While the meaning of Christmas is the same pretty much everywhere and the symbols are quite similar, I always loved experiencing Christmas in other cultures. I may not have fully understood the cultural context in each country, but I do love how familiar it is to see a Christmas tree in Seoul and another one in Prague.
1. Romania
I'll start with my home country, since obviously I spent most of my Christmases there. If you're lucky, you can actually have a white Christmas, for it snows a lot in Romania and it gets quite cold. While I do enjoy eating all the foods (and they are heavy, believe me) and going around Christmas markets, my favorite thing to do for Christmas in Romania is heading to the countryside in Maramures (also my home county) to witness and photograph the holiday traditions, that are still preserved and enjoyed by many. Christmas narratives, storytelling and caroling are mixed with rituals meant to scare the evil spirits away and overall there's a special pre-Christian (downright pagan) vibe to it all.
2. Portugal
Probably my warmest Christmas so far. Around 15 Celsius (59 F), walking around to see the lights and decorations is a pleasure, even though for me, real Christmas means snow and negative temperatures which really call for a cup of mulled wine. But the Christmas market in Lisbon did have mulled wine, and even more so, mulled sangria. Not sure if you've ever had mulled white-wine sangria, but it's a treat. Actually, anything that I drank in Portugal that had wine in it was fantastic. Which is why I had wine with lunch and dinner everyday, and sometimes sangria with breakfast. The whole 5 weeks I was there.
3. South Korea
Koreans have snow, alright. And also a shiny Christmas. Interestingly enough, out of the 44% of the population that is affiliated to a religion, the majority is Christian (about 20% are Protestant and 8% are Catholic). Therefore, Christmas is a lot more important than in most Asian countries. It's a public holiday, the Christmas tree and decorations are huge, department stores put on a big display, where people can take photos. Some Koreans did tell me that it is not necessarily a family oriented holiday like in the West, but also a couples celebration, where the two people get to spend time together and exchange gifts. Understandable, considering the big number of young people who live with their parents or in a university dorm and find it more difficult to spend time with their loved one.
4. The UK The British love Christmas. Even though there was little snow the winter I was in Manchester, Christmas was very much anticipated and enjoyed. Talking about anticipation, I once took the university bus to go to classes and the driver, a really sweet older man, was humming "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" in a mostly empty bus. In May. He saw me smiling and cheerfully admitted "Yes, I'm really just looking forward to Christmas". I found it really cute.
And even though Christmas wasn't so white that year (it was mostly rainy), the Christmas market was magical nonetheless.
5. The Czech Republic
I went to Prague a few years ago specifically for the Christmas markets. It was a good excuse - I had never visited the country before, much to see, much to eat and drink, wonderful atmosphere. And while the Czech are not really religious compared to other European countries from the area, Christmas is still celebrated enthusiastically. Mulled wine, baked potatoes, sausages, wurst, sauerkraut... it's a feast out there in the streets. And the Old Town Square looks fabulous any time of the day.