This year, Christmas looks different for many of us. This does not mean, however, that we cannot celebrate this festive holiday and keep its traditions going. Around the world, Christmas traditions are unique and draw from sometimes centuries-old historical and biblical events. Here are four such traditions from Germany, France, the United States and Australia. And no matter which traditions you follow, enjoy the holidays all while staying safe and healthy!

1. Germany – The Advent Calendar

Though Amazon may be pushing independently-run bookstores out of business, and many opt for Netflix over a good book on a Thursday night, literature is actively playing a role in shaping our world. From controversy over the 2020 Nobel Prize winner, to full-blown scandal in the Swedish Academy, to new African authors redefining their national literatures, to a female Japanese authors' work being translated by a male, the global literary world is very much alive and relevant today.

So, you just finished with that assignment for the day and want to sit back on your bed to enjoy time away from your laptop. And what better way to get a small getaway while staying home than to listen to some music. I live in a studio where my view is the window of my next-door neighbor's living room. She is a person in her 70s and often waves at me as soon as I sit at my desk in the morning to start with my classes. One day, I opened my window for her to listen to some music together and some of the songs here are part of those sounds that were shared.

1) Hold yourself (and others) accountable

When the second nationwide lockdown was announced in France on October 28, I decided to fly back to my home country of Costa Rica. I left Paris on the first flight back on October 31. After the 12-hour flight, I noticed something unusual; the landing process was taking longer than it should. I experienced something I had never before. Just before we were about to hit the runway, the plane accelerated and soared off into the sky. As the airport looked further and further away, the captain explained the weather was a bit foggy. There was little visibility to land properly.

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Americans in Paris are likely beginning to crave the traditions of home and the comforts of their favourite holiday dish around this time. That’s because the fourth Thursday of November isn’t just another fall day. It’s the beginning of the holiday season. It’s the nostalgia filled four-day weekend, when schools and the offices of the non-essential close, allowing time for the annual pilgrimage (filled with excitement or dread) to a relative’s home.

March 13, 2020 was the last time we were allowed on campus for classes before the Fall 2020 semester started. It was chaos and panic; everyone suddenly had to be online, a pandemic hit us all hard and fast. Some stayed in Paris, but like many others I went home. Fast forward a few months, and again we have to be online, and again I have returned home. OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN! I don't know why I thought this wouldn't happen, COVID didn't stop infecting people, but my response is different. Everything has changed.

As the evolution of our daily lives and current events destabilize us, it’s important to focus back on ourselves and our mental health. Meditation and yoga are practices that date back to as early as 5000 BCE, but the power and positive effects of these practices in our modern world still help us find inner peace and harmony. It is scientifically proven that yoga and meditation help reduce stress, improve sleeping patterns, and increase self-esteem.

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