December 25th is Christmas Day. We celebrate Christmas in the United Kingdom. It's a holiday for most people, and there are lots of customs and traditions, and children get lots of presents! Listen to a boy talking about Christmas, and find out about some of these customs.

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What's your favourite day? What happens on the day? Where do you go? What do you do? Do you eat special food? Do you wear special clothes? Do you give presents? Do you decorate your house? Tell us about your favourite day. We'll put the best descriptions on LearnEnglish Kids!

Thuy Duong. (10 years old) from Hanoi, Vietnam says:
My favorite day is Mid-Autumn Festival. It also known as the Moon Festival. It's a Chinese Festival. During Mid-Autumn Festival, we eat moon cakes outside our house, under the moon and fruit, like grapefruit or orange. Children play with 5-pointed star-shaped lantern or some other kinds of lantern, like fish-shaped lantern. Our grandparents hang some big red lantern in front of our house. End we look at the moon at night. The moon will be very "full" and round (it look beautiful). And we also can watch"dragon dance" during Mid-Autumn Festival. I love it because there are so much things to do in this festival.

Messias (aged 14) from Brazil says:
Hi!!!  My name is Messias I`m 14 years old. I`m from Sao Carlos Brasil.
My favourite day is New Year`s Eve because we have several parties with delicious food, lots of beautiful fireworks. People get together to celebrate the coming year.

Usually on the first day we have a picnic in a park and zoo. I love this day!!!!

Matheus. (aged 9) from Brazil says:
Hi! my name is Matheus. I'm 9 years old. I'm from São Carlos, Brasil.
My favourite day is Christmas because I have a big turkey and other delicious food.
Besides that, there is Santa Claus with the gifts, I love the Christmas tree with the presents, usually it is Summer here and it is very hot, completely different from the place where Santa Claus is from. I enjoy myself very much.
Cheers Mateus.

Ana (aged 8) from Brazil says:
Hi, My name is Ana. I am 8 years old and I am from São Carlos, Brazil. My favourite day is my birthday because I get a lots of presents, I have a party, I play with my friends and we have lots of fun.
Cheers Ana Clara

Kya from Indonesia says:
Hai...my name is Kya i came from Indonesia, my best day is the first time I come to school, there's so many friends I meet and of course my new teacher. I like that day so much than any day, the first words i said is : " wow!! beautiful school and so many friends!!, i like it so much!!! " and then  after i say that i go to my new classroom "O.. my God!!  this is the very beautiful class ever!!!"  and then i meet my new friend Tiara she's nice!!!
and that's all my experience...thx!!!
Sincerely KYA

Sharon says:
Hi I'm Sharon, my favourite day is friendship day because i and my friends went out together and ate and chatted for sometime and went to movies and sleptover.and at the end of that we tie bands which are called friendship bands and try to have them on till the end of the month in August.

Angie (aged 10) from Colombia says:
HI! MY NAME IS ANGIE MALDONADO AND I AM ELEVEN YEARS OLD. I LIVE IN  BOGOTA, COLOMBIA. MY FAVORITE DAY IS MY CHRISTMAS BECAUSE MY PARENTS GIVE ME GIFTS. THE BEST CHRISTMAS WAS IN 2006, MY FAMILY CELEBRATE IT WITH MANY GIFTS. SING CALORS AND ENJOY A DELICIOUS CHRITMAS FOOD.  I LIKED MY GIFTS THE CHRITMAS IT WAS A TEDDY BEAR. I HAD LOST OF, PRESENTS SWEETS AND CHOCOLATES.

Linh from Vietnam says:
Hi,my name is Linh.My English name is Danny.I'm nine years old.I from Ho Chi Minh City,Viet Nam.My favorite day is Christmas and Mid-autumn.I can eat Hot Chicken in Christmas and eat Mooncake in Mid-autumn.I can write a mail to Santa Claus,watch TV,talk with my uncle Micheal from Australia by English,... in Christmas and play,to take a photograph,to enjoy the moonlight and HAPPY BIRTH DAY OF MY LITTLE TEDDY.

Bartek (aged 10) from Poland says:
My name is Bartek. I'm ten years old. I live in Poland. My favourite day is Christmas. During Christmas I visit my grandma with parents & my younger brother and sister. We break down with wafer and than we start to eat. First we drink stewed fruits made of plums. Than we eat a carp, pierogi (dumplings),.borsch & cakes. We sing carols. At midnight we go to a church for a midnight mass. All day is so interesting that's why I like Christmas. It's fun!

Fatima (aged 12) from Bahrain says:
My favorite day is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr happens at end of Ramadan. I like this day because I get money from my family. I do a lot of things, first I go to my grandma's house and play there with my cousins, then we go to the park or to the mall. I enjoy it a lot.

Fiona from Argentina says:
My name is Fiona. I'm 9. I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina. My favourite day is Christmas Eve. I visit my cousin in Uruguay. Her name is Nicole, she's 12 I love Christmas because at night I can play computer games with her and I can be with my 15 dogs and my 5 cats.

We have barbercue in the garden at my cousin´s house. We eat icecream for dessert. At midnight we watch the fireworks in the sky. I receive presents from my family. I have lots of fun!

Malena from Argentina says:
I am Malena. I'm from Argentina.I'm 9 years old. My favourite day is New Year. We celebrate with fireworks at midnight.I go to Punta del Este, Uruguay, with my family. We usually eat Arabian food (kibbe and Lajmayin). I decorate my house with flowers and butterflies.I have a lot of fun!!

Miang from Thailand says:
Hello. My name is Miang. I come from Thailand. I would like to tell you about my favourite holiday which is Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year takes place in January/February every year. My family is Chinese, and we celebrate this day too. My aunt cooks some food to pay the respect to God. The dishes are duck and chicken, fruits, cake, and Chinese dessert. My father and mother put the food to pay the respect to God wishing to have a good life. And me? I am waiting for the cake to eat! Delicious, delicious. I like this day very much.

Hieu from Vietnam says: Hi, my name is Hieu, I am Vietnamese. My favorite day is my birthday - 4th January. On this day I usually invite my cousins and my friends to my house. We have a fun party. My grandmother and my mother cook tasty food and buy for me a birthday cake. We sing a song “Happy birthday to you” and blow the candles. Then we eat cake, candies, fruit, drink Coca-cola and play interesting games. I get many presents. This year my grandparents gave me a new bike. My parents presented me new clothes. My best friend gave me a toy which plays music. On my birthday I feel very happy. Thanks everyone.

Pat from Thailand says: My name is Pat. I am from Thailand. I am 7 years old. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It is a Thai New Year celebration. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. On this holiday people waterfight. They pour water on each other. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties.

Sandy from Taiwan says: My favorite holiday is Moon Festival. I always visit my grandfather and grandmother, and we always go to the same restaurant on the mountain to celebrate it. At night, we always have a barbeque, and we watch the moon together. I enjoy it a lot.

Janine from Colombia says: My favourite day is Christmas. I stay with my family and get many presents. We dance, play music, sing and enjoy a lot. We eat Christmas sweets and many special food. We decorate our house with colorfull lights. I love Christmas mainly because is Jesus' birthday!

Sameera from Iran says: My favorite days are Norooz. Norooz is become from the first day of spring from ancient Iran. All people clean their house and decorations by new things. All family eats fish with vegetables and rice together. After that we go out to grandfather and mother house. We get present and lucky money. Our holidays are 13 days.

Zhenia from Ukraine says: My favourite day is New Year. We celebrate the New Year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter Snegoorochka (Snowgirl) on this night. He puts his presents under the New Year Tree. We have a party and stay up until midnight to see the New Year in and the Old Year off. We cook tasty food for party. People also celebrate  Old New Year in our country . It is on the 14th of January.

Yagna from India says: My favourite day is Deepavali. We burst crackers on that day. We go out and visit our relatives. We eat sweets and savouries. We buy new clothes and wear. We give presents to our kith and kin.

Manuel from Italy says: On Christmas day I am very happy. Me, my family and my grandparents make a big party. In the morning the whole family opens the presents and we have a huge lunch with lots of sweets. On the 24th in the night comes St. Claus - in Italian is called Babbo Natale. I always leave outside in the garden a dish with biscuits and a glass of red wine for Babbo Natale. He always eats everything.

Vy from Vietnam says: My favorite day is Tet, in Vietnamese means Chinese new year. We used to burst firecrackers on this day, but now, we do fireworks instead. In Tet, we eat Banh Chung, the special cake, symbolizes for the Earth and the little white cake, Banh Day, which is the symbol of the sky. These two cakes are wrapped in the banana leaves, then boiled. They are very delicious. Before the New Year's Eve, all family members must gather and have dinner together. Children will give wish for their parents and relatives. At about 11pm, we return to our home, prepare sugar-coated, worship the ancestor and wait to watch the fireworks. The fireworks begin at 12pm, we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. My family prefer to watch it at home because at that time, the streets are very crowded. Then, my parents will go to the pagoda to pray for happiness, good health, wealth and luck for the family. We often stay up late and get up late the next morning. The first day of the new year, we wear new clothes with bright colors such as red. We don't sweep the floor and comb our hair for three day, because if you sweep the floor, your fortune will go out of the door. We visit our relatives, friends and children receive lucky money. In Tet, we also have the special tree. At the North, they have the tree with pink flowers, we call that the Cherry tree. At the South, the flowers are yellow, and we call that Apricot. Tet is a traditional festival in Vietnam, when only the happiness and health come to us.