More than 2 billion people across the world consider Christmas the most important annual holiday. It’s no wonder why: the warmth of being surrounded by friends and family at the coldest part of the year is one of the best feelings there is.
Oh, and the presents.
But even though Christmas is a time for gifts and family for so many, there are all sorts of different Christmas traditions around the world. From Iceland to Japan, it sometimes seems like every country has its own peculiar holiday traditions.
Let’s take a look at a few.
1. Iceland’s Yule Lads
Which character do you associate with the holiday season? Most people will say Santa Claus, but if you hale from Iceland you might pick the Yule Lads. These 13 mischievous imps arrive each year in Iceland to do everything from stealing sausages to licking spoons, and they’ll leave you a shoe full of moldy potatoes if you’ve been bad!
2. Brazil’s Missa Do Galo
Christmas in the USA is all about Christmas morning: rushing downstairs to see what Santa has left you under the tree. Not so in Brazil, where midnight mass is when everyone meets up with family and friends to swap gifts and Christmas cheer. Oh, and there’s even a huge fireworks show!
3. Ukraine’s Christmas Spiders
Yep, you read that right. Ukrainians will often decorate their Christmas trees in material that looks a lot like spiders’ webs. It all harkens back to the story of a poor woman who couldn’t afford decorations, but awoke Christmas morning to find some helpful spiders had wreathed her tree in glittering webs!
Though, to be honest, we admit we’d rather wake up to a Santa sleigh and reindeer than a tree full of spiders.
4. Austria’s Krampus
Despite looking a bit like a horror movie villain, Austria’s demon Krampus is a key part of their yuletide festivities. While St. Nick comes round rewarding good Austrian boys and girls with presents, Krampus throws naughty kids in his burlap sack and takes them away to be punished. So be good, for goodness’ sake!
5. Japan’s Kentucky Fried Chicken
Ok, so this is less of a Christmas tradition and more a Christmas-isn’t-really-a-big-deal-here tradition. Very few Japanese people celebrate Christmas, and what celebrations there are is usually just a bit of polite gift-giving. Until recently.
These days, on the 25th of December you’re likely to find the KFCs of Japan stuffed full of people as Japanese ‘celebrants’ crowd the fast-food chain to take advantage of its Christmas Day sales. Well, everyone celebrates in their own special way after all, right?
Christmas Traditions: Bringing Us Together, Differently
No matter how you celebrate Christmas, we hope you got a kick out of some of these unique national Christmas traditions. Whether you’re waiting for a Yule Lad, hiding from Krampus, or just heading down to KFC, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Liked this article? Check out our site for more!
