Strange Christmas Traditions From Around The World

Christmas is the time of good cheer, when people come together to celebrate with family and share seasonal good tidings. However, around the planet, there are some very peculiar traditions associated with Christmas. We are going to take a global tour to uncover some weird and wonderful Yuletide traditions from around the world. 

Reboot Your Lovelife - Czech Republic

Santa Claus can bring many things down the chimney, but not a husband. Squeezing one down the flue is difficult in and of itself without the fact that they tend to come out all sooty. And sooty footprints on the carpet can result in divorce before marriage.

In the Czech Republic they've devised a simple solution – just stand with your back to the front door during Christmas and throw a shoe over your shoulder. If it lands with the toe pointing towards the door you'll find your dream husband within the year.

Spider web tree - Ukraine

Ukrainian Christmas trees are often adorned with spider web decorations – a symbol of good luck. This tradition has its origins in an old folk tale about a woman who couldn't afford to decorate her tree. On Christmas morning she woke to find that it had been festooned with glittering spider silk.

This Christmas tradition may come from the belief that it is bad luck to destroy a spider's web - at least until the spider is safely out of harm's way!

Christmas Goat - Sweden

Scandinavia has no shortage of exotic Christmas traditions, as you might expect from countries closest to the North Pole. 

Most famous of these is the Christmas Goat, a symbol that's popular in both Norway and Sweden and has its origins in pre-Christian times. 

In the Swedish town of Gävle a giant goat of straw is built in the town square. Though Swedes are generally a conservative and law-abiding bunch, the goat proves too tempting a target, to the point where bookies take bets on how long it will be before someone finally torches it.

Scary Cats - Iceland

In neighbouring Iceland, meanwhile, the shiftless and shirtless fall prey to the Christmas Cat. Children who finish all their work and get new clothes before Christmas are rewarded, those who don't are devoured!

The gigantic Christmas Cat - also known as the Yule Cat - is said to roam the countryside and gobble up anyone who crosses his path. Making an offering of warm winter clothes is the best way to pacify this fearsome feline.

A Finger Licking Christmas - Japan

KFC chicken is a popular treat at Christmas in Japan. Colonel Sanders, who also sports a big white beard, must get mistaken for Santa at this time of year since he enjoys a ten-fold increase in sales come Christmas.

While the rest of us are eating turkey, the Japanese, for whatever inexplicable reason, swarm their local KFC at Christmas time to such a point where it's often advised to book your bucket of chicken weeks or even months in advance!

On A Roll - Venezuela

Going to church early on Christmas morning is a common tradition throughout the world, but what sets the people of Caracas, Venezuela apart is their method of getting there – rollerskates! Streets are closed to traffic from eight in the morning as the city's holy rollers skate their way to mass. 

According to tradition, Venezuelan children tie a piece of string to their toes which is left dangling outside their window. Passing skaters tug on the string to let the children know that it's time to wake up!

Nightmares Before Christmas - Austria

A bag of coal is the least of your worries in Austria where Krampus, a huge terrifying demon with goat horns and hooves who's essentially the anti-Santa, punishes naughty children by beating them with a stick, drowning them or dragging them straight to hell. 

Krampus Night occurs on the 5th of December, just before the Feast of St Nicholas on the 6th. While St Nicholas delivers gifts to all the well-behaved children, Krampus pays a visit to the naughty kids with his sticks and sack of coal.

Load of Carp - Poland

Looking to mix up your Christmas food this year? Then how about embracing the Polish tradition of serving carp instead of turkey.

In Poland, it's traditional to serve up this particular fish on Christmas Eve, which is when the main Christmas celebration is held, instead of the 25th. The carp is, however, just one of twelve individual courses that grace the average Polish Christmas dinner table. Why twelve you ask? One for each of the apostles.  

If you're feeling particularly superstitious, it is said that by taking one of the carp's scales and placing it in your wallet will bring you good fortune in the year ahead. 

A Royal Hangover - Britain

Carol singing is still a popular event in the run-up to the 25th in the UK and Ireland, and thinking about it now, turning up at someone's door and loudly singing at them might be viewed as a strange enterprise in cultures that don't share the practice.

Those who don't fancy braving the cold still trek down to the church for Christmas Eve hymns, while less devout types opt for the traditional pub visit, to guarantee the big day is spent nursing a sore head.

Festive Logs - Catalonia, Spain

Christmas constipation is one universal tradition Catalans clearly aren't shy about. Healthy bowel movements are to be celebrated openly and are the subject of two of their most famous traditions.

First, they have the caga tió – a "crapping log" for all intents and purposes, with a smiling face on one side and a little blanket on top to keep him warm. The log is "fed" and later burned to bring good luck.

Stranger still are the caganers, tiny figurines with their trousers down, backside bared and doing what bears do in the woods without modesty. These are said to be symbols of luck, fertility and good fortune and are actually placed in with nativity scenes. 

A New Christmas Tradition

Of course, not all Spanish Christmas traditions are quite so... biologically orientated. Some are quite magical, such as the world-famous Spanish Christmas Lottery, the biggest and most generous lottery on the planet. The Spanish celebrate this lottery as a national event, with over 90% of the population buying tickets!

With a one in seven chance of winning a prize and a prize pool of $3.9 billion NZD it's easy to see why. You can now enjoy the same festive generosity here at Lottoland by betting on the results of the Spanish Christmas Lottery, with odds of just 100,000:1 of winning the jackpot, otherwise known as El Gordo! 

If you want to know more about El Gordo in detail check our article: How to Play the Spanish Christmas Lottery