In Finland, Christmas is celebrated from 24th to 26th of December. Preparations for the festival begin from approximately a month ago with many Finnish people buying the Christmas tree, decorative items and gifts and goodies for the season. Houses are cleaned and special treats like gingerbread cookies and prune tarts prepared for the oncoming festive season.

Most Christians in the Ukraine belong to the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox recognizes the Julian calendar, so that Christmas is celebrated on January 7.

Slovenia celebrates Christmas on December 25th. Be sure to visit the Ljubljana Christmas Market if you're in Slovenia during the month of December to experience Christmas the Slovenian way.

Slovakia's Christmas traditions are similar to those of the Czech Republic. Christmas in Slovakia takes place on December 25th.

The main Church of Serbia and Montenegro is the Orthodox Church. Like Russia, the tradition is to use the Julian calendar as opposed to the modern Gregorian calendar - at least when it comes to holidays and traditions. Day to day life is ruled by the Gregorian calendar.

In Romania, Christmas and mid-winter celebrations last from 20th December to 7th January. The 20th is when people in Romania celebrate St. Ignatius's Day. It is traditional that if the family keep pigs, one is killed on this day. The meat from the pig is used in the Christmas meals.

In Russia the religious festival of Christmas is being replaced by the Festival of Winter but there are some traditions that are still kept up in some parts of the country.

In Portugal, Christmas is celebrated with great fun and fervor. Catholicism being the predominant religion of the country, the festival is observed here with as much solemnity as festive gaiety.

Traditionally, Advent is an important season in the Polish year, with special church services, known as Roraty, being held every morning at 6am. The four Sundays of Advent are said to represent the 4,000 years of waiting for Christ.

In Norway, Christmas is known as "Jul" and celebrated annually on December 25, like in many other places.