Now it’s Happy New Years from around the World!

Fireworks over the Charles' Bridge in Prague!

Kielbasa? Check. Champagne? Check? A bridge that was not destroyed in WWII? Check. Thousands of people from Italy, France, China, and the USA? Check? Fireworks? At midnight.

I was knee-deep in freezing temperatures, but that’s ok. I could work with the frost. It was nothing a couple of glasses of gluwein and a lot of jumping, couldn’t fix.

As I found myself at the beginning of my trip around the world celebrating in Prague the welcoming of 2009, I realized I was glad I chose this spot. With the Christmas Market still doling out the famous sausage dish (kielbasa) and hot wine, coupled with the thousands of tourists in the Czech Capital there was a sense of unity among nations.

Well, unity until we all tried to head for the Charles’ Bridge. This structure survived WWII and just about survives the onslaught of tourists and Czech’s alike every New Years; it’s the best place to watch the fireworks. On the way everyone jumps into the shops on the corner to grab their champagne, absinthe, or the Czech liquor, Fernet.

Then the count-down begins. Five, Cinque, Cinq….Four, Quatro, Quatre…..three, tre, tre, Two, duo, due….One, uno, une!

But not everyone enjoys their New Years on a bridge. Of course I have never been in New York for New Year’s Eve but, as everyone knows, they drop a ball…in Times’ Square of course!

Sure the New Yorkers drop a ball, but that’s nothing compared to our onion in St. George’s, right?

Neither of those, I’m afraid, touch on the interesting New Years tradition in Peru, however. In this South American country, they dress-up a doll (yes I know machismo is gone for a night) in old clothes and then burn it.

Talk about cleaning your closet! To ensure there are replacements, markets spring-up catering to everything you need. New clothes not an option? Then at least new underwear is!

But, of course, yellow underwear is the only colour you want if you need happiness and luck (good thing that’s my favourite colour!) or red if you want love or green for, of course, money.

Red, green and….white? Well those colours will have you wishing: “Buon Capodanno!” That’s what I heard in Florence as I celebrated a New Year before starting my semester of studying in these Renaissance-lined streets. Of course the greeting came with the crescendo of bottles crashing onto these streets (perhaps a hangover from the Southern tradition of throwing your old things out of the window showing that you were ready for the new).

We didn’t dodge the bottles until after a massive fiesta! La Festa di San Silvestro to be exact. For my experience it was based on sea food and fish.

Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy!

Perhaps that was because I was up North and the Italians I was celebrating with were from the coast (sailors actually). In other parts of Italy the feast is based on lentils and pork! Of course once you indulge in these feasts only the Italians know how to work it off. That requires cracking a spumante or prosecco and finding a club to dance and then waiting for the new born sun.

A ray of light is exactly what you might think you see if you celebrate the new year in India. Parties have themes – colour codes or unique dress codes – filled with food and even the lighting of bonfires and the burning of crackers. Of course if you visit the tourist and hippie mecca of Goa (a province on India’s West coast) then raves are all the…rave!

Heading back for Silvester, or the feast of St. Silverster is the name of New Year’s Eve in Germany. Who was Silvester? Well, he was a pope who lived in the fourth century and apparently healed leprosy and baptized the Roman Emporer, Constantine the Great among other things. Fair enough. I guess he should get a celebration. In Berlin, however, the world-famous bash Brandenburger Tor is held and at midnight everyone wishes everyone else “Gutes Nue Jahr”. The next day, there is, of course, the need to know what is coming in the next year so the Germans enjoy Bleigiessen. A tradition, it requires dropping molten lead into cold water. Shaped like a heart or a ring? A wedding is in your future.

While we, in the West, might be celebrating New Years’ Eve in a couple of days, in Cambodia New Year or Chaul Chnam Thmey is not until April 13th or 14th and it is celebrated for three days! Yes, three days. That’s because it represents the end of the harvesting season. Makes sense, no? To celebrate means visiting temples to get blessing from monks and priests while building a sand hill on the temple grounds and decorating it with five religious flags – it represents the Buddha’s five disciples. Each of the three days also have their own significance.

Harvesting is what it’s all about in Korea, China and Vietnam! Only their’s is celebrated at sunset on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice (that was on December, 21 this year). It’s a three-day celebration too! Heck they know how to party out there. Almost all Koreans, apparently, head back to their hometowns to celebrate. On the eve, or Sut dal kum mum, people clean their homes and light them with colourful halogens. You think our New Years Eve is long? The Koreans don’t sleep! The belief is everyone needs to stay-up to see the new year coming in or….else.

The next day it’s all about eating and spending time with family even including the ancestors. Known as Chesa, a clean room, a table altar is places with food items and on a special paper their names are written. On a special paper called Chi Bang, the names of the ancestors are written. With the rituals done, it’s time to have fun with games and hanging-out.

The only tradition for their friends south, Australia, is a party of course! Beaches, pubs and clubs are all filled with crazy cappers and as soon as church bells ring at midnight loud noises also ring-out! Recovering from this fun, the New Year Day is a public holiday and people spend it with their family and friends. To get an idea of how much fun it is more than 3,00,000 tourists celebrate their New Year in Australia. I suppose that’s a party.

The Matterhorn can provide the background for New Year's Eve!

Of course the best I’ve seen/experienced was in Zermatt, Switzerland! I had the luck of having a friend with a house there. But that’s not where we stayed….well for New Year’s Eve anyway. Instead the party was taken to a five-story restaurant/bar/club in the middle of this traffic-free, mountain ensconced town. The Swiss know how to party.

Of course the next day the party the night before was nothing a little skiing with the backdrop of the Matterhorn mountain couldn’t take care of. Let’s hope I have the same luck this year in Vermont! So wherever you are and whatever you are doing this year, enjoy it! And come back next week for my next Rock Fever column for The Royal Gazette on traveling by book! (those following the blog will have seen it before:)

 

Saying Merry Christmas around the World

Merry Christmas!

Well the day has finally come!

Yes it’s December 25th. It’s Christmas. For some that’s a religious holiday.

For others, like myself, it’s simply a day to enjoy family. Yes, I said enjoy. I know, I know, but I actually do.

I mean once the holidays are over I don’t need to see them for another year…ha just kidding.

Anyway, this morning I awoke, as I do every year, to the smell of overnight coffee cake (hint: it’s made the night before and the spices get to soak in) and wishing my fam Merry Christmas!

In English of course. I mean that is my first language. But it’s not Bermuda’s only language. You didn’t know that did you.

Well let me tell you. Portuguese is the second strongest language spoken on this island. How will Portuguese Bermudians wish each other Merry Christmas? Good question.

And the answer is: “Feliz Natal”.

So “Feliz Natal” or Feliz Navidad if you’re Spanish. What if you’re Italian? Ok then Buon Natale! I mean these are just a few I am familiar with having spent enough time in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries.

That got me to thinking…..what about the rest of the world. What do they say?! Good question, Robyn. I know, I know.

So here is Merry Christmas from around the world:

The Czechs will tell you: Veselé Vánoce! (and you can too if you listen to the link!)

If the French are feeling festive they’ll tell you: Joyeux Noel!

It’s Vrolijk Kerstfeest, if you’re in Holland.

The Hungarians? No, they won’t eat you. They’ll wish you: “Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket”.

“Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta,” from Finland

“Maligayang Pasko” from the Philippines

The Germans? Why they would tell you: “Fršhliche Weihnachten!”

Want more greetings from around the world? Of course you do. Well you can visit this link for more suggestions AFTER (of course) reading the latest from Robyn’s second Wanderer, Nicola Arnold.

She brings her very special greetings from….where else?! South Africa. I know, jealous much? I am. After navigating the snow in London and the streets of Rome Nicola is finally in her Christmas Destination: South Africa.

What are her Christmas plans? How is she going to hear Merry Christmas? Well for one here’s a hint….she’s going to be outside for dinner! And for two?  In Africaans they say: “Een Plesierige Kerfees”.

 

Nicola in her Santa suit!

So Nicola, tell us what are you top five vacation experiences so far:

1) Barbequing our turkey on Christmas day – wrapped in bacon and smoked, more so – is going to be a real treat. The famous South African “braai” (bbq) is one thing we love most about visiting, and Dec 25th will be a family femy feast! Not to mention other Christmas-y things we may all recognize… mince pies, Christmas cake, and love ’em or hate ’em, brussel sprouts.

2) On a domestic flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, I sat next to a very sweet lady who I chatted to on

Nicola on her camel in India! (a previous trip of course!)

our journey, everything from barge trips in France to my dad wearing a kilt (yes, I promise I will dedicate a who blog posting to THE KILT!). We said goodbye as we exited the aircraft, and went on our merry way. A friend came to fetch us at the airport to have tea with us before dropping us off at another friend’s house where we were staying. As we sat outside enjoying an African sunset and catching up, the neighbour dropped in to say hello… and it was none other than Estelle, my airplane friend who I had chatted with. Six degrees of separation, you say?!

3) If you have been watching the news, you may know that Heathrow airport in London has been snowed in a lot recently, and I mean SNOWED IN! But I don’t want to dwell on lost baggage (we only have hand luggage, whew), delayed and cancelled flights (c’est la vie!), but more on the fact that my dad picked up plenty attention traipsing around Terminal 5 at Heathrow wearing his kilt – compliments, stares, whistles, laughs, and from one couple trying to make it from Italy to New York, a photo request (which my dad had no trouble agreeing to!!)

Nicola (on the right) and her sister

4) Rome has a roundabout called Piazza della Repubblica, and when we arrived in Rome on Dec 17th, it was unseasonably cold and there were light flurries. As we took the bus from Termini train station to our accommodation, we passed this Piazza which has a great statue in the middle… which had been frozen with the 0C weather, and icicles were hanging from the statue where the water normally pours from. It was quite the sight! Unfortunately, the next time we drove past the same piazza, the icicles has melted and the photos were not so “n-icey” (but every bit as majestic).

5) As with every country/city, there are animals that are a bit of a nuisance or just run around all over the place in great numbers (try the squirrel in Canada, or the ferral chickens in Bermuda). As we drove around the western cape of Africa near Cape Town, we stopped to take photos on the coastal roads. One stopping point had a triangular sign with a big exclamation mark and the words “BABOONS”… beware of the cheek monkeys, as what you think is a cute animal may walk off with your picnic! Or worse, give you a nasty bite!

Merry Christmas to all, from South Africa

“Christmas Eve without Carp would be like Thanksgiving Day without Turkey”

 

Prague at Christmas! I play along with the Angels

I had to stay. I had just completed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course in Prague, Czech Republic. My apartment was new and so was the job at Berlitz language school.

I was not going to be flying back to Bermuda for Christmas. It was the first time I had spent the holiday away and I was slightly worried about how I would handle it in this landlocked country.

Where would I find a beach? What crazy Canadians would I watch swimming on Christmas Day? And then I saw the kiddie pool on my Prague corner. Huh?

The temperatures had descended below freezing and mittens upon mittens captured my hands, and the Czechs had pulled out bath tubs onto their streets.

What could possess them to do such a thing?

Well I wasn’t sure either when I spent a Christmas in Prague seven years ago. So as I walked home one day, trying to keep my toes from falling off in temperatures more suitable to snowmen, I watched as a crazy Czech dove his arm into a pool of water. Seconds later his arm and a massive fish (carp) came out.

I had to ask my Czech friends. This can’t be right. Is he really doing this? Why would he be doing this? Why wouldn’t they just go to a butcher counter in a warm supermarket? All of that seemed sane to me.

Unfortunately, for the butcher that is, warm and Christmas Eve dinner do not go hand in hand in Prague. Instead carp, which is the Czech’s Christmas Eve dinner, is supposed to be kept alive as long as possible before chow-time. That means tubs on the side of the road until they are butchered. Some Czech’s even forgo the butchering and take their carp home alive to sit in their bathtubs until Christmas Eve! Forget the goldfish pet!

Even crazier? Carp is supposed to be (I was never brave to try it) salty and boney, but it’s tradition. Don’t believe me? Don’t think the Czech’s are up for the cold? Check out this video:

Llama in Peru also on the menu?

Go figure. Christmas traditions around the world can strike the odd chord. Of course we have our own in Bermuda and sometimes they make sense (cassava pie) and sometimes they don’t (Elbow Beach boozing), which is why I’m writing about them this week for my Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette.

But last year I was not in Prague or Bermuda. This time last year rather than trying to decide which slippers I’m going to give my mom (ooops there goes the surprise) I was navigating Peru.

Well Peru and then Bolivia! These would be my last stops on my trip around the world. I would not, however, be spending Christmas in either place. Nope.

After 12 months on the road, I was ready to go home.

So I missed the celebration. But this year as I sit comfortably at home I was curious. What are the traditions in South America? What do Peruvians eat/do for the holiday? Well good thing my friend and soon-to-be travel buddy is from Peru.

According to my STB travel buddy, Christmas in Peru? It’s Turkey. Yeah, not very exciting or different from home (Bermuda).

I mean this is a country that eats guinea pig on a regular basis. No, I am not kidding. They eat what we call pets. Maybe they’re good? I wouldn’t know. Unfortunately all the menus I saw in Peru made the guinea pig look completely revolting.

However, according to my STB travel buddy: “People in different regions will vary their Christmas menu so some people may actually eat the little gerbil creatures, but for the majority, it’s turkey with various side dishes (often including tamales) and champagne. Panetón and hot chocolate are very popular too.”

Mmmmm….tamales. They were with a massive hit with me when I was in Peru! How can they not be? Wrapped in banana leaves, completed with corn flour and filled with meat there is literally nothing I can think of that would stop me from not loving them!

Want to learn how to make them? Yeah me too so I found this somewhat long-ish film on youtube for our enjoyment: 

All this food is eaten at a get-together, party or dinner on Christmas eve which culminates at midnight and everyone wishes everyone else Merry Christmas!

Of course this is the hottest time of the year (we are talking the Southern Hemisphere here) so in Bolivia Christmas food generally focuses on picana.

Pic…what? Picana. It’s a soup made of a soup made of chicken, beef, corn and spices and is eaten usually on Christmas. Well it could be the Eve or the Day, but that just depends on the Bolivian family.

Accompanying the soup? Salads, roast pork or roast beef, and an abundance of tropical fruit and for a sweet it will be eat taffy-filled wafer cookies called “turrón“.

Unfortunately I never indulged in this amazing feast because I was whisked away by American Airlines.

As I touched my toes to Bermuda soil I was, in what can only be described as ironic, directed to arrive in London, England. My family was spending Christmas abroad.

With four days in Bermuda I packed a new bag and was set for London. Of course in England they have their own traditions for Christmas: It’s Crackers! Which of course we have in Bermuda.

Cross your arms for Crackers!

But not ones you can eat. Well I suppose you could and then you’d probably be quite sick. In any case, the Cracker tradition is not one I have ever seen in the United States.

It requires using one of these (pictured to the right) of bundles between two people and pulling them apart. Out pops a toy, a joke and a hat!

The history of it?

Of course this tradition started with who else? A Brit. Thomas Smith in 1846 to be precise. Why? Well because he had been in Paris and seen bon-bons wrapped in tissue paper. He took the idea back to England, wrapped poems in them and eventually transformed the entire idea with a banger (chemically impregnated paper that explodes when pulled).

His sons took over the business and in the 1900’s and in the 1930’s love poems turned to jokes. Ahhh the Christmas traditions explained.

Cassava Pie!

Unlike Americans, however, the British are not happy with one day-off and instead have two! Boxing Day (like us of course!), which is December 26th or Boxing Day. Want to know where our day-off comes from? Well that was a day when boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.

This year, however, I will take a break from traveling. Yes, I will be in Bermuda and will only have to travel as far as one parish to another to indulge in Turkey, ham, beans, carrots and the traditional Cassava pie!

You don’t know what cassava pie is?! Sacrilege! It is of course based on cassava, which is a starch-filled root that grows in poor soil. Hence why the early settlers, dating back to 1612, made it into everything they could.

But just because it grew-up in poor soil doesn’t mean it tastes poorly. Never! And the best part is that it is totally safe for celiacs! Well, that is, once it is cleaned properly. Cleaned improperly and you have some serious cyanide poisoning.

Bermudians, me, traditionally, now, buy it frozen, drain it, fill it with eggs and plenty of butter, chicken and even sometimes pork.

It’s a weird tradition because though everyone eats it on Christmas Day, not everyone makes it the same way. Some make it sweet, some make it savory. It’s all about your taste buds.

Which has made me hungry! It’s time to enjoy and indulge wherever you are so have a Happy Holiday, visit the Bermuda National Museum for more traditions, and of course visit here tomorrow for all your vacation needs!