Christmas Around the World: Holiday Traditions from 12 Countries, with Crafts and More - Perfect for Classrooms and Cultural Exploration

by Mary D. Lankford, Karen Dugan (Illustrator), Irene Norman (Illustrator)

A holiday celebration of diversity! From Ethiopian fringed umbrellas and star-shaped Filipino parol lanterns to candlelit Swedish St. Lucia crowns, Christmas Around the World  brings together Christmas traditions from twelve different lands, like decorations on a splendid tree. "A visually attractive and thoughtful presentation for those seasonal school assignments," praised School Library Journal . Includes a section on craft ideas, a pronunciation guide, a page of Christmas sayings, and two pages of Fact and Fiction. Author Mary Lankford was the director of library services for the Texas Education Agency and received many awards, among them the Texas Library Association Distinguished Service Award. 

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Holiday, Nonfiction, Childrens, Geography, Cultural

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the general set-up of Mary D. Lankford's Christmas Around the World sure does look tempting enough and actually even massively so (twelve featured countries from diverse areas of the world, accompanied by Karen Dugan's colourfully enchanting full page illustrative spreads, and with back materials that include a section by Irene Norman on a number of Christmas-based crafts, as well as glossaries, pronunciation guides and a nicely detailed bibliography), I am sorry, but the rather annoying number of factual errors I personally have encountered in just too many of the presented and featured Christmas in a specific country mini-chapters, they are simply not only too numerous in scope but also often quite mind-boggling and therefore more than ample reason for me to only consider but a one star maximum rating for Christmas Around the World.

For honestly, unless author Mary D. Lankford is totally a geographic zero, she really ought to know that Canada is NOT by any stretch of the imagination the largest country in the world (that even after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Russia is still and likely always will be the world's largest landmass, and by a long shot at that). And in fact, that the author has gotten this so very wrong does tend to make me both despair and actually also causes me to wonder a bit, seeing that Mary D. Lankford has also completely chosen to ignore any and all Eastern Orthodox, read Russian, Ukrainian, Slavic in general Christmas traditions and culture, whether this "error" might actually have been a deliberate specifically anti-Russian oversight. Furthermore, and as a person of German background, who does know the historical background of her Lebkuchen, the standard Nuremberg Elisenlebkuchen do NOT as a rule contain (like the author claims in her Christmas in Germany section) flour and eggs (since they were originally prepared in the time of Advent which was considered a fasting period, and thus, flour was replaced by hazelnuts and eggs were simply omitted). Now while indeed, there are of course other types of German gingerbread recipes that do make use of eggs and flour, Nuremberg's globally known and famous Elisenlebkuchen, if they are made according to the original and traditional recipe, DO NOT (and by the way, Ms. Lankford, the tradition of First Footing which you explain as an English, as a British Christmas tradition is for one generally considered Scottish and Irish and for two and more importantly, it is associated with New Year's Day celebrations and NOT Christmas).

So therefore, with all of the above mentioned errors and omissions I have found in Christmas Around the World (and there are actually considerably more than my above detailed examples, but I did not and do not want to overwhelm potential readers of my review), they really have made me not at ALL enjoy this book and to not recommend Christmas Around the World except perhaps very very grudgingly for the included bibliography (but then again, if the author, if Mary D. Lankford, has in fact and actually obtained her erroneous information from the secondary resource books she has listed, then even the bibliography needs to be approached with serious caution and prudent reservations).

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallowly researched (apparently, Canada is the largest country in the world). Little actual info about Christmas traditions padded with general history and geography cribbed from the encyclopedia and inflated with excessive use of the passive voice.

[Jodi]

Apparently this book has many factual errors, but I enjoyed reading it with my daughter because the dated references gave us several talking points.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

lol! "Canada, the largest country in the world..."?????

[Chanda Scobee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for a Family Culture Night, where I hosted a table for the library, featuring different diverse books through culture, race, family, practices and beliefs, and so much more, even including neurodivergence, mixed identities, refugees, immigrants, and more. This book features a different countries on each page, which shares about the symbols, greetings, and even the weather during Christmas time in those locations. The illustrations are very nostalgic and fairly detailed, and the text is very informative. I think this is best suited to older kids.

[Anjanabiswa]

By Mary D. Lankford, Illustrated by Karen Dugan
Summary: This is diverse book because its talks about how other countries celebrate Christmas. This book talks about different countries including Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Great Britain Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, The Philippines, Sweden, and United States, Alaska.
Evaluation of Illustrations/Text: The illustrations are at the side or bottom of the pages. The illustrations depend on the country being explained. The illustrations are in detail with color. The text is in large paragraphs. The top of the page has the name of the country explained with the traditions of the Christmas time.
Strategies for Use in the Classroom:
Locate specific vocabulary words - Define and pronounce the different Christmas words in each country.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

We started this book too late & the amount of information in it stopped us from finishing it this year but I'll plan to check it out again in the future. It is fun and interesting to read about the different winter holidays/christmas traditions in different countries around the world!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best for older children. Includes Christmas crafts.

[Paula Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book that held my daughter attention from the beginning to the end I’m looking forward to reading more

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for older children. I thought it was perfect to read with my 8-year-old to teach him about Christmas around the world.

It begins with a brief "Christmas Chronology" that starts with 6 BC being the approximate date for the birth of Jesus and ends with 1962 when the first Christmas postage stamp was issued.

It talks about the traditions in the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden. It also talks about Alaska. With each country it lists a symbol, how they greet one another and what the weather would be.

For example, Australia's symbol is Candlelight, they say "Merry Christmas", and the weather is sizzling hot because Christmas occurs in the summer. It describes a little bit about the continent, the traditional food eaten at Christmas time, how they decorate, and who comes (in Australia it's Father Clause). It also talked a tradition that started in 1937 called "Carols by Candlelight".

There's a section with a few crafts (Pinecone Trees, Nativity Scene, Stars, Christmas Cards, Christmas Cornucopias, Party Crackers, and Advent Calendars).

There's a section called "Fact and Fiction" that's more like a small dictionary. For example, the word Advent begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas, the days that follow are designated as Advent, or the Season of the Coming. Advent ends Christmas Eve at midnight.

There's a pronunciation guide and a few Christmas sayings.

[Shamilah Gillani · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Christmas Around the World” by Mary D. Lankford and illustrated by Karen Dugan and Irene Norman is a classroom staple during Christmas time. The authors and illustrators did a terrific job of compiling the Christmas stories and going through the traditions that most families observe in many countries and putting them into one book. The book begins with a Christmas timeline which gives a basic overview the history of Christmas and some important Christmas-related events that have become a part of Christmas traditions, such as the year “Silent Night” was written. There are great illustrations of each country’s residents carrying out a Christmas tradition. As a teacher, I would go through one page a day with my students from the beginning of December so the students can gain knowledge of how other countries celebrate Christmas and simultaneously expand their world views. A follow-up activity could be to relate the book to social studies and technology. The students could find other countries on a map and then research some of the traditions of those countries on the Internet to make their own “Christmas Around the World” books. Mary Lankford celebrates Christmas in America, but strenuously researched the book by calling friends in other countries, read and conducted interviews, researched newspapers and magazine articles, and looked into anything else that could give accurate details about Christmas in other countries.

[Latifa Awad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Informational, Non- fiction

Christmas around the World begins by explaining the beginning of Christmas and the way it celebrated around the world. The different countries described in the book include: Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden. Displaying such a variety of countries and cultures revolving around the same Holiday, makes this book a great source for teaching about multicultural and celebrations around the world. The book describes how different countries celebrate Christmas, the illustrations used to show the support the text are beautiful and detailed. I would recommend this book for children in grades 4 and higher because there is a lot of information on each page, and this may lose the attention of younger children. The offers a variety of things to think about. It includes realistic characters, and the characters represent a variety of cultural groups. Reading this book can expose children to multiple perspectives and values. There are no negative stereotypes of the groups represented, and the lifestyles of the characters are genuine and complex.

[Katherine Moses]

Christmas Around the World looks at the Christmas traditions in 12 countries all over the world. This book would be considered non-fiction.

This book gives a good, short overview of the Christmas traditions for each country. It is very appropriate. The book can be read a country at a time. The book includes vocabulary, crafts and song the children can use during the unit.

The author included symbols, greetings, and weather for each country. It will be easy for the children to compare different Christmases to the way they celebrate.

[Eva Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to get this one even though Julie [librarian] said it might be too hard, and she was right. It WAS too hard with more words than anything. But when Mama read it to me it had good facts. Like all the stuff about Christmas in Australia which is where they have kangaroos and bandicoots. But they didn't have anything about them in here because this is a Christmas book, not an animal book.
I couldn't read it so I need to get it out again when I'm in seventh grade.

[Lauren Anderson]

This story would be a good read aloud to primary students. The book tells of Christmas traditions from 12 different countries. It includes craft ideas to go with the different country's traditions. This would be a good book to read aloud to a class during December when talking about diversity and how the same holiday can be celebrated in different ways based on the country's traditions.

[Natalie Flanagan]

I had the opportunity to read this book to a 5th grade classroom and they seem to love this book! I love how you were able to learn about 12 other centuries Christmas traditions. It was very interesting to be able to see how others celebrate Christmas.

[Doree Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun exploration of Christmas around the world. There's a pronunciation guide, which I love, and some cool historical and craft stuff. Twelve countries are explored.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this out loud to my four boys at breakfast. Each morning one boy chooses a country and we explore their Christmas traditions. It has been quite a fun journey.

[Faith Elizabeth Hough · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really liked the content and format of this book, but wished a few more countries' traditions had been included.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the explanations that were provided about Christmas in a small variety of different countries.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this around Christmas time. A nice little book with interesting facts and a good insight into the different ways Christmas is celebrated.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

An especially delightful book that enabled me to teach my young children how Christmas is celebrated differently in other countries:)