Christmas

In most of the countries with Christian traditions Christmas is the most popular holiday of the year. People usually [?] streets, shop windows, their houses and gardens with small [?] arranged into the [?] of stars, trees, etc. On the front door they put [?] and above the door some [?]. They believe that a kiss under the mistletoe brings good luck. Families decorate Christmas trees with [?], glass or [?] decorations, sweets, fruits and many other things. You can hear Christmas [?] on the radio, on TV and in the streets. There are Christmas markets in cities and towns. People send Christmas cards to their [?] and friends and try to be friendlier to each other than usual.

But there are some differences in Christmas [?] and traditions in different countries. In Britain and the U.S. children believe that Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) brings them presents on the night of Christmas Eve (24th December). He is an old man with a white beard in a red suit who lives at the North Pole. He travels through the sky in a [?] pulled by [?], comes down the [?] and leaves some small presents in the Christmas stockings which children hang up in their bedroom before going to bed. On Christmas day 25th December), children wake up very early and open the presents in their [?]. Then they hurry downstairs to the living room and open the larger presents under the Christmas tree.

At midday, Christmas dinner is eaten. It usually [?] [?] and Christmas pudding with mince pies.

In Britain, December 26th is called Boxing Day. It's because many years ago, it was a tradition to leave "Christmas Boxes", or gifts of money, to [?] and [?] on this day. Today many people still give some money to their milkmen, postmen and [?] on Boxing Day.