Observance of Christmas by country

In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.

Countries in which Christmas is not a formal public holiday include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excepting Hong Kong and Macau), the Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, the Sahrawi Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Taiwan (Republic of China), Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

[2][3] Christmas Day is a public holiday in Nigeria which is always marked by the emptying of towns and cities of Nigerians who have been successful returning to their ancestral villages to be with family and to bless those less fortunate.

[4][5] As the towns and cities empty, people jam the West African markets to buy and transport live chickens, goats and cows that will be needed for the Christmas meals.

It is a local cultural event dating back to its African heritage featuring goat skin drums, cowbell and brass instruments, singing, and choreographed dancers dressed in traditional handmade colourful costumes.

[16] The traditional Jamaican Christmas meal includes ackee, saltfish, breadfruit, fried plantains, boiled bananas, freshly squeezed fruit juice and tea for breakfast; chicken, curried goat, stewed oxtail, rice and gungo peas for dinner.

Unlike in the North American and Anglo-Saxon tradition, Christmas takes action mainly near midnight, usually with big family dinners, opening of gifts and the celebration of the Missa do Galo ('Rooster's Mass') in churches throughout the nation.

At night, the streets, sidewalks, balconies, porches, and driveways are decorated with candles and paper lanterns, which illuminate cities and towns in a yellow glow to honor the Immaculate Conception on the following day, December 8.

[47] The celebrations begin at nightfall on Christmas Eve (December 24), with family gatherings where traditionally they eat asado, vitél toné, and desserts such as turrón and panetone, which were incorporated into Uruguayan culture due to European Immigration to the country.

[48] At the stroke of midnight, people flock to the streets to enjoy fireworks and light firecrackers; meanwhile, Papá Noel (Santa Claus) leaves, next to the Christmas trees, gifts that the children asked for in letters that they left throughout the month in shopping centers and other places where he is seen.

[50] Because Uruguay lies in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated in summer, which is why open-air music festivals are held from noon on the 24th, and early morning until the 25th, mainly in coastal cities such as Montevideo and Punta del Este, which receives a large number of tourists from neighboring countries.

[58] Commercial Christmas decorations, signs, and other symbolic items have become increasingly prevalent during the month of December in large urban centres of mainland China, reflecting a cultural interest in this Western phenomenon, and, sometimes, retail marketing campaigns as well.

[88] In big cities, many shopping centres, offices, some roads, and other commercial places feature decorations such as plastic Christmas trees and Sinterklas (derived from the Dutch word Sinterklaas) and his reindeer.

Family members dine together around 12 midnight on traditional Noche Buena fare, which may include: queso de bola (English: 'ball of cheese'; this is actually edam cheese), tsokolate (a hot chocolate drink), and jamón (Christmas ham), lechón, roast chicken or turkey, pasta, relleno (stuffed bangus or chicken), pan de sal, and various desserts including cakes and the ubiquitous fruit salad.

Families gather for the Christmas Eve dinner (khetum, Խթում), which generally consists of rice, fish, nevik (նուիկ, a vegetable dish of green chard and chick peas), and yogurt/wheat soup (tanabur, թանապուր).

He visits families earlier, on the dawn of Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, and for the well-behaved children he has presents and candy-bags to put into their well-polished shoes that were set in the windows the previous evening.

The Sorbs, a minority in Saxony and parts of Brandenburg with a language similar to Polish, have some specific traditions; e.g. in Jänschwalde, the Bescherkind or Janšojski bog ('gift child'), a girl dressed in local costume and veil, visits the neighbors and goes around with two companions the Wednesday before Christmas.

This tradition was introduced by Reformer Martin Luther, as he was of the opinion that one should put the emphasis on Christ's birth and not on a saint's day and do away with the connotation that gifts have to be earned by good behavior.

In Catholic Slovakia, the tradition of Jasličkári involves young men dressed as shepherds or angels visiting their neighbors and presenting recitations and songs about the story of the birth of Jesus.

The empty setting is symbolically left at the table for a lonely wanderer who may be in need of food, an angel, the Baby Jesus or the Holy Spirit should appear to share the feast.

This Ded Moroz is not identified nor in any way associated with Saint Nicholas of Myra (feast day, December 6), who is very widely revered in Eastern Europe for his clerical and charitable works as a bishop.

Sviata Vecheria or 'Holy Supper' is the central tradition of the Christmas Eve celebrations in Ukrainian homes and takes place in most parts of the country – from many years on January 6 and from 2022 onwards on December 24.

Other traditional Christmas dishes include boiled codfish (soaked beforehand in a lye solution for a week to soften it) served snowy white and fluffy, pickled herring and vegetables.

The modern Tomten is a version of Santa Claus in red clothes and white beard, except that he does not enter the house through the chimney, but knocks on the door and asks "finns det några snälla barn här?"

Examples of candies and treats associated with Christmas are marzipan, toffee, knäck (quite similar to butterscotch), nuts and fruits: figs, chocolate, dates and oranges decorated with cloves.

[147] In Croatia on Saint Lucy's, families will plant wheat seeds in a bowl of shallow water, which will grow several inches by Christmas and are then tied together with a red, blue and white ribbon called trobojnica'.

At the end of the meal, a piece of the cesnica is cut and dipped in wine and used to sprinkle on the candles to extinguish them, while reciting the Trinitarian formula ("In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Christmas is a day of celebrating with family; a large feast is prepared and traditional foods such as stuffed cabbage, turkey, pot roast, pita and smoked meat are served, along with various desserts such as fritule, potica (especially in Slovenia), strudel, and cookies.

Some of the Christmas festivals in Greece are Rugatsaria (Ρουγκατσάρια), where all the residents of the city of Kastoria are delivered in a separate Dionysian revelry, accompanied by folk melodies and traditional music of the area.

On January 6 (Epiphany, in Italian Epifania) decorations are usually taken down, and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre (called falò), to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one.