Though every family has their own unique traditions surrounding the holiday season, there's still a unified idea of what Christmas and other celebrations look like in America. We all know the image of Santa Claus, of leaving out milk and cookies, of stockings and trees and lights, but what about in other areas of the world? What do their holidays look like?
Here you'll find a list of some of the strangest holiday traditions from around the world, opening our eyes to just how varied the holidays can be.
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December 23 is La Noche de Rabanos, or The Night of the Radishes, in Oaxaca, Mexico. It consists of a market-like festival where artists sell radishes that were carved into a number of different things, including nativity scenes, animals, architecture, or other artistic patterns.
These radishes are meant to be a table centerpiece for the holidays, so people buy them to use as festive decorations. There are also prizes awarded to the best radish designs shown off at the festival.
The common western idea of a Christmas dinner likely includes ham, mashed potatoes, and maybe some gingerbread for dessert, but does it include fried chicken? It does in Japan, where eating Kentucky Fried Chicken especially on Christmas Eve is the standard tradition.
This is thanks to a very popular '70s marketing campaign that poised KFC as a holiday food. The public loved it, and it's been around ever since. Approximately 3.5 million families in Japan eat KFC's 'Christmas Meal' every year, with many preordering them months in advance.
If you're in Caracas, Venezuela on Christmas day, you'll likely see droves of people taking to the streets to roller skate to their holiday mass ceremony. This is partially due to the fact that cars are banned before 8 A.M. there, so over the years, people have collectively come together to find a communal way for everyone to get to church on time.
Though, there is one stranger part to this tradition. On Christmas Eve, some children will tie a string to their big toe and stick the end of that string out their window so passing roller skaters can give that string a tug and give them a good morning greeting on their way to mass.
Though many countries celebrate a gift-giving holiday around this time of year, not everyone has those gifts delivered by our familiar Santa Claus. Some countries have a different benevolent figure doling out presents, like Italy's La Befana, a witch-like woman who functions similarly to Santa.
She has quite the story too. Legend has it that the Magi stopped by Befana's home for directions to visit baby Jesus. They invited her to come along, but she said she had too much housework to do and couldn't spare the time. Later, she decided she did want to join them after all, so she set out trying to find them, but never could. Now, her spirit takes to the skies on January 5, delivering presents to children, and still searching for baby Jesus on her own.
This one is pretty well known, having inspired many a spooky story and even a full horror movie, but hailing from Germanic countries of Europe (namely Germany itself, Austria, and Hungary) is the legend of Krampus. While we're used to the children on Santa's naughty list getting lumps of coal as punishment, Germany has instead sicked a demon after them, for Krampus is said to frighten naughty children with his monstrous appearance as punishment for their misdeeds.
Unless he's dealing with an especially bad kid. Then, he'll throw that kid into his sack or even chain them up in the large basket he carries and bring them straight to hell. Happy holidays indeed.
When people spot a spiderweb in their home, they usually consider it a nuisance or a sign that they need to clean at best, or an active fear at worst, not wanting to see ay of the insects or arachnids that might be present within. Their inherent creepiness has led them to become associated with Halloween, but that's not true of everywhere in the world.
In Ukraine, spiderwebs are signs of good fortune due to an old folk tale in which a generous spider spun beautiful silk webs around a poor family's home-grown Christmas tree that they couldn't afford to decorate. Modern-day Ukrainians now decorate their trees with spiderwebs as an homage to that story and the kindness it represents.
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Krampus isn't the only frightening figure to pop up this time of year. Wales has the Mari Lwyd, a costume that consists of a horse skull on a stick adorned with sheets, ribbons, bells, and accessories.
As the stories go, throughout December and January, you might receive a knock at your door then open it to find the Mari Lywd being puppeted by a party of people (or one person with a group tagging along). The group will begin to sing, asking to come inside. The homeowner is expected to sing back, providing excuses as to why they can't let Mari Lywd in. It eventually turns to a playful sort of insult banter where both parties are trying to stay rhyming and musical. This goes until, usually, the homeowner relents and lets the group come in for drinks.
The Catalonia region of Spain has a tradition they call Tió de Nadal, or 'Christmas log.' Families get a log, decorate it with a face, legs, and a red hat, then begin 'feeding' its starting December 8, filling it with presents and/or candy. On Christmas Eve, the log is then placed into an unlit fireplace where the family takes turns hitting it with a stick, making it, um, defecate the items they had been feeding it with all month.
They'll do this while singing traditional songs and help themselves to the spoils once the log has been thoroughly beaten. Poor guy.
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