By Cornelia Amiri
br
I have quite a present for you this year. I want to give the world to
my readers. So for the 12 days of Christmas, I'm doing just that,
giving you 12 days of the World Wide Web. Merry Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas I give to you:
IRELAND

This festive site, begins with the Gaelic greeting, Nollaig Shona
Duit Agus Slainte, (Merry Christmas). As a lively Celtic tune plays,
this site takes your from preparations for Christmas (with
children gathering holy and ivy to deck the halls and grown ups going
to market to bring home the Christmas) through Christmas eve (eating slices of ice Christmas Cake plied with good Irish Whiskey ) and the Christmas day meal of spiced beef, plumb cake, and apple short breadpie. Moving on to Saint Stephen's Day traditions including Wren Hunting. A charming Irish Christmas Carol and Poem follow. To
complete your Irish Christmas track Santa's journey with Norad and in
Christmas Crafts, carve a candle holder from a turnip for your
Christmas candle.
http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/greeneyeszchristmas/ireland.html



On the second day of Christmas I give to you:
FINLAND

Celebrate your own finish Christmas by clicking on Christmas in
Finland, Glogg Party, and Finish Christmas Table for traditional recipes. Give the kids a treat with Santa Claus' Christmas Ride (a short professional-quality film with sound). There are links to Finish Christmas songs in real audio at A Musical Christmas Greeting From Finland, Sylvia's Christmas Song, and Two Christmas Songs by Jean Sibelius.
All beautifully sung in Finish with lyrics on the web page in English. Click on Live Road Weather Pictures to see the actual roads in Lapland that Santa Claus will travel down on his way to children all over the world.
http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/xmas.html


On the third day of Christmas I give to you:
ETHIOPIA

One of the oldest Christmas Lands. Deck the hut with colorful flowers. Then read the charming Christmas time story of the American tourist who facing a shortage of chickens resorts to feasting on lasagna and drinking cappuccino at the café of a remote Ethiopian mountain village.
http://www.on2anotheradventure.com/eth4.html


On the forth day of Christmas I give to you:
SWITZERLAND

Enjoy this virtual visit to the Diorama Bethlehem in Einsideln
Switzerland, (The largest nativity in the world). Click on Multimedia
Show. Starting from left to right click on a picture to enlarge it
then click on the volume button to hear the Swiss narrator.
http://www.diorama.ch/english/default.htm


On the fifth day of Christmas I give to you:
IRAQ

On Christmas Eve, Iraq's Christians read the nativity story from an
Arabic Bible then light a bon-fire in their courtyards and sing a
psalm. When the fire burns out, everyone jumps over the ashes three
times and makes a wish. On Christmas day the bishop carries an image
of the infant Jesus upon a scarlet cushion in the Christmas
procession. The Christmas Church Service always ends with the
blessing of the people. So all leave the church on Christmas Day
with "the Touch of Peace."
http://www.santas.net/iraqichristmas.htm


On the sixth day of Christmas I give to you:
ICELAND

Click on Photos for breathtaking, holiday sights. For family time,
read Yule stories and sing Yule songs. Then click on Yule Fun to make
an Iceland Yule cat, Yule angel, and Yule pouch. Click on A Merry
Yule for a Christmas greeting from Iceland.
http://www.simnet.is/gardarj/


On the seventh day of Christmas I give to you:
GERMANY

With this holiday treat of bright Christmas graphics and red text
articles about German Christmas traditions. Some adopted by America:
The advent calendar, silent night, Kris Kringle, and Christmas trees
or Tannenbaum.
http://www.german-way.com/german/christmas.html



On the eighth day of Christmas I give to you:
NORWAY

And everything you need for a Norwegian Christmas: Recipes for
Pinnekjott (rib of lamb) mashed rutabaga, rice pudding, and seven
different Norwegian Christmas cookies. Plus stories, and directions
on making Christmas baskets to hang on the tree.
http://www.stavanger-web.com/jul/christma.htm


On the ninth day of Christmas I give to you:
POLAND

Have a happy Polish holiday with St. Nick, Christmas wafers, holiday
paper art, and recipes for a polish Christmas dinner.
http://acweb.colum.edu/users/agunkel/homepage/polxmas.html


On the tenth day of Christmas I give to you:
SWEDEN

This Swedish site has everything conveniently on one page. Learn
about Swedish traditions from the Lucia Procession (where the girls
wear a crown of candles) to the Christmas ham.
http://www.algonet.se/~wschedin/jul.html


On the eleventh day of Christmas I give to you:
MEXICO

With gorgeous photos and a snow fall graphic, as well as links to
wonderful articles of Christmas in Mexico. In December in Oaxaca
there's a fiesta almost every day. Click on Jalapeña Christmas for a
fun custom from Veracruz, La Rama is for children ages 6 to 16. They
take a tree branch, adorn it with tinsel, balloons, Spanish moss,
silver stars, bright ornaments, paper lamps; and go from house to
house singing songs accompanied by a tambourine, bottle caps on a
wire as rattles, maybe a guitar and the ubiquitous glass Fanta bottle
as a maraca, all in hopes of receiving an aquinaldo (bonus)
consisting of money, or mandarin oranges, apples, sugar cane, toys,
or candy. Also learn of other favorite Mexican Christmas traditions
such as nativities and piñatas.
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/xmasindex.html


On the twelfth day of Christmas I give to you:
INDIA

With Indian Christmas ornaments on a crisp green background and an
article about Christmas in India. Father Christmas can be seen in the
larger departments stores are bazaars. In some homes they decorate
the main room with a mango tree or banana plant trimmed with
ornaments and garlands. The Christmas dinner is usually turkey or
chicken served with curried rice and vegetables and every household
has a lot of sweets ready for all their Christmas visitors.
http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/india.html also you'll want
to read Rudyard Kipling's Christmas in India at
http://members.tripod.com/~wackyanne/library/xlindia.htm


Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda


WWW.CELTICROMANCEQUEEN.COM