With Christmas right around the corner, you may want to be inspired, or at least entertained, by some of the weird stuff that people do to celebrate. What do we mean by weird? We mean a country where the meal of choice is KFC — as in fried chicken. But that may be better than herring (sorry, Norway). This is a roundup of global holiday traditions.
Country: Scandinavia
Tradition: Christmas Stockings
We have to admit, we had to dig deep, to look into the tradition of Christmas stockings. What we found were two theories, but either way, the modern day tradition starts in the 1800s. Tradition around the world has it that you hang your stockings by the fireplace for Saint Nicholas, (aka Santa Clause) to fill them with treats. How this all started though, is either in Scandinavia, or modern-day Turkey, depending on which theory you buy.
First, in Scandinavia, legend has it that children would fill their boots near the fireplace with treats for pagan God Odin’s horses. Today, countries like France and the Netherlands still put out shoes for Santa.
The second theory for the origin of Christmas stockings began with a widowed father and his three unmarried daughters. Back then, families had to provide a dowry for their daughters, and the father could not afford to marry off his girls. As luck would have it, Saint Nicolas was in town and heard of their plight and came down the chimney at the family’s home on Christmas Eve. The girls had their stockings hanging by the fire, which he filled with gold coins. Today, you’ll still see families filing the Christmas stockings with chocolate gold coins.
Country: Germany
Tradition: The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree is one of the most recognized traditions in the world. Popular opinion is that we have Germany to thank, for one of the most significant ways, besides gifts, to symbolize Christmas. The original tradition was to put the tree up on Christmas Eve with communion wafers to symbolize the redemption of Adam and Eve. Eventually wafers became cookies, which led to prettier candles, before tree decoration took it to next level. Before you know it, there’s Rockefeller Center, one of the most recognizable Christmas trees of all the global holiday traditions.
Country: Spain
Tradition: 12 Grapes at Midnight
The Spanish know how to live; like who doesn’t like long lunches, afternoon siestas, and dinners that start at 10pm? It should be no surprise that the Spanish also know how to celebrate New Years Eve. First, it’s very traditional for families to be together. Of course that doesn’t mean that everyone stays home. The family celebration can be at the epic party at Amazonico, where multi-generational families gather to ring in the New Year over caviar, lobster, champagne and sushi.
No matter where you celebrate in Spain though, at midnight, the tradition is always the same. As the clock strikes the new year, for each chime that rings out 12 times, you eat one grape. This symbolizes each month of the year, and good fortune, prosperity and luck. We have to forewarn though; it’s harder than it seems to eat twelve grapes, but it is a good time and lots of laughter.
Country: Czech Republic
Tradition: The Shoe Toss
Calling all the single ladies. Sort of like the Christmas stockings tradition, the shoe toss in the Czech Republic has its origins with unmarried women. Few global holiday traditions claim to offer insight into your romantic future like Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic. If a Czech woman is unmarried on that day, she can toss a shoe over her shoulder toward her front door. This will indicate if she’ll tie the knot sometime in the next 12 months. If the shoe lands with its toe pointing toward the door, it’s said that she’s destined to marry in the coming year. However, if the heel points to the door, then tradition holds she’ll stay single another year.
Country: New Zealand
Tradition: Santa in Jandals
Kiwis are famously laid-back and so is their version of Santa. Christmas is a summer holiday for the parts of the world closest to the South Pole, like New Zealand. Therefore, their St. Nick is always in a T-shirt, shorts, and jandals. Which in case you don’t know, are rubber flip-flops that are a key part of the NZ summertime uniform. No milk and cookies, either; New Zealand’s Santa drinks beer.
Country: Saint Lucia
Tradition: Bamboo Bursting
The 12 days of Christmas start with a bang on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia with this global holiday tradition. December 13 is the country’s national day. It’s also the feast day of the Christian saint it was named after, Saint Lucy of Syracuse. Locals celebrate with “bamboo bursting”. This entails a long bamboo cane that is turned into a cannon with a small hole near the closed end. Fuel, (usually kerosene) is added and then lit. It creates a loud boom which can be heard across the island throughout the day, and even the rest of the month.
Country: Latvia
The Tradition: Masked Processions
This global holiday tradition is known by many different names in Latvia (and other countries as well). Think of it as a combination of trick-or-treating mixed with caroling, which honestly, we think sounds a little terrifying. But we’re assured that it’s all good times, even when masked strangers show up at your door. In the days leading up to and just after the winter solstice (usually December 21 or 22), revelers don masks and costumes that are usually animal-themed. They then go door-to-door singing songs and giving some light-hearted ribbing in exchange for food and drinks.
Country: Japan
Tradition: KFC for Christmas
Let’s file this one as we just don’t get it. Japan has some of the best food in the world. Like they have more Michelin-starred restaurants than France, where Michelin ratings started. But yet Christmas in Japan wouldn’t be complete without a “party barrel” from the KFC fast-food chain. (Yes, that KFC.) It comes with cake, sides, and a bucket of chicken. Many families preorder their party barrels weeks in advance to avoid long lines. This global holiday tradition starts to make sense once you spot the resemblance between Santa and Colonel Sanders. The “Kentucky for Christmas” tradition seems surprisingly logical, right?
Country: Norway
Tradition: Pickled Herring
Scandinavians famously have an affection for pickled herring, but it seems to especially run deep in Norway. For Norwegians, there must be at least one herring dish at any Christmas feast. It can be served spiced with cloves and cinnamon, swimming in strong mustard, or steeped in rich tomato sauce. You would never know how many ways there are to eat herring. You may be asking yourself right about now, why you should partake in this global holiday tradition. Well, the answer is good luck and prosperity for the New Year. So head to your local delicatessen, and order up that herring.
Country: Sweden
Tradition: Donald Duck Cartoons
At three o’clock in the afternoon every Christmas Eve, Swedish families gather around the TV to enjoy an annual broadcast of Disney cartoons. The show includes some specific classic clips of Donald Duck (or “Kalle Anka,” as the Swedes call him) and his friends. To keep it interesting, there are new segments each year featuring animated characters from recent Disney films.
Country: Liberia
Tradition: Dancing Devils
The holiday season in Liberia is more akin to our Halloween. Processions of larger-than-life performers known as “bush devils” parade through the streets. Decked out in straw costumes and often on stilts, they dance to up-tempo drum beats before collecting small gifts as payment. But despite the name, their folklore origins explicitly state they’re not evil. It’s a custom that merges local ethnic traditions with the Christian holiday, that creates a cultural expression entirely its own.
