Framed Festivities

By Mia MacDonald

This installation is part of the Milwaukee Public Market’s Holiday Window Display, a collaborative project with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) that transforms St. Paul Avenue into a festive public art experience. Until January 31, ten large-scale, student-designed window installations light up the block between Broadway and Water Street, each offering a unique reflection on winter, creativity, and community.

About the Art: Framed Festivities is a salon-style collection of framed images depicting holiday traditions from around the world, each treated with a risograph-inspired effect. The zoomed-in compositions invite curiosity and interaction, encouraging viewers to discover new cultural customs and connections.

MacDonald’s piece highlights the beauty of diversity through the lens of shared human joy. Inspired by Milwaukee Public Market’s inclusive atmosphere, she celebrates global traditions, including:

• Austria: Krampus, a frightening figure, appears alongside St. Nicholas to punish bad children.
• China: A popular tradition is giving apples on Christmas Eve. This is because "apple" sounds similar to "peaceful night", the Chinese term for Christmas Eve.
• England: A Christmas cracker is a festive British tradition in which two people pull apart a decorated paper tube that snaps open to reveal small gifts, a paper crown, and a joke inside.  
• Ethiopia: The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is a significant social and cultural ritual involving roasting, grinding, and brewing coffee in front of guests. On holidays, the ceremony becomes even more elaborate, with guests often dressing in their best and making special dishes. 
• Finland: Families visit the sauna on Christmas morning before eating traditional food. 
• Germany: A decoration in the shape of a pickle is hidden on a Christmas tree, with the finder receiving either a reward or good fortune for the next year.
• Greece: Vasilopita is a traditional Greek New Year's bread, cake, or pie with a coin baked inside. It is shared at midnight on New Year's Eve to bring good fortune to the household and to the person who finds the coin in their slice. 
• Iceland: Children are visited by the 13 mischievous Yule Lads, who take turns leaving small gifts. 
• Italy: On January 5th, the day before Epiphany, children receive gifts from La Befana, a witch-like figure. 
• Japan: Many families enjoy eating fried chicken, particularly from KFC, on Christmas Day.
• Mexico: The Christmas tradition of breaking a seven-pointed star-shaped piñata
• Norway: Hiding brooms on Christmas Eve is a Norwegian custom to protect against witches and evil spirits who are believed to fly on them. 
• The Philippines: The Christmas festival held on the Saturday before Christmas Eve features villages competing to build the most elaborate, multi-colored lanterns that can be up to 20 feet in diameter.
• Sweden: Since 1966 the Yule Goat has been a traditional Christmas symbol in Nordic countries, with roots in pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. 
• Switzerland: The new year is celebrated by dropping an ice cream on the floor, to bring good luck.
• Ukraine: The tradition of putting decorative spiders in Christmas trees is seen as a symbol of good luck and stems from a folk tale about a poor widow and her children. 
• United States: Gingerbread houses are used as a friendly competition of decoration and creativity.
• Venezuela: People often roller-skate to attend Christmas gatherings on Christmas Eve.

About the Artist: Mia MacDonald is a senior Communication Design student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She values the behind-the-scenes details that bring cohesion and clarity to a brand’s message. Her work is guided by the desire to create connection and foster inclusion through thoughtful art and design.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mia-macdonald3412