Can you Help?

This page is the place that you can help make whychristmas?com an even better site! I will place questions from other readers and from me on this page!

You can also help to keep whychristmas?com online!

If you have any answers to any of the questions below, please contact me. I would be very grateful and give you will get a credit on the page (if you'd like one)!

Questions

Do you know of a custom that of when you receive your first Christmas card, with the Three Kings on it, you put it over the door? It may be a Russian custom.
Several visitors to the site from Ireland or from Irish heritage in the USA have reported doing this, as well as a Russian visitor to the site! It could also be related to 'chalk' marks for Epiphany put on doors in parts of Austria and Germany.

Do you know about a Christmas character called Black Rupert? (the brother of Black Peter perhaps?!)
In some regions of Germany, there is a character called "Knecht Ruprecht" or "Krampus" (Knecht=menial) who accompanies Nikolaus (St.Nicholas) on the 6th of December. He is clothed in rugs and carries a birch. He will punish the children who were bad and will give them a birch as a present. He is usually the one who scares the little children.

Do you know anything about the Customs of the Christmas Pie or House?

Do you know another name for January 2nd?
2nd January is also known as St. Basil's Day

Do you know the tradition/story of 'Nativity Bean Soup', where a recipe for bean soup has an explanation of what each type of bean represented regarding the birth of Jesus

Do you know the country in Europe that traditionally celebrates Dec 31st by singers going from house to house making collections.
In Germany, there is the tradition of the Sternsinger (or star singers) who go from house to house, sing a song and collect money for charity (this is a predominantly Catholic tradition). They are 4 children, three who dress up like the Wisemen and one carries a star on a stick as a symbol for the Star of Bethlehem. When they're finished singing, they write a signature with chalk over the door of the house. The sign is written in a special way, so Christmas 2024 would be: 20*C*M*B*24. It is considered to be bad luck to wash the sign away - it has to fade by itself. It has usually faded by the 6th of January (Epiphany).

Do you know any Christmas Songs that come from Sweden?

Do you know how Christmas is celebrated in Ecuador?

Do you know how St. Nicholas day (December 6th) is celebrated in Switzerland?
'In Switzerland, St. Nicholas parades the streets with his arms full of red apples, cookies and prunes for the children.'
This answer came from a visitor to the site from Derbyshire, UK. If you have anymore information, please e-mail me!

Do you know how Christmas is celebrated in any African countries (that aren't on the site!)?

Do you know when snowmen were first made?

Do you know the legend about frogs bringing happiness to homes?!
It might be because frogs jump only forward and never backwards. So frogs can symbolise progress and the hope of the future.

Do you know a Christmas song from Zimbabwe that contains these lines?
It's Christmas in Zimbabwe and there's no missle-toe
No holly and no raindeer, no robin in the snow,
But there's the red pointsettia, and bright flamboyant too.....
There's a song called 'Christmas in Rhodesia' (Zimbabwe used to be called Rhodesia) by John Edmond. The first two verses go:
It’s Christmas in Rhodesia
And there’s no mistletoe
No holly and no reindeer
No Robin in the snow

But bless our red Poinsettia
And bright Flamboyant too
And gentle eyes Impala
To see dear Santa through