Christmas Traditions Around The World

It’s Christmas time once again. I love this time of year, for so many reasons. Of course, there is THE reason for the season, but there is so much more to love about this time of year as well. I love the lights and the decorations. I love how people make a point of getting together to spread love, happiness and good cheer. I love all the festivities.

The world celebrates the birth of Jesus at this time of year, but every country has a different way to celebrate. I thought it would be fun to show how people around the world celebrate the Christmas holidays. Here are just a few different ways the season is celebrated around the world.

1. In the Philippines, lights are a big part of the festivities on Nocha Buena or the Philippine version of Christmas Eve. The big feast for Nocha Buena is ham and/or lechon (roast suckling pig) on the Christmas table, plus roast turkey or chicken relleno (Stuffed chicken), fruit salad, ensaimada (a brioche-type pastry), leche flan (caramel custard) and apple pie.

2. An Icelandic tradition has children put their shoes out each night for a small gift from the Yule Lads or the mountain trolls (this is also a tradition in many of the Scandinavian countries as well). One of the most famous Christmas Eve traditions in Iceland is what’s known as Jólabókaflód, or “Christmas book flood”. Most people in Iceland give and receive books on Christmas Eve, which they then spend the rest of the evening reading. They celebrate Christmas for 13 days. Icelandic homes are visited by the 13 Yule Lads (“Jólasveinar”) – creatures from festive Nordic folklore. Starting on 12 December, they descend one by one from the mountains. According to legend, the Yule Lads are the sons of a troll named Grýla.

3. The Germans have their traditional Christmas pickle. We adopted this tradition as well, last year, when our friends Maureen and Milos told us the story of the German pickle and gave us our very own pickle. And Larry is German, so it only makes sense. Hiding the pickle in the tree is supposed to bring good luck to the person who finds it. Since we now have a German pickle ornament, we hid it in the tree and we gave the person who found it a bottle of wine. This will be one of our Christmas traditions from here on out too.

Germans also celebrate St. Nicolas day. In Germany, Saint Nicholas is entirely different from Santa Claus. Over there, Saint Nicholas is a separate gift-giver that nods to the religious version of Santa and leaves small presents, such as coins and fruit, in the shoes of good German children on the night of December 5th. But if they were naughty, children could wake up to find sticks, twigs, or switches in their shoes instead!

4. African countries that celebrate Christmas celebrate with parades, songs, lights and palm leaves. Food is a very important part of the festivities too. Though because Africa is a huge continent, there are many different holiday traditions all throughout the lands.

5. In Sweden, there is the big Christmas goat. The Yule Goat has been a Swedish Christmas symbol dating back to ancient pagan festivals. However, in 1966, the tradition got a whole new life after someone came up with the idea to make a giant straw goat, now referred to as the Gävle Goat. According to the official website, the goat is more than 42 feet high, 23 feet wide, and weighs 3.6 tons. Each year, the massive goat is constructed in the same spot. Fans can even watch a livestream from the first Sunday of Advent until after the New Year when it’s taken down.

6. Mexico and many other Latin American countries like the Christmas pinata. Traditional ones come in the form of a seven-point star, symbolizing the seven deadly sins that are then broken by a stick to represent faith in God. They’re usually filled with little treats like candy, fruits, and peanuts.

While many American Christmas dinners tend to revolve around turkey or ham, in Mexico, it’s all about the tamales for holiday feasting.  Tamales are traditional Christmas foods, and are enjoyed in almost every Mexican or Latin American household on Christmas Eve. I remember enjoying many Christmas tamales with my dear friend Andrea’s family over the years. Every year, there would be a big tamale production line, with Andrea’s dad David in charge. Oh how I miss those fabulous Christmas Eve celebrations and parties.

7. In Norway, the tradition is to hide mops and brooms at Christmas time. Norwegian folklore advises hiding brooms and mops on Christmas night to prevent evil spirits and witches, who return to earth on Christmas, from taking the cleaning tools and using them to fly through the sky. How’s that for a clean sweep?

8. Who would have ever thought that KFC (formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) would play such a prominent role in Christmas festivities? But in Japan, KFC is what EVERYONE eats. They order it in advance, by the buckets, for the Christmas holidays. This is a more recently-celebrated tradition that’s become super popular in Japan. While Christmas isn’t exactly a huge holiday there, some people do celebrate it, with Christmas Day feasts consisting of none other than buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Not only is Colonel Sanders now synonymous with Santa Claus, but the brand even purveys Christmas-themed “Party Barrels” to mark the tradition. They include salad, cake, and plenty of fried chicken.

9. The Polish Christmas tradition has food as a very important, integral part of their festivities. In Poland, on Christmas Eve, you may feel your tummy rumbling until your family receives a sign from the heavens that it’s time to eat—literally. Polish families don’t start eating dinner until someone spots the very first star shining in the sky. They also set an extra plate at the table for unexpected guests.

10. In Venezuela, Christmas is on wheels a lot of the time. That is the wheels of roller skates. In Caracas, Venezuela, residents don’t head to church services in cars—but on roller skates. There are actually so many people who participate in this tradition that several city streets are closed to traffic on Christmas morning.

In the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is actually a summertime festivity, rather than a winter celebration, like it is in the Northern Hemisphere. My “rellies’ in Australia used to ask me all the time if we really get snow at Christmas time because Christmas there is HOT, HOT, HOT. So for them, Santa is busy surfing and soaking up the sun.

Wherever you are, and however you celebrate the season, make it merry and bright, and have a safe Merry Christmas.