Comparing Uruguay and the U.S

Comparing two countries that have little to no similarities can be a challenge, but can also be a pleasant experience. Uruguay and The United States share their similarities and differences in how they celebrate their countries holidays. Holidays are important to a country, because it shows a little side of how the people act and what they truly care about. On my journey to find these similarities and differences I have learned a lot about Uruguay and even learned some new things about my home country, The United States. Like The United States, the people of Uruguay have a Santa Claus, but they call him Papa Noel. In Uruguay, they say Papa Noel’s associates deliver all the children’s presents at 12:00 am sharp. Santa Claus, here in The United States is said to deliver the presents all night long. Unlike parts of The United States that snow in December, the Uruguay people only know of a “Sweating Christmas.” They usually don’t encounter any snow in the Christmas season; it’s usually very hot since its summer time in the part of the hemisphere where Uruguay is located. The United States usually put their children to bed so when they wake up in the morning, Santa Claus has come during the night and set up the presents under the tree while they were fast asleep. Uruguay announces presents a whole different way. On Christmas Eve, families gather to have a huge dinner and wait for 12:00 am to hit. When it does, they gather all the children to a window in the house and point to a star in the sky and tell the kids that Papa Noel is on his way. As some of the parents are telling the story to the children, another adult is quietly putting the presents under the tree. They then announce Papa Noel has come. The children run to the place of the tree and see all the gifts piled all over the floor. Preparations for both Uruguay and The United States on Christmas Eve are very similar. Both usually set up a Christmas tree that are either fake, or families get