On Christmas morning, boys and girls around the world will waken early and run excitedly downstairs to see what Santa Claus has left for them…

Well, that’s not exactly how it goes — for around the world children celebrate the Christmas holidays in many different ways.

In Germany, the 6th of December is a special day:

…There’s a special tradition all over Germany on December 6th. [On] the evening of December 5th you put your cleaned (big) boots outside the house in front of the door (or inside). Some people also put a plate there or on the windowsill. The bread in the plate is for the white horse of Santa Claus … In the morning you see that Santa Claus really was at your house and put nice things into the boots or plates, e.g., all kinds of nuts, oranges, apples, sweets, chocolate, small presents … But if you [weren't] well behaved the whole year you only get a switch so that your parents can punish you, but they don’t!
Kristine and Wiebke, Germany
And in Italy, January 6th is a day long-awaited by many children:

The 6th of January is the day on which the three Wise Men arrive at the Bethlehem cave in which kid Jesus is and give him gold, incense and myrrh and for this reason in Italy children receive presents traditionally brought by the “Befana,” a good old witch who comes into their homes through the chimney. This is the last day to the Christmas holiday in Italy.
Elisbetta, Italy
In Sweden, December 13th is a special day that children look forward to all year long:

Saint Lucia [Day] is celebrated all over Sweden on December 13th. The custom with the girl dressed in white with candles on her head has a complicated background … In our school we celebrate Saint Lucia Day outside very early in the morning while it’s still dark. Our Saint Lucia is coming in a carriage pulled by a very small horse. She is followed by Santa Claus on a big horse and a lot of girls and boys in white gowns and a lot of candles. They all sing traditional Christmas songs and read poems. After the ceremony we all eat ginger cookies and bread with saffron. To celebrate is very important to Swedish people.
Class 4c in Nasbyparksskolan