It was once considered the most heartwarming and homey of holidays, a Norman Rockwell period of turkey dinner in the big dining room, a snowy street full of cheerful last-minute shoppers, carolers in Edwardian costumes, a cherubic little boy caught in the act of peeking at presents marked "Do not open till . . . "

But Rockwell also depicted Santa Claus consulting a wall map, or examining his globe with a magnifying glass. That, of course, was meant to remind us all that St. Nick would spread joy all over the Earth — defying time zones, gravity and the miserable aerodynamics of eight tiny reindeer.

More and more, since Rockwell's Age of Sentimentality, families have been using Christmas as a way to spread their own wings, leaving home for places where the holiday might be celebrated in unfamiliar ways, or even flying off to countries where Christmas is known simply as Thursday.

Some families may opt for a warm place like the Caribbean. The sight of colored lights, candy canes and fake icicles in 80-degree temperatures feels weird, especially when the steel bands play "Silent Night." But, hey, that might be better than yet another rendition of "Little Drummer Boy."

Those yearning for traditions that the home front lacks, or maybe never had, might hie off to a resort like the Ahwahnee in snow-covered Yosemite National Park. The hotel's famous Bracebridge Dinner re-creates a 17th-century English Christmas, complete with costumed carolers, jesters, minstrels and a groaning board that includes roast beef and plum pudding. The dinner is repeated over eight evenings, from Dec. 15 to Christmas.

Country lodges and castles in Ireland also pull out all the stops for Christmas season. Visitors won't see much snow, typically, but the pastures are usually a brilliant green and the fare fresh and sumptuous. Elsewhere in Ireland, the holiday is treated with a bit more solemnity than in some other countries. Window candles light the way for the Holy Family, and nativity scenes could well outnumber gaily decorated Christmas trees.

As the Chicago Tribune's correspondents point out in the accompanying stories, holiday celebrations and choice of decorations can vary wildly from country to country.

December is summertime to Australia, so the Christmas meal might be taken at the beach. Thousands of revelers flock to Bondi Beach in suburban Sydney, and even though the weather tends to bake the picnickers, a good many insist on traditional British fare like hot ham or roasted turkey, followed by plum pudding.