Welcome to Abi’s first blog post! My plan is to update the blog twice a month — the 1st and the 15th. The cafe has been open for just five weeks now. Because of the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to learn and write a little about the holidays celebrated around the world. For the sake of brevity, I’m only touching on traditions related to books and/or brews!
Ready?
Holiday Traditions By Region
Holidays in Europe
In Nordic countries, people take lantern-lit winter walks while stopping for tea or coffee at designated stations. This is often accompanied by readings from classic literature. Norwegians thoroughly enjoy “julenoveller”—holiday crime stories that add intrigue to the festive season. The Danish embrace hygge (coziness) during the holidays. They light candles, drink tea or coffee, and read books in a warm and intimate setting.
And in Finland, people like to spend their time reading. Libraries offer free books, and many Finns curl up with a good book and mulled wine (called glögi) in the cozy, snowy season. Norwegians and Swedes enjoy egg coffee or spiced coffee, often flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, or cloves. It’s served with traditional holiday pastries like gingerbread or saffron buns.
In countries like Poland and Ukraine, families gather to tell folk tales by candlelight, often with themes of winter and hope. These stories are sometimes read aloud from cherished books. Herbal teas like mint or chamomile are served during Wigilia, often with family members sharing traditional Christmas stories or carols from a treasured book.
One of the most famous holiday book traditions, Jólabókaflóð (The Christmas Book Flood) takes place in Iceland. Icelanders exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading while sipping hot cocoa or tea. This tradition celebrates Iceland’s literary culture.
Gode ord skal du hogge i berg, de dårligere i snø (Carve your good words in stone, the bad in snow)
Norwegian Proverb
Did you know? On Christmas Eve, families in the Czech Republic sometimes use books to tell fortunes, choosing random lines to see what the new year might hold.
Holidays in Asia
Families in the Philippines share salabat (a ginger tea) and coffee while exchanging small books during the holidays. Indian schools with Christian traditions often host book fairs featuring holiday-themed books and storytelling sessions for children.
Christian communities in Pakistan celebrate Christmas with chai and traditional sweets like gulab jamun and barfi, sharing tea with family and friends. Sri Lanka celebrates with Ceylon tea brewed with spices like cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, is celebrated with egg coffee (a sweet and creamy coffee made with egg yolks). It is a popular treat, symbolizing prosperity.
Chai Tea (left) & Egg Coffee (right)
During Losar, the Tibetan New Year, families prepare butter tea (made with tea leaves, butter, and salt). The tea symbolizes good fortune and hospitality. Cafés in South Korea create seasonal menus with festive lattes, often decorated with holiday designs. They also host “book café nights,” where visitors exchange books as gifts.
During the winter solstice festival in China, families gather for Pu-erh tea or other warming teas. These teas are believed to promote health and balance during the cold season. Japan likes their tea as well! In the New Year, green tea is part of Osechi Ryori, a traditional Japanese meal. Matcha ceremonies are also common, emphasizing harmony and renewal for the year ahead.
During Orthodox Christmas, Russians enjoy tea brewed in a samovar. It’s often sweetened with jam and paired with holiday cakes or cookies like pryaniki (spiced gingerbread).
Декабрь — месяц старое горе кончает, новому году новым счастьем дорожку стелет. (December is the month the old grief ends, and the new year lays the path with new happiness.)
Russian proverb
Holidays in Africa
In South Africa, Rooibos tea takes center stage during holiday gatherings. It’s often prepared as a spiced blend with cinnamon and ginger, served iced or hot depending on the summer weather during Christmas.
While Morocco doesn’t widely celebrate Christmas, the holidays overlap with winter tea-drinking traditions, where families prepare mint tea using green tea, fresh mint, and sugar, offering it as a gesture of hospitality to visitors.
Ethiopia loves its coffee. Coffee ceremonies are a vital part of Ethiopian culture year-round, but during the holidays, they are even more elaborate. Families gather for the three rounds of coffee (Abol, Tona, and Baraka), symbolizing blessings, and often accompany the ritual with festive foods.
Holidays in the Americas
Our neighbors up north (aka Canadians) often pair hot chocolate or spiced cider with holiday-themed books, like A Child’s Christmas in Wales or The Polar Express, read during family gatherings.
What about down south?
Cola de Mono (a coffee- and milk-based drink similar to eggnog) is a favorite in Chile during Christmas, often paired with the family tradition of sharing favorite stories or holiday anecdotes. In Brazil, coffee is often served after meals, sometimes flavored with cinnamon or served as a dessert coffee topped with whipped cream.
During Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) in Colombia, families gather for midnight feasts, where tinto (a small, strong coffee) is often served alongside desserts like natilla (custard) and buñuelos (fried dough balls). Mexicans enjoy café de olla, a spiced coffee brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar). It’s often served during festive gatherings like Las Posadas.
Today’s post doesn’t even begin to cover the topic. But I’ve been genuinely excited to research and share what I can! I encourage our readers to do a deep-dive, because there is a plethora of information beyond what I have written here.
What about you? How do you celebrate the holiday season? Comment below!
