Christmas Traditions Around The World

Christmas traditions for me always involve pulling crackers, advent calendars and mulled wine at the local Christmas market. Of course not everyone’s traditions are the same and I love learning about how the rest of world like to celebrate. Here are six fun Christmas traditions from around the world.

Japan

Even though Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, they have one of my favourite festive traditions…KFC.

Thanks to a marketing campaign in 1974 using the slogan “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” aka “Kentucky For Christmas!”, a Christmas eve feast of fried chicken has lasted to this day and KFC records the highest volume of sales every year on December 24^th.

Ukraine

Legend has it that way back in the late 1800s or early 1900s there was a widow who lived in a small hut with her children. One summer day a pine cone fell to the ground and rooted. The children looked after it with the hopes that it would grow into a Christmas tree, which it did by the time Christmas eve arrived. They could not afford to decorate it but during the night the spiders in the hut took pity and decorated the tree with their webs.

When they awoke the next day, the tree was covered in sparkling webs the colours of silver and gold.

Because of this Ukrainians will decorate their trees with spider webs as a symbol of good luck and fortune in the coming year. So think twice before trying to shoo a spider out of your home in December.

Venezuela

The Venezuelan capital of Caracas might just have one of the most fun Christmas traditions of roller skating to Christmas eve mass.

The story goes that children go to bed with a piece of string tied around their toe with the other end hanging out of the window. As the skaters pass they tug on the string to let the children know it’s time to join in.

This activity has become so popular that the government will now close the streets until 8am to allow families to skate together safely. Once mass has finished families will gather in the streets and each other’s houses to make merry.

Spain

Tio de Nadal roughly translates to “Christmas log” but is also known as Caga Tio or sh*t log. Yes. Sh*t log.

Tio de Nadal is a Catalan tradition of giving a face, legs and a little hat to a piece of dead wood and from The Day of the Immaculate Conception (December 8^th) the family “feeds” the log every night and even gives it a little blanket to keep it warm.

On Christmas eve the log is placed in the fireplace and beaten by the family with sticks while they also demand that it poops presents and sweets and sing traditional songs.

Once Caga Tio has taken a thorough beating, the family celebrate by finding the “pooped” presents and candies under his little blanket.

Austria

You can hear him coming by the sound of his human foot alternating with his hoof. You will recognise him by his devilish horns and snake-like tongue. You will see he carries birch branches to beat naughty children.

He is Krampus. A half goat demon said to be the son of the Norse god of the underworld and St Nicholas’ evil counterpart. He visits Austria on the 5^th December, a night known as Krampusnacht, to punish the naughty children while St Nick delivers presents to the nice children. If you’ve been naughty you may get away with a slap from his birch branches but the unlucky ones will end up in his basket, never to be seen again.

The first written sources of Krampus appear in around the 16^th century and he is still adding a touch of the macabre to Christmas to this day. My Halloween loving heart fully approves.

Iceland

Icelandic children don’t get just one Father Christmas – they get 13 in the form of the Yule Lads. These mischievous lads take turns visiting children on the 13 nights leading up to Christmas. On each of these nights the kids will leave their shoes on the windowsill to await a special delivery. If you’ve been good you can expect to receive candy and if not, you’ll find a shoe full of rotting potatoes.

Apparently, the Yule Lads used to be terrifying but after a 1746 ban on parents disturbing their children with monstrous stories, they are now seen as nothing more than harmless tricksters.

Today The National Museum of Iceland describes the lads as the following:

Sheep-Cote Clod: He tries to suckle yews in farmer’s sheep sheds.

Gully Gawk: He steals foam from buckets of cow milk.

Stubby: He’s short and steals food from frying pans.

Spoon Licker: He licks spoons.

Pot Scraper, aka Pot Licker: He steals unwashed pots and licks them clean.

Bowl Licker: He steals bowls of food from under the bed (back in the old days, Icelanders used to sometimes store bowls of food there – convenient for midnight snacking?).

Door Slammer: He stomps around and slams doors, keeping everyone awake.

Skyr Gobbler: He eats up all the Icelandic yogurt (skyr).

Sausage Swiper: He loves stolen sausages.

Window Peeper: He likes to creep outside windows and sometimes steal the stuff he sees inside.

Door Sniffer: He has a huge nose and an insatiable appetite for stolen baked goods.

Meat Hook: He snatches up any meat left out, especially smoked lamb.

Candle Beggar: He steals candles, which used to be sought-after items in Iceland.

I managed to spot these guys in a Christmas shop in Reykjavik when my boyfriend and I visited Iceland in March.

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Does your country have any weird and wonderful Christmas traditions? Which one is your favourite?

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Click here for some fun New Years Eve celebrations around the world.