Following YonderStar

Did you know that Jordan has some of the oldest Christian communities in the world? Officially known at the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and located in western Asia, Jordan has been home to Christian populations since the 1st century AD. Over a quarter of a million Christian live in Jordan, the majority of whom are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.Jordan is part of the Holy Land and is home to many biblical sites - Al-Maghtas on the East Bank of the Jordan river where Jesus was baptized by …

Every December 24th in Ecuador's capital city of Quito, a huge parade is held to celebrate the coming of the infant Jesus. Religious themed parade floats, music and dancing travel throughout the town of Quito, and ultimately end at the Catedral de la Inmaculada for Christmas church services.  The star of the parade is, of course, the infant Jesus. A statue of the Christ child called  Niño Viajero or the Child Traveler is the focus of the procession.  Here is …

What is the Christmas season like in Sweden? How do the people of Sweden celebrate this wonderful time of year? In Sweden, the season begins on the first Sunday in Advent with the lighting of an Advent candle.Similar to the tradition in other countries, an additional candle is lit each Sunday to mark the weeks until Christmas. Our Swedish nativity scene shown above holds four taper candles - a sleek and joyous Scandinavian design for Advent! On December 13th, Sweden honors …

The next location on our virtual world tour is Denmark. So many interesting Christmas traditions from around the world!Christmas in Denmark is celebrated with many culinary traditions. The Christmas lunch (or Julefrokost) is a traditional Danish Christmas event. The meal consists of several fish options served on Danish rye bread, followed by a course of meats and cabbage dishes, and a dessert course of cheeses, citrus fruits, and risalamande, a Christmas rice dish. Also traditionally consu …

Many Christmas traditions in Canada are very similar to those celebrated in America, so for today's tour stop, I thought we'd take a look at some of Canada's traditional recipes - many of which are baked up for Christmas! I for one will be trying out the delicious looking Nanaimo Bars - a confection named after the city of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,British Columbia. This historic Canadian dessert first made its appearance in the early to mid 1900s and has even been featured on a Canadi …