Program 427b: Even More European Christmas Traditions

Learn about holiday traditions observed in France, Norway, Greece, London, the Spanish Basque Country, and small-town Italy. From festively decorated Greek boats to dishes of fresh oysters and fermented trout, and Santas who live not on the North Pole but on a farm or in the woods, Christmas is a little different across the pond.

• Tom Hooper, tour guide from London
• Gillian Chadwick, tour guide from London
• Cecilia Bottai, vintner and tour guide from Orvieto, Italy
• Patrick Vidal, tour guide from Brittany, France
• Virginie Moré, tour guide from Lyon, France 
• Pål Bjarne Johansen, tour guide from Oslo, Norway
• Anastasia Gaitanou, tour guide from Thessaloniki, Greece
• Danae Kousouri, tour guide from Athens
• Agustín Ciriza, tour guide from San Sebastian, Spain

• You can watch the Rick Steves European Christmas TV special on demand. The website includes a number of Christmas recipes from Rick's European tour guide friends, plus extra features from Rome and Bavaria.
• The history of displaying a nativity scene for Christmas is said have originated with St. Francis of Assisi.
• A "Buche Noël" yule log is a traditional dessert served at Christmastime in France.
• Saint Vasilios, also known as Basil the Great, was a contemporary of Saint Nicholas, and brings gifts to the children in Greece on January 1.
• The Olentzero is a Christmastime character that brings toys to the children of the Basque Country in Spain.