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The Christmas season is celebrated in different ways around the world, varying by country and region.
Asia
China, Hong Kong and Macau
In Mainland China, December 25 is not a legal holiday. The small percentage of Chinese citizens who consider themselves Christians unofficially, and usually privately, observe Christmas. Many other individuals celebrate Christmas-like festivities even though they do not consider themselves Christians. Many customs, including sending cards, exchanging gifts, and hanging stockings are very similar to Western celebrations.
Both Hong Kong and Macau designate Christmas as a public holiday on December 25. Both are former colonies of Western powers with (nominal) Christian cultural heritage.
However, commercial Christmas decorations, signs, and other symbolic items have become increasingly prevalent during the month of December in large urban centers of mainland China, reflecting a cultural interest in this Western phenomenon, and, sometimes, as part of retail marketing campaigns.
India
Christmas is a state holiday in India, though only 3% of the population is actually Christian. Sincere devotees attend the church services. In many of the schools that are run by the Christian missionaries, the children actively participate in the programmes. This involves singing carols etc. Christmas is officially celebrated at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the President of India. The celebrations continue and get mixed up with new year celebrations.
In India, most educational institutions have a mid-academic year vacation, sometimes called Christmas vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas and ending a few days after New Year's Day. Christmas is also known as bada din (the big day). The concept of Santa Claus is relatively new, and up until the mid '90s, Santa Claus was hardly popular. Due to the warm temperature it is difficult to Indianize his concept (however, see the section for the Philippines below). Commercialization and open markets is however bringing more secular-Christmas celebration to the public sphere, even though its is not celebrated religiously.
Israel
Japan
Encouraged by the commercial sector, the secular celebration of Christmas is popular in Japan, though Christmas is not a national holiday. The Japanese have adopted the character of Santa Claus in their celebrations. Christmas is not as important to most Japanese as New Year's Day. In contrast to Western customs, Christmas Eve is a day for couples to date and groups to hold parties, while the official New Year's Day holiday is a day of family celebration. Most Christmas decorations come down on the 25th and are replaced by New Year's decorations. A unique feature of Christmas in Japan is the Japanese type of Christmas cake, often a white whipped cream cake with strawberries.
The first recorded Christmas in Japan was celebrated with a mass held by Jesuit missionaries in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1552, although some believe that unrecorded celebrations were held prior to this date, starting in 1549 when Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Japan to begin missionary work. Starting with the expulsion of missionaries in 1587, Christianity was banned throughout Japan beginning in 1612, a few years into the Edo Period, and the public practice of Christmas subsequently ceased. However, a small enclave of Japanese Christians, known as Kakure Kirishitan ("hidden Christians"), continued to practice underground over the next 250 years, and Christianity along with Christmas practices reemerged at the beginning of the Meiji period. Influenced by American customs, Christmas parties were held and presents were exchanged. The practice slowly spread in major cities, but its proximity to the New Year's celebrations makes it a smaller focus of attention. During World War II, all celebrations and customs, especially those from America, were suppressed. From the 1960s, with the aid of a rapidly expanding economy, and influenced by American TV dramas, Christmas became popular, but mostly not as a religious occasion. For many Japanese, celebrating Christmas is similar to participating in a matsuri, where participants often do not consider which kami is being celebrated, but believe that the celebration is a tribute nevertheless. From the 1970s to the 1980s, many songs and TV drama series presented Christmas from a lover's point of view.
The birthday of the current emperor, Akihito, on December 23 is a national holiday. Shortly thereafter businesses close for the New Year's holidays, usually reopening on the first weekday after January 3.
Jordan
Though Jordan is located in the heart of the Muslim world, the Christian community make up 6% of the population celebrates Christmas freely. Christmas day is a public holiday in Jordan. December in general is a very busy month for the bigger shopping centers and smaller specialized stores for the Christmas decorations trade. Artificial trees are sold many places, along with ornaments and decorations which have been rising in standard and price over the past years, in relation to the increasing significance of the appearances part of Christmas observed by the upper-middle, and upper classes of Jordanian Christians. All Christian families (with exception of some extremely rare Protestant Christians) put up a Christmas tree. The trend to use natural trees is on the rise umong upper class Christians. Many, especially in recent years, have gone beyond the simple traditional decorations to the more westernized style of decorating the house inside and outside along with garden tress with lights. Perhaps the areas in Jordan where outside decorations are most significant, are Fuahis, and Al Hisn, - two towns with very high Christian populations. In Amman the capital, the most elegant decorations are found in the Abdoun area. A traditional part of the Jordanian Christmas decorations (though generally agreed to be an act introduced and emphasized by Palestinians in Jordan) is the nativity scene under the tree. The more traditional families make sure to always have a huge display (called Mughara) under the tree, built up with special brown paper known as Warak Mugharah.
The main Christmas gathering and celebration occurs either on Christmas Eve or Christmas day Lunch.Christmas Eve is celebrated with all the family and relatives. Usually there would be a very fancy dinner. Menus may consist of traditional dishes, such as (Grilled Chicken With Rice),warak dawali wo kusa (vine leafs which are folded around Rice and Meat, and rice and meet stuffed zucchini), Kubeh, Kahrouf Mahshe (stuffed lamb), or a Turkey (though the American style of cooking it hasn’t quite caught up). If the celebration takes place on Christmas day the main food item is usually Mansaf, the traditional Jordanian meal consisting of a yogurt based sauce, rice, and lamb. On Christmas Eve After dinner some families go to Church to celebrate the Christmas Midnight Mass. Most of the time though the midnight mass takes place around seven p.m. Other families go to hotels, and have a Christmas party on both 24 and 25 of December.
Christmas in Jordan has been for the past twenty-something years always celebrated according to the Gregorian (modern) calendar date- December 25th, even the majority of the Christian population is Greek Orthodox (some of the Orthodox Churches still follow the old Julian calendar which is 13 days late in 20th and 21st century). Some Orthodox Churches (e.g. Russian and Georgian, but not Greek, Romanian or Bulgarian Orthodox Church) also re-celebrates Christmas on January 7th (which is 25th December in their Church calendar) though on a smaller low profile scale. The King usually meets with representatives of Christian denominations on December 25th to congratulate them on Christmas. He also sends a written congratulation, or makes a telephone call to representatives of the Orthodox Churches again on January 7th.
Korea
South Korea recognizes Christmas as a national holiday. Christian and non-Christian Koreans engage in some holiday customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes; children, especially, appear to have embraced Santa Claus, whom they call Santa Haraboji (Grandfather Santa) in Korean, Local radio stations play holiday music on Christmas Day and a few days before, while television stations are known to air Christmas films and cartoon specials popular in the Western countries. In addition, increasing numbers of stores and buildings are displaying Christmas decorations.
As in the West, Christian churches in Korea hold Christmas pageants and conduct special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Young people especially enjoy the fellowship these observances provide; after the Christmas Eve services, for example, they go caroling to the hom
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