After a recent move from Seattle to Singapore I'm finding that living abroad can offer freedom from the usual trappings of holiday traditions. I'm released from familial obligations and predictable schedules. But the holiday season can bring out the traditionalist, and sentimentalist, in a person. There may be a tendency to cling to specific customs while dealing with the reality of a very different living situation.
I find myself wanting to adhere to familiar traditions that I've worked so hard to preserve and maintain back home — yet I'm curious about the traditions of my new culture. Luckily for me, Christmas is widely celebrated here with over-the-top public decorations and festivities. I've been able to carry on with my traditional photos with Santa (in shorts and t-shirts), holiday parties (cold drinks, not hot) and listening to carolers sing traditional songs (while wearing sunblock). I decorate with “rice lights” and I'm considering adopting an annual Christmas morning dip in the ocean. One thing I’ve insisted upon having is a live Christmas tree — even if it’s a bit more expensive. The sight and scent brings my whole family a feeling of familiarity and comfort — much more that we expected.
Many people find themselves at one point or another away from the familiar celebrations of home. Whether it's across the country or outside the country. We go to school, move, change jobs and sometimes these life changes prohibit us from going “home” for the holidays. Finding a little bit of familiarity no matter where you are can sometimes be challenging. Some traditions we cling to like a life preserver, others we can’t wait to get rid of.
What objects, or traditions, do you find yourself replicating no matter where you are?
Image: Flickr user Shandi-Lee as licensed by Creative Commons
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
One of the best Christmases I ever had was in Kuala Lumpur on a post-college backpacking trip with my best friend. We had dinner at Kenny Roger's Roasters and then drank a bottle of Bailey's (quite a score in a Muslim country) back in our hotel room which, combined with our anti-malarial meds, gave us both super vivid dreams.
When I was stationed in Japan - Trying to make things "Just like home" only ended up making me feel depressed.
Christmas in Japan is their version of Valentines Day - so I'd usually end up at Tokyo Disneyland with a small group of friends, where we'd ride the rides all night and see the fireworks.
Christmas for me this year is aboard an ecotourism cruise ship, owned by a Dutch company. I work for them as a kayak guide. I'm hoping that means a traditional northern European Christmas. The one thing I can't live without in this situation is a hand knit stocking my mom and I made together a few years back. We'd designed it ourselves, based on traditional Norwegian patterns, like she'd been knitting her whole life. She's gone now but that stocking will hang on my door, most likely swaying in the Drake Passage as we make our way south.
i'm from Singapore and celebrating in Australia - oddly enough, I find that Singapore has way more OTT decorations and Christmas cheer than here!
All I've done is put up some simple decorations at home and plan to cook a traditional Christmas lunch...
I am the exact opposite --- I was originally from Singapore but have been in Chicago now for 8 years. I never truly celebrated xmas here, but this year I resolved to buy my first real wreath and xmas tree. It was a big step for me, having grown up with only fake ones in Singapore. Heck, we don't even have pine trees there. I think it has made xmas more special for me. The only tradition I have is going to church during xmas. Hopefully you are enjoying the heat over there, which I don't miss....I guess you can always checkout the fake snow at Tanglin mall!
When we were in America, we took advantage of it being winter to do a "proper" British-style traditional christmas, which being Australian we dont usually do: instead of bbq seafood, we had a turkey.
We did, however, make sure our families shipped us Christmas puddings each year.
I'm an American celebrating my second Christmas in Tanzania this year. With the help of our American friends we will do a pretty good job of replicating a typical Christmas dinner. Luckily, we have family and friends to send special treats like pecans our way. We have a fake tree and decorations in our house. The biggest difference is that Christmas is more of a 3 day event than a "season" here. No one is playing music or putting up decorations. They will have big celebrations right around the 25th, but I miss all the lights and preparations that go on back home.
I'm American and have lived abroad for the past 4 years, first in Germany and now in England. Christmas is very similar in both countries to that in the US, but one thing I always do is have a full-on, American Thanksgiving each year. I plan well ahead to make sure I have canned pumpkin and a few other ingredients that may be harder to find, but it's well worth it.
Don't forget to incorporate new traditions into your lives as well. It helps you adjust to your new surroundings and you end up with some fantastic new family traditions as well.
We recently moved from Portland to Germany. We didn't bring any Christmas decorations with us, and it has been a cool experience to just try to do things the German way. Rather than trying to recreate an American Christmas that we're used to, we're excited to embrace new ways of celebrating.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, without any American friends or family, was harder. I wrote about it here:
http://and-here-we-are.blogspot.com/2010/11/most-nostalgic-day-of-year.html
I've been living abroad for 5 going on 6 Christmases and since my family was never huge on big important traditions, it's been fun to see how it's celebrated in all the places I've been. I've had some Icelandic style Christmases, a French one, and a few German ones. All these countries have very specific and very interesting traditions so I'm happy to adopt them and don't particularly miss anything from America at this time of year.
I'm from the UK and this year I'm doing my 10th Christmas in Hong Kong. I have never done decorations or its not the norm to have people over (most expats leave town anyway). That said, I will still cook a full English breakfast, call my Mum, drink too much and fall asleep watching a movie in the afternoon, and maybe go to watch the New Year fireworks. ...But then out here, we do it all again a month later for Chinese New Year.
When I was living in Eastern Europe in 2001, I didn't go out and buy myself a big tree, since I spent the holiday with some other expat friends and they had the whole shebang at their house. I did however, buy myself a 1 foot fake tree, one strand of red plastic garland with leaves and bells on it and 4 painted gold instrument ornaments, and that's what I put up. And I've put it up in my home ever since.
I'm not abroad, rather in Florida while my family is in Chicago, but I plan on trying to keep up some traditions...for example, my mom has sent some xmas presents already, but i won't open them til Christmas morning, when I'm on speakerphone with my mom and my brother.
Stockings. That's my minimum.
I'm an Australian and this Christmas I'll be in San Francisco. Travelling, not living there (yet!), so I won't be able to decorate or anything - I'm going to go see the skaters at Union Square, and the lights up around that, and I'm thinking of wandering into some of the grand old hotels there to see their trees.
For Christmas Day itself, I'm leaning towards Fisherman's Wharf. It's fun!
My husband and I will celebrate our second christmas season in Taiwan - we have a few decorations up, play christmas music and watch our favorite christmas movies. Makes being far away from home a little easier.
I'm in Japan for Christmas this year. Last time I was here for Christmas it was 2004... So much has changed since then!
It was unheard of to hang lights outside, and most didn't have a tree (if they did, it was an awful looking, tiny plastic tree). Christmas with Santa was for kids under 10. To everyone else, it was a romantic holiday. Grab your SO and head off to a local love hotel. No decorating at home.
It still is a romantic holiday, but so many people have embraced Christmas as a family event.
Lights are everywhere, and they have their share of the houses you want to drive/walk slowly past because of the crazy light show—just like in the US. Even the train stations are decked up in lights.
The decorations for sale are looking more grown up and tasteful, though they still have some ways to go. You'll find wreaths on one out of three to five doors of every neighborhood. Christmas choral concerts are advertised in many places, not just churches.
Makes it feel not too different from what I got used to in the US.