How they celebrate Christmas abroad

GRAPHIC: BRENDA LEE

Christmas is a time of celebration when we get together with our families and bask in the elaborate decorations that fill the streets. For many exchange students here in NTU, December means they can finally return home in time for Christmas.

Lifestyle writer Syed Ebrahim Al-idrus catches up with three NTU exchange students to find out what their Christmas traditions are like back in their home countries.

Seoul, Korea

Jiyoun Lim, 23
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

Every December is a white Christmas in the neighbourhood of Myeongdong in Korea’s capital, Seoul.

Crystal flakes start falling from the sky and soon enough, blankets of white snow coat the streets of Seoul and its frosty corners.

Despite the freezing temperatures that dip as low as -10 degree Celsius, the streets of Jiyoun’s hometown is warmed by the mesmerising Christmas lights that welcome tourists who flock to one of the busiest shopping districts in Seoul.

“During this time, those of us who stay in the dormitory (at Chung-Ang University) will move back home to Myeongdong to celebrate with close friends and family,” she said.

Having just completed her semester-long exchange in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Jiyoun decided to stay in Singapore until February to look for a marketing internship.

This means she would be giving the white Christmas in Seoul a miss — a first for the 23-year-old.

When asked what she would miss the most, she said she would miss the bakes from the popular bakery Paris Baguette, which can be found on almost every street back in her hometown. She’d often buy her favourite chocolate cake to share with her parents and sister. Though there are a few franchise outlets here in Singapore, she laments that the taste just isn’t the same.

Jiyoun also shared that Christmas in Myeongdong is great for couples. On Christmas Eve, many couples would head down to the countdown celebration at the LOTTE Young Plaza Mall. When the clock strikes 12, all the store and street lights will be turned off for a few minutes for couples to kiss.

Every year, Jiyoun’s family would write each other cards and open them on Christmas day itself, reading them aloud to each other. “I hope when my family members read my card, they can tell I really miss them.”

Chennai, India

Ankit Sareen, 20
School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

In a country like India, where Christians make up only about 2.3 per cent of its total population, Christmas is largely an indoor affair.

Even though it sounds like a small number, it translates to over 25 million people who celebrate the festival across the country.

Among them is 20-year-old Ankit, who sees Christmas as another festival of lights apart from Deepavali.

His family would put up decorations and lights on any tree they have in their home garden, usually a mango tree instead of the traditional fir tree.

The people from his home city of Chennai have, in recent years, adopted many Western traditions such as throwing Christmas parties on Christmas Eve, which was not a thing in the past.

Ankit’s mother, being quite a baker, would also lay out a full spread that includes roast turkey, minced meat pies and blueberry tarts for dessert.

He said: “My mom will always prepare an excess of food so that we can donate to the nearby orphanage we visit during Christmas.”

The chemical engineering undergraduate has spent the last two years away from India, having pursued a full-time degree at Purdue University in Indiana in the United States. He is now embarking on his term-long exchange in NTU.

When comparing the Christmas celebrations between Indiana and Chennai, he observed that the Americans take Christmas very seriously.

“I attended a Christmas dinner with my American friend’s family last year and they went all out with the food and decorations,” said Ankit, who also joined the family for carolling in the neighbourhood.

Still, he much prefers the intimate atmosphere of Christmas back in Chennai over the big parties in Indiana.

And it’s all good news for him as he will be on a plane back to India to reunite with his family this Christmas.

Espoo, Finland

Rosa Jussilainen, 23
National Institute of Education

For as long as Rosa Jussilainen can remember, she has always woken up to a piping hot bowl of rice porridge on the morning of Joulu (Christmas in Finnish).

As part of a family tradition, Rosa and her sister will each be served a bowl of porridge.

The catch is, only one bowl would have an almond planted in it, and the one who finds the lucky almond gets to make a secret wish.

In Espoo, Finland, Christmas is celebrated by a majority of the families.

After breakfast, Rosa and her family would head to the cemetery to pay their respects and to lay flowers on the graves of their ancestors.

This is followed by mass at the local church.

Even though she has moved to the capital city, Helsinki, Rosa will still make a trip down to the cemetery in Espoo with her family.

Rosa’s relationship with Christmas is closely linked with Finnish cuisine as her parents will often cook up a storm on Christmas Eve.

She said: “The whole house will smell like roasted pork — something that I hate but my father loves.”

Rosa always looks forward to the sweet treats her mother makes during this season.

That would include piparkakku (traditional gingerbread cookie) and tähtitorttu (star-shaped tart).

Traditional Finnish delicacies aside, the Finns also believe that Santa Claus or Father Christmas lives nearby, in the northern part of Finland.

When she was younger, Rosa would pass letters to her parents to be posted to Santa so she could receive what she has asked for on Christmas Day, be it a new pair of ice-skates or a snowboard.

“At that young age, Christmas truly felt like magic,” the 23-year-old said.