pura Luhur sitting on a cliff overlooking the sea. Uluwatu, Bali, right after the sunset

Temple of Debod, Madrid

The illuminated Temple of Debod at dusk in Parque del Oeste, Madrid. This temple was originally built in Egypt around 2nd century BC, and then in 1968 it was donated to Spain and rebuilt in Madrid.

Temple of Poseidon, Greece

The ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion, Greece. Built around 440 BC.

Dina from Vagabond Quest

Ryan and Dina are a couple of permanent travelers vagabonding around the world. Ryan is a software guy from Canada, and Dina is a chemist from Java, Indonesia. They met in Japan and then lived in Ontario, Canada. In April 2009, they closed their home and since then have been living on the road with their 2 backpacks. They focus on cheap travel and ways to get more travel enjoyment for less cash. In their blog “Vagabond Quest“, they share their stories and recommendations. Follow them on Twitter @VagabondQuest.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

We often see from the other side of the lens and think the photographer was in solitude. Once I shot my sunrise for Angkor Wat I decided to shoot the reality.

Ayngelina

Ayngelina left her job, apartment, boyfriend and friends to travel solo throughout Central and South America. You can read about her adventures at Bacon is Magic, as she eats her way through Central and South America. You can follow her on Twitter @Ayngelina.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The temples and ruins of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor Wat fascinate travelers as a look into the past, but Angkor Wat is still very much a modern sacred site as well. Pictured is a New Year celebration within the temple complex.

Kevin Revolinski

Kevin Revolinski is the author of The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey and the Bangkok expert for NileGuide.com. His website and blog are at The Mad Traveler Online.

My Son, Vietnam

Click on image to read more.

Click on image to read more.

Click on image to read more.

Click on image to read more.

Dave Dean

Dave was born and raised in small town New Zealand providing  him with the perfect beginnings for a lifelong travel addiction. After graduating from university with a degree in History and Political Science he packed his meager belongings into a backpack and headed for London. The subsequent years have seen him traveling through thirty-something countries and watching my ‘must see’ list grow larger almost as quickly as I’ve watched my bank balance grow smaller. Check out Dave’s blog, What’s Dave Doing, and follow him on Twitter @driftingkiwi.

Rome, Italy

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, built in the 2nd Century AD, was converted into a church in the Middle Age and is thus a wonderful example of the layers of History.

The Temple of Venus Genetrix was dedicated to the goddess of motherhood and domesticity by Julius Caesar in 46 BC.

Simon Los Roques

Simon is ‘wild about travel’ and as soon as possible she packs a few things and goes. Born in Italy, growing up in a small village in the Swiss mountains and at 18 back to Italy, in Milan, she remained a nature lover. Simon loves adventure travel and wilderness, and she is wild about scuba diving, hiking and skiing. She started blogging for fun, while she was jobless, but soon got passionate and continues writing her ‘Travel tales by a Travel Addict’.

Visit Simon’s blog at Wild About Travel and follow her on Twitter.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor is a location that lends itself to black and white pictures, I think. The contrasts of the landscape to the ruins seem to show up better in that format. Plus, I think it gives a better image of the age of everything.

Pre Rup, Cambodia

Pre Rup, which is one of the oldest of the temples in the main Angkor Wat area. A nightly traditional is climbing those steps to the top and watching sunset from up there. It's wonderfully peaceful.

Michael Hodson

Michael just completed a sixteen month, round-the-world trip without taking a single plane.  His blog — One Lap, No Jetlag — is at www.mobilelawyer.blogspot.com and you can Twitter him at @mobilelawyer.

Phenom Penh, Cambodia

Royal Temple

Matt Preston

Matt Preston is an English travel photographer and co-founder of Travel With Mate. He has also created a book entitled “Portraits of Asia.”  Matt is currently living in Sydney, Australia before going to Borneo.

Beijing, China

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven

Prayer Cards tied to a bridge at the Confucian Temple

Burning incense and praying at the Lama Temple

Emily Hyndman

Emily Hyndman is a recent college graduate who never leaves home without her camera. A recent trip to Beijing left her with a desire to explore Asia. A big fan of slow travel, Emily hopes to eventually live and work abroad. Until that day comes, she enjoys exploring and living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, starting with her new home in Seattle, WA. You can follow her on Twitter @eehyndman.

New Delhi, India

Baha'i Temple

Lumbini, Nepal

Mayadevi Temple - Birthplace of Buddha

Sravastlup, India

Myanmar Monastery

Aye, Jack & Emma

These pictures were taken during a mother-daughter Buddhist Pilgrimage to India and Nepal in early 2008.  Follow this fabulous family of three on their inspiring blog Got Passport: Will Travel. Will Serve and follow them on Twitter @gotpassport as they prepare to move to Chiang Mai, Thailand this summer.

Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, Japan

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a Buddhist temple complex consisting of over 30 beautiful, old buildings that rest on a hillside full of trees and natural springs.

Java, Indonesia

Prambanan temple complex near Jogjakarta on the island of Java, Indonesia. These Hindu temples date from the 9th century and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bali, Indonesia

This temple is known for its spectacular location as it rests on a cliff about 70 meters above the ocean.

Jenna Francisco

Jenna works as a professor in Sacramento, California, but loves to get away whenever she can.  She studied and lived abroad and has traveled extensively through Europe.  She has a multi-cultural family and spends time every year visiting family either in Brazil or Indonesia, or both.  As the mother of a toddler, she is learning new ways to travel and looks forward to sharing her adventures with others.  Check out her blog at Adventures of a 21st Century Family.

Prayer flags remind me of Nepal, Tibet, India and Bhutan. Places I’ve only seen in my dreams. They remind of me blue skies, snow-capped mountains and crisp cool air. Most of all, they remind me of serenity. There is this misconception that these flags carry prayers to the gods when the wind blows. In actuality, these flags carry prayers of wisdom, peace, harmony, and compassion to the all living and spiritual beings – people, plants, animals, water and air.

Prayer flags are colorful square or rectangular pieces of cloth that are usually hung along mountain ridges and high peaks. They are sacred and are never to be placed on the ground or to be used in clothing. They are either hung diagonally from the floor to the top of a temple or monastery or they are hung vertically along a pole. Prayer flags come in a set of five colors; each representing an elements. Blue for the sky. White for the air and wind. Red for fire. Green for water. Yellow for earth. They are hung in that order.

The best time to hang new prayer flags are in the mornings on a sunny and windy day. Hanging them in high places allows the winds to carry the prayer and blessing away. When the images fade from the exposure to the sun and wind, it symbolizes that the prayers have become a permanent part of the universe. New flags are hung every year to acknowledge that all beings are part of something bigger than the world we live in.

Namaste