Christmas is celebrated in many different ways across the world. While traditions such as Christmas trees, cards and festive meals may be familiar to many pupils, other countries have their own unique customs that make the season special.
Exploring global Christmas traditions is a great way to build cultural awareness, spark curiosity and develop reading comprehension skills. That's why we've created our free Christmas Around the World Reading Pack, packed with engaging activities and reading tasks suitable for KS2 pupils.
Here are three festive traditions from around the world that you can share with your class.
1. The Netherlands: Shoes for Sinterklaas
In the Netherlands, many Christmas traditions centre around Sinterklaas, a figure believed to have inspired the modern-day Father Christmas.
Children place their shoes by the fireplace or front door and leave a carrot or treat for Sinterklaas' horse. If they have behaved well, they may wake up to find sweets or small gifts inside their shoes.
The tradition celebrates generosity and kindness and remains one of the most important festive events in Dutch culture.
2. Brazil and Portugal: Celebrating on Christmas Eve
In both Brazil and Portugal, many families gather for their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.
Families often enjoy a late evening feast before attending a special church service known as Midnight Mass. Popular festive foods include turkey, ham, rice dishes, fresh fruit and traditional local recipes.
Many homes also display detailed nativity scenes, known as presépios, which often take pride of place alongside Christmas decorations.
3. The Philippines: The Festival of Lanterns
The Philippines is famous for its colourful Christmas lanterns called paróls.
These star-shaped lanterns represent the Star of Bethlehem and can be seen decorating homes, streets and public spaces throughout the Christmas season.
The city of San Fernando hosts the annual Giant Lantern Festival, where enormous illuminated lanterns light up the night sky in a spectacular display. Some lanterns are several metres wide and feature thousands of lights programmed to create dazzling patterns.
Bring Christmas Around the World into Your Classroom
Learning about global celebrations helps pupils develop a broader understanding of different cultures while providing engaging opportunities to practise reading skills.
Our free Christmas Around the World Reading Pack includes:
- Reading comprehension activities
- Discussion prompts
- Cultural learning opportunities
- Independent and whole-class tasks
- KS2-friendly reading content
Whether you're looking for a festive lesson, end-of-term activity or guided reading resource, the pack is designed to help keep pupils engaged while developing their reading skills.
Download the free Christmas Around the World Reading Pack today.
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