Christmas Around the World QR Code Hunt

Ask your teacher for as many questionnaires as the number of your team mates. Go to classroom 3. Interview 4 members of team 3. Every team mate should have the questionnaire completed.

The clock is ticking. You have 10 minutes to complete this task.

Ask your teacher for as many questionnaires as the number of your team mates. Wait for team 4 to enter your classroom. Interview 4 members of team 4. Every team mate should have the questionnaire completed. The clock is ticking. You have 10 minutes to complete this task.

Ask your teacher for as many questionnaires as the number of your team mates. Wait for team 1 to enter your classroom. Interview 4 members of team 1. Every team mate should have the questionnaire completed. The clock is ticking. You have 10 minutes to complete this task.

Ask your teacher for as many questionnaires as the number of your team mates. Go to classroom 1. Interview 4 members of team 2. Every team mate should have the questionnaire completed.

The clock is ticking. You have 10 minutes to complete this task.

Turns out, Santa’s worse half is a hairy, devil-like creature called Krampus. Legend has it that while Santa brings toys to “nice” children, Krampus’ job is to punish kids on the “naughty” list. Mostly he just frightens the children with his beastly looks, but it’s said that he throws particularly bad children into his sack, or chains them up in his basket and carts them off to Hell. People in _____________ and neighboring countries often dress up as Krampus in early December and wander the streets to scare children.

In the United States, we associate Christmas with ham or figgy pudding, but in ___________ , it’s all about Kentucky Fried Chicken. That’s not a joke. An estimated 3.5 million families eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve thanks to a marketing stunt by KFC in the 1970s called “Kentucky for Christmas”. Christians make up a very small percentage of the population of _________, so this campaign made up for a lack of Christmas holiday traditions. The KFC Christmas Meal is so popular, many customers pre-order their dinners — which include fried chicken, cake and champagne — months in advance.

Team 2 Task 2.3

Some people in __________ believe witches and evil spirits roam the night sky on Christmas Eve. And what is a witch’s preferred mode of transportation? A broomstick. So out of caution, people in __________ hide all of the brooms in their houses to prevent any witches from getting their hands on them. Sometimes people will take it a step further by firing a warning gunshot into the air to scare them off.

Team 2 Task 2.3

You’re probably familiar with Christmas caroling, but you’re definitely not familiar with the carolers who might show up at your door in ___________. At some point in December or January, you could open your door to find someone hidden by a ribbon and bell-adorned sheet, holding up a real horse skull on a stick, with a few fellow revelers in tow. As part of this tradition, the group will sing to you and then challenge you to a battle of rhyming insults. After the contest, the party is usually invited inside for refreshments.

This version of Santa Claus comes from Italy and is actually an ugly (but kind) old witch. As the story goes, the Magi stopped at her house to ask for directions on their way to visit baby Jesus. They invited the witch, Befana, to come with them on their journey, but she said she had too much housework to do. After they left, she changed her mind and tried to find them but couldn’t, so now she flies around on the night of January 5th (the eve of the Magi’s meeting with Baby Jesus). Much like Santa, Befana delivers toys to children. Instead of milk and cookies, people in Italy leave out a plate of sausage and broccoli and a glass of wine for her.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the holidays fall during the summer. There temperatures can get as warm as 29 degrees Celsius around Christmas, so naturally, many people in Australia head to the beach. Families and friends partake in swimming, picnics and volleyball. Often, some surfing Santas will make an appearance. A couple of beaches are known to be a hotspot for foreign travelers and backpackers, and in recent years there have been a lot of parties with amazing fireworks and singalongs in many different languages.

Team 4 Task 2.3

Would you feel lucky if you found a spider web on your Christmas tree? Probably not. But people in Ukraine associate spider webs with good fortune thanks to an ancient story. In the tale, a poor family grew a Christmas tree from a pine cone. The children were excited to decorate it, but the family couldn’t afford any decorations. Sensing the family’s despair, spiders spun glistening silk webs around the tree, which turned to silver and gold when the sun rose in the morning, leaving the family with a beautifully adorned tree. To this day, families in Ukraine decorate their trees with spider webs for good luck.

Team 4 Task 2.3

Every Christmas, families around Sweden gather around the television at 3pm sharp, to watch the 1958 Christmas cartoon called „Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas“.

Everything on Christmas is planned around the television special, and more than 40% of population of Sweden still tune-in like clockwork. The tradition dates back to the 1960s when televisions were a new thing in Sweden and only two channels aired – one of which played Disney cartoons at Christmas. It may be a quirky tradition, but a whole nation coming together to watch Christmas cartoons together is about as Christmas as it gets.

This version of Santa Claus comes from ____________ and is actually an ugly (but kind) old witch. As the story goes, the Magi stopped at her house to ask for directions on their way to visit baby Jesus. They invited the witch, Befana, to come with them on their journey, but she said she had too much housework to do. After they left, she changed her mind and tried to find them but couldn’t, so now she flies around on the night of January 5th (the eve of the Magi’s meeting with Baby Jesus). Much like Santa, Befana delivers toys to children. Instead of milk and cookies, people in ___________ leave out a plate of sausage and broccoli and a glass of wine for her.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the holidays fall during the summer. There temperatures can get as warm as 29 degrees Celsius around Christmas, so naturally, many people in ____________ head to the beach. Families and friends partake in swimming, picnics and volleyball. Often, some surfing Santas will make an appearance. A couple of beaches are known to be a hotspot for foreign travelers and backpackers, and in recent years there have been a lot of parties with amazing fireworks and singalongs in many different languages.

Team 1 Task 2.3

Would you feel lucky if you found a spider web on your Christmas tree? Probably not. But people in _____________ associate spider webs with good fortune thanks to an ancient story. In the tale, a poor family grew a Christmas tree from a pine cone. The children were excited to decorate it, but the family couldn’t afford any decorations. Sensing the family’s despair, spiders spun glistening silk webs around the tree, which turned to silver and gold when the sun rose in the morning, leaving the family with a beautifully adorned tree. To this day, families in ______________ decorate their trees with spider webs for good luck.

Team 1 Task 2.3

Every Christmas, families around ____________ gather around the television at 3pm sharp, to watch the 1958 Christmas cartoon called „Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas“.

Everything on Christmas is planned around the television special, and more than 40% of population of ____________ still tune-in like clockwork. The tradition dates back to the 1960s when televisions were a new thing in Sweden and only two channels aired – one of which played Disney cartoons at Christmas. It may be a quirky tradition, but a whole nation coming together to watch Christmas cartoons together is about as Christmas as it gets.

Turns out, Santa’s worse half is a hairy, devil-like creature called Krampus. Legend has it that while Santa brings toys to “nice” children, Krampus’ job is to punish kids on the “naughty” list. Mostly he just frightens the children with his beastly looks, but it’s said that he throws particularly bad children into his sack, or chains them up in his basket and carts them off to Hell. People in Austria and neighboring countries often dress up as Krampus in early December and wander the streets to scare children.

Team 3 Task 2.2

In the United States, we associate Christmas with ham or figgy pudding, but in Japan, it’s all about Kentucky Fried Chicken. That’s not a joke. An estimated 3.5 million families eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve thanks to a marketing stunt by KFC in the 1970s called “Kentucky for Christmas”. Christians make up a very small percentage of the population of Japan, so this campaign made up for a lack of Christmas holiday traditions. The KFC Christmas Meal is so popular, many customers pre-order their dinners — which include fried chicken, cake and champagne — months in advance.

Team 3 Task 2.2

Team 3 Task 2.3

Some people in Norway believe witches and evil spirits roam the night sky on Christmas Eve. And what is a witch’s preferred mode of transportation? A broomstick. So out of caution, people in Norway hide all of the brooms in their houses to prevent any witches from getting their hands on them. Sometimes people will take it a step further by firing a warning gunshot into the air to scare them off.

Team 3 Task 2.3

You’re probably familiar with Christmas caroling, but you’re definitely not familiar with the carolers who might show up at your door in Wales. At some point in December or January, you could open your door to find someone hidden by a ribbon and bell-adorned sheet, holding up a real horse skull on a stick, with a few fellow revelers in tow. As part of this tradition, the group will sing to you and then challenge you to a battle of rhyming insults. After the contest, the party is usually invited inside for refreshments.

tradition only

tradition + country

tradition only

tradition + country

go to classroom 3 and ask team 3 to help you match the Christmas traditions and the countries they come from.

wait for team 1 to come and  help them match the Christmas traditions and the countries they come from.

Go to classroom 1 and ask team 4 to help you match the Christmas traditions and the countries they come from.

Wait for team 2 and help them match the Christmas traditions and the countries they come from.

With all the searching and matching, hope it’s been fun,

There’s one tradition left – you’re almost done!

Look under the Christmas tree for the very last one!

__________(name of school) wishes you a Happy New Year and a very Merry Christmas!