I thought I'd give you all your Christmas Card a little early before we all get busy doing the Holiday thing. 

The children set their shoes by the fireplace. The shoes are filled with hay and carrots for the horse Sinterklaas rides through the streets on St. Nicholas Eve. The children sing a song about how much they hope the cold, wet, foggy weather will not keep Sinterklaas away that night. Then they tell their parents how well, or how badly, they have behaved throughout the past year. When well-behaved children awake in the morning, their shoes are filled with nuts, candy, and other surprises.

On Christmas Eve, Christian children in China hang up their muslin stockings that are specially made so Dun Che Lao Ren, or "Christmas Old Man," can fill them with wonderful gifts. Santa Claus may also be called Lan Khoong-Khoong, "Nice Old Father."

If any children did not leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts by Pere Noel on St. Nicholas Eve, they leave them out on Christmas Eve to be filled by Pere Noel or the Baby Jesus. Before going to bed, some families leave food and a candle burning, in case Mary passes by with the Christ Child. In homes that have a Christmas tree, Pere Noel hangs little toys, candies, and fruits on the tree's branches for the sleeping children.

Under the Christmas tree, the family arranges a manger scene to depict the stable that Jesus was born in. Parents may also pile presents from the Christ Child beneath the Christmas tree's richly decorated boughs. Just after dark, a bell rings, and the excited children run into the room to see the beautiful lighted tree in all its glory. The family members exchange gifts, recite poems, and sing Christmas carols “Silent Night, Holy Night”. " is an old German favorite. Then everyone enjoys a Christmas feast of roast goose, turkey, or duck.

In some parts of Germany, families still follow an old tradition. The children leave their shoes outside the front door. These shoes are filled with carrots and hay to feed St. Nicholas' horse as he rides by. If the children were good all year, St. Nicholas leaves apples, nuts, and candy for them.

Lighted candles are placed in windows on Christmas Eve, as a guide that Joseph and Mary might be looking for shelter. The candles are usually red in color, and decorated with sprigs of holly. Children often put out Christmas sacks instead of stockings.

It is tradition to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness out as a snack for Santa.

Children in Italy hang up their stockings on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6. They celebrate the visit of the Three Kings to Bethlehem. Instead of Santa Claus, children are expecting Befana.She is a witch-like character who rides around on a broom. Thelegend is that the Three Wise Men, I re magi, stopped at Befana's hut to askdirections on their way to Bethlehem and asked her to join them. Shesaid no, she was too busy. Later a shepherd asked her to join him inpaying respect to the Baby Jesus. Again, Befana said no. Later when itwas dark and she saw a great light in the skies, she thought perhapsshe should have gone with the Wise Men. So, she gathered some toysthat had belonged to her own baby, who had died, and ran to find thekings and the shepherd. But Befana could not find them or the stable.Now, each year she looks for the Christ Child. And each year sinceshe cannot find him, she leaves the gifts for the good children of Italyand pieces of charcoal for the bad ones..

Lisbon Portugal

Some families will open the presents (that are displayed around the Christmas tree) on Christmas Eve around midnight. Others open them in the morning of the 25th, Christmas Day. Some families put one shoe ("sapatinho") of each child next to the chimney (since most of the kitchens in Portugal have one) or next to the fireplace instead of a stocking.

After dinner on Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree lights are lit. Then the Jultomten, the tiny Christmas gnome, comes on a sleigh drawn by the Christmas goat, Julbokar. In some families, a friend or family member dresses up in a red robe and wears a long white beard to bring toys for the children. In other families, the Jultomten's gifts are left beneath the tree. After the gifts are opened, the family dances around the tree singing a special song.

Madrid Spain - Pac Man

Children believe that on Epiphany Eve, January 5, the Three Kings travel through Spain on their way to Bethlehem. That night children set out their shoes filled with straw for the Three Kings' camels. The Kings, passing in the night, fill the shoes with gifts. The next day, families enjoy a feast of almond soup, turkey, and roasted chestnuts. Sweets include a special nougat candy called turron and Kings' cake. A small prize baked in the cake brings luck to the person who finds it.

In some villages on Epiphany, January 6, children march out to the city gates carrying special cakes for the Three Kings and other foods for their servants and camels. They are hoping to meet the Three Kings on their way to the Holy Land. Always disappointed in their hopes, the children eat the good things they have brought with them. Then they are directed by their parents to the nacimiento in the village church. There they find the Three Kings presenting gifts to the Christ Child in a manger.

These days, Christmas celebrations in Wales are similar to those in the rest of Britain. In the days before Christmas a small tree is decorated with lights and hung with trinkets, and paper decorations often festoon rooms of the house (decorating a Christmas tree is a relatively recent fashion, imported from Germany in the 19th century). Gifts are exchanged on Christmas Day and the main meal traditionally consists of roast turkey with a range of vegetables, followed by a Christmas pudding.

Children expect Menehune Santa to arrive with presents in his Christmas tree boat or red canoe, dressed for the weather in shorts and Hawaiian shirt. His elves are said to paddle the boat to shore.

In Alaska an Eskimo Christmas is celebrated in my small fishing and hunting village (population 150) in traditional Eskimo and Christian ways. Christmas trees are most likely to be artificial, since there are no trees in or near our village.

Coloured lights shining through the windows and around doorways look festive on dark, snowy days. Catalogues become very important for ordering gifts. Since the mail system to the village is unreliable though, gifts aren't always ready and under the tree for Christmas day.

Like birthdays, the holiday may be a week's rather than a one-day event. Most villagers gather in the school gym on Christmas day for a traditional feast. Maktak (raw whale meat), Beluga whale, caribou, seal, owl, nigiglik (duck), ptarmigan, polar bear, and walrus are featured along with the newcomers, roast turkey and stuffing. Eskimo doughnuts and Eskimo ice cream make a fine completion for the meal.

Christmas in Iceland is an interesting experience as this country has many old traditions for celebrating Christmas. Expect no fewer than 13 Icelandic Santa Clauses! In Iceland they are called jólasveinar ("Yuletide Lads"; singular: jólasveinn). Their parents are Grýla, a mean old woman who drags off naughty children, and Leppalúði, who is not as mean. The origin of these "Santas" is centuries old, and each has its own name, character and role.

Nowadays during Christmas in Iceland, their function is to come to town bearing gifts and candy (and a prank or two). The first jólasveinn arrives 13 days before Christmas and then the others follow, one each day. After Christmas, they leave one by one. The Icelandic Christmas season lasts 26 days.

A special Icelandic custom for children is to put a shoe in the window from December 12 until Christmas Eve. If they have been good, one of the "Santas" leaves a gift - bad children receive a potato.

      As a joke, my brother Jay used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them.

        What they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every Christmas morning,  although Jay's kids' stockings overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty..

        One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don't sell those things at Wal-Mart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown.

        If you've never been in an X-rated store, don't go, you'll only confuse yourself. I was there an hour saying things like, 'What does this do?' 'You're kidding me!' 'Who would buy that?' Finally, I made it to the inflatable doll section.

        I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute as a passenger in  my truck so I could use the car pool lane during rush hour.

        Finding what I wanted was difficult. 'Love Dolls' come in many different models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do things I'd only seen in a book on animal husbandry. I settled for 'Lovable Louise.' She was at the bottom of the price scale.

        To call Louise a 'doll' took a huge leap of imagination.

        On Christmas Eve and with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to life.

      My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours. Long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose with Louise's pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray.  I went home, and giggled for a couple of hours.

        The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house and left a  present that had made him VERY happy, but had left the dog confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more.

        We all agreed that Louise should remain in her pantyhose so the rest of the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional Christmas dinner.

       My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door.

      'What the hell is that?' she asked.

        My brother quickly explained, 'It's a doll.'

        'Who would play with something like that?' Granny snapped.

        I kept my mouth shut.

       'Where are her clothes?' Granny continued.

        'Boy, that turkey sure smells nice, Gran,' Jay said, to steer her

 into the  dining room.....

        But Granny was relentless. 'Why doesn't she have any teeth?'

        Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying,  'Hang on Granny, hang on!'

        My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up t o me and said, ' Hey, who's the naked gal  by the fireplace?' I told him she was Jay's friend.

        A few minutes  later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise. Not just talking, but actually flirting.

      It was then that we realized this might be Grandpa's last Christmas at home.....

        The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who was dying, and who should be  killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise like my father in the bathroom  in the morning. Then she lurched from the mantel, flew around the room  twice, and fell in a heap in front of the sofa. The cat screamed. I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa ran across the room, fell to  his knees, and began administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

        My brother fell back over his chair and wet his pants.  ....

      Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car.  

      It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember.....

        Later in my brother's garage, we conducted a thorough examination to decide the cause of Louise's collapse. We discovered that Louise had suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh.

        Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to perfect health.

     I can't wait until next Christmas.

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