Decorations. Who was the first to introduce in Russia the custom of decorating the Christmas –New Year tree? Ten people out of ten will reply, Of course, Peter the Great and will be wrong. The great Russian poet Aleksander Pushkin did not experience such joy. It is Germans, permanent residents of St. Petersburg that were the first to adorn a fir- tree for Christmas. This happened in the 1840s and then it spread to Moscow and got across all of Russia. Unfortunately, this wonderful custom fell victim to politics in World War I and came back only in 1935 to become again the centerpiece of the most favourite family celebrations. Christmas celebrations in Russia

Babushka is a traditional Christmas figure who distributes presents to children. Her name means grandmother and the legend is told that she declined to go with the wise men to see Jesus because of the cold weather. However, she regretted not going and set off to try and catch up, filling her basket with presents. She never found Jesus, and that is why she visits each house, leaving toys for good children. The role of Father Christmas was played by Dedushka Moroz or Grandfather Christmas.

Christmas celebrations in Great Britain The Man Behind the Story of Father Christmas/Santa Claus St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century AD in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very rich man because his parents died when he was young and left him a lot of money. He was also a very kind man and had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it. There are several legends about St. Nicholas, although we don't know if any of them are true! The most famous story about St. Nicholas tells how the custom of hanging up stockings to get presents in first started! It goes like this...

There was a poor man who had three daughters. He was so poor, he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn't get married. (A dowry is a sum of money paid to the bridegroom by the brides parents on the wedding day. This still happens in some countries, even today.) One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house (This meant that the oldest daughter was then able to be married.). The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated later with the second daughter. Finally, determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening until he caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. But soon the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that maybe it was from Nicholas.

In the 16th Century in Europe, the stories and traditions about St. Nicholas became very unpopular. But someone had to deliver presents to children at Christmas, so in the U.K., he became 'Father Christmas', a character from old childrens stories; in France, he was then known as 'Père Nöel'; in Germany, the Christ Child or 'Christ Kind. In the early U.S.A.his name was 'Kris Kringle'. Later, Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle became 'Sinterklass' or as we now say 'Santa Claus'!

Special features of Christmas celebrations in Australia. If dazzling festivities and fervor make a festival, the Christmas celebrations in Australia quite equal the observances of the festival in Western cities like New York, London, Paris or Vancouver. The one exception is that in Australia, Christmas is rarely white for snow almost never falls on this date. Instead of white, snowy scenery, Australia is filled with blue skies and sunshine and intense heat sometimes up to 35 degrees Centigrade (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Thus, Christmas is special to Australians as it is Summer Holiday season for them. Till recently, the Australian Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by the English way of observing the festival. But with the boom in Australian education, more and more people are coming into the country from different parts of the world. As a result, Christmas in Australia has been influenced by the culture of various ethnic groups.

At present, the Australian population is just over 18 million and is a harmonious mix of many ethnic groups. Naturally, the festival is observed differently in different parts of the country. Christmas in Australia is not like anywhere else! Everything is topsy turvy since December is one of the hottest months of the year. But the Australians have a great time anyway. Those who live near the coast go to the beach on Christmas day. They have a swim, play cricket or volleyball, surf or just sit around with family and friends enjoying Christmas dinner. Santa Claus arrives at Australian beaches on a surfboard – quite a change from sliding down a chimney! And since the weather is hot he often wears a swimsuit or funny baggy shorts.Christmas is a great time for kids and students – its the beginning of their summer holidays and this means fun and surf.