Gorgeous: 9th of December - Christmas worldwide: Germany, Iceland, Australia

Today only 15 days are left until Christmas... if you celebrate it on the 24th of December - as the people in Germany do... In the US, however, you get the presents on 25th and the whole celebration is shifted back one day.
As you can see, there are differences between the ways, how (and when) we celebrate Christmas. They differ all over the world and we would like to present to you a few countries and their most important Christmas traditions! Voilá: The mini series "Christmas worldwide"!
Today, I will start with the countries Germany, Iceland and Australia.

In Germany, Advent is a big part of Christmas celebration. The Germans have Advent Calendars and "Advent wreaths", a ring made of fir branches and with four candles and decorations on it. On the first Sunday of Advent, the first candle is lit, so that every candle burns on the last Sunday before Christmas Eve.
Another very important tradition is putting up a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree with Christmas baubles, several types of ornaments, light chains and sometimes tinsel. Most German households do this very few days before Christmas but in department stores, churches or any other public institutions a Christmas Tree can already be found at the beginning of Advent.
Under such a tree, many Germans put small cribs picturing the Nativity.
Germany is well known for its Christmas Markets where all sorts of Christmas foods and decorations are sold. Some famous Christmas Markets are in Aachen, Munich, Berlin, Essen, Stuttgart, Cologne and Dortmund (where you can find Germany's tallest Christmas Tree!). They are all very gorgeous and it's always wonderful to visit one, so another post, just about Christma Markets will follow!
Traditionally, the "Christkind" (= Christ child) brings the presents. It is often pictured as a young girl with long, golden curls in a white gown. Nowadays, many German children believe in "den Weihnachtsmann" (=Santa Claus) instead of the "Christkind". But no matter by who, the presents are already brought on Christmas Eve and many families visit the church before the gift giving.

In Iceland, Christmas is calles Yule or Jól. It is a thirteen-day celebration, starting on the night of December 24, at 6:00 PM. Church bells ring at that time and people either sit down for holiday dinner at home or with their family. After that they open gifts and spend the evening together. In Iceland people over the Yule holidays most often eat hamborgarhryggur and rjúpa.
13 days before December 24 the Yule lads start arriving into the towns to give children that have behaved well small gifts in a shoe that has been placed by the window.
Each home typically setup a jóla tree indoors in the living room and decorate it on December 23. Presents are put underneath the tree.

In Australia, as with all of the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas occurs during the height of the summer season. The Australian traditions and decorations are quite similar to those of the United Kingdom and North America, and similar wintry iconography is commonplace. This means a red fur-coated Santa Claus riding a sleigh, carols such as Jingle Bells, and various snow-covered Christmas scenes on Christmas cards and decorations appear in the middle of summer.
The traditional Christmas tree is central to Christmas decorations and strings of lights and tinsel are standard.
Australian children believe in Santa Claus, just like kids in the US or the UK.
Australians also decorate their houses with bunches of 'Christmas Bush', a native Australian tree with small green leaves and cream coloured flowers. In summer the flowers turn a deep shiny red over a period of weeks (generally by the week of Christmas in Sydney).
The tradition of sending Christmas cards is widely practised in Australia and the price of a Christmas postage stamp even is lower than that for a standard letter.

Enjoy your Sunday and Happy 2nd Advent!
Here are some pictures: