Celebrating Christmas Around the World

This picture was of a group of Carolers that would come around right before Christmas.  They would play their music, and even took requests.  It's typical to give them a small gift of money, but my first year I also gave them extra.  That was it, each year after they would come by my friends house and ask if the "American" was there, me. I looked forward to this each year.

I have spent Christmas in Romania, and loved the White Christmas' we usually had.  Romania is a very Religious country and Christmas Eve everyone would go to the local church for a Candlelight Ceremony and Mass.  Hundreds of people would be standing outside with candles while Mass (the majority of Romanians are Orthodox) was played over loudspeakers.

Afterwards there was feasting and the tree was decorated.   A Christmas tree in Romania is called a "brad" or fir tree. I never met anyone that celebrated by giving a lot of gifts, the main celebration was over a big meal and going to see how your friends had decorated their trees.  Of course this meant another meal.  Romanians love to eat, and I don't think I ever ate so much as when I was invited to someones house.

Unfortunetly, or fortunately however you look at it, the Capital of Bucharest has many new shops and it is getting more commercial.  Personally I hated to see them losing part of their culture, and loved the old fashioned experiences.

I just never could think of Nevada as a place that snowed.  But in the mountains it does, and I spent a wonderful day with my kids on my birthday, which is just days before Christmas in a little Western town.  It was really cold, but I still took my camera and set out to explore.  I loved this picture, the humor of it.

I live in Southern California, close to the mountains.  Every few years we get snow, but mostly only the hills and mountains near me get it.  Many a Christmas it has been warm and sunny, which never seemed to feel like Christmas to me.  A few years ago it snowed, and my daughter and I went for a ride early in the morning.  Everything was pristine, and I saw this snowman outside one of the homes.

I was in Hawaii during Christmas time a couple years ago.  It was beautiful there.  This picture was taken in Kauai in the lobby of the hotel.  Everywhere you looked it was beautiful.  And a tree in a large seashell just seemed to be the perfect touch for Hawaii.

The weather was beautiful, and after the kids took pictures by the tree we spent the day snorkling.  Yes, this was a Christmas to remember, Christmas time in Hawaii.