One of the joyful and colorful festivals celebrated around the globe is soon approaching that is Christmas. People decorate and light up their Christmas trees, eat delicious Christmas cakes, exchange exciting gifts, and have a sumptuous meal with friends and family. Do you know that all over the world, people celebrate this joyous holiday with several unique and fun traditions? From spider web Christmas trees to hiding brooms on Christmas Eves, here are some of the unusual Christmas traditions followed around the world!
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Keeping Shoes by the Fire in the Netherlands
One of the unique Christmas traditions followed in the world is by the kids in the Netherlands. The kids place their shoes next to the fireplace the day before Christmas. It is believed that at night Santa Claus or Sinterklaas visits and fills the kids’ shoes with lots of gifts. Kids also leave carrots in the shoes of Sinterklaas’s horse named Amerigo. It is said that in the earlier days, the kids who had been naughty would receive a potato in their shoes instead of gifts.
Giant Lantern Festival in the Philippines
In the city of San Fernando in the Philippines, people participate in the Ligligan Parul Sampernandu, or the Giant Lantern Festival, which is held on the Saturday before Christmas. Traditionally on this day, people made beautiful star-shaped lanterns symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem from traditional origami paper. Now people make gorgeous lanterns using all kinds of materials. This colorful festival attracts thousands of people from all over the Philippines. Since the lantern festival is held annually in San Fernando, this city is known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines.”
The Yule Lads and the Yule Cat in Iceland
In Iceland, the kids are visited by 13 Yule lads for 13 nights leading to Christmas Day. Every night the kids place their shoes by the window and go to sleep. The Yule lads dressed in the traditional attires visit them and give nice gifts like candies if the children have been good or rotten potatoes if they have been bad. There is also a unique folklore of Iceland, where a giant cat with big yellow eyes and huge whiskers roams the countryside at night, looking for prey. Those who worked hard for new clothes were spared, and those who didn’t were devoured by the Yule Cat.
The tradition of Hiding Brooms in Norway
Another one of the most unusual Christmas holiday traditions around the world can be found in Norway. On Christmas Eve, people hide their brooms and mops because, according to Norwegian folklore, evil spirits such as witches came out at this time and stole brooms to ride on. Many still believe in this folklore and keep their broomstick hidden away, so it doesn’t get stolen.
Hiding Pickle in Tree in Germany
Today, the German Christmas tradition of hiding a pickle in the tree is followed by many. A family member hides a glass pickle ornament in the Christmas tree. The person who finds the pickle ornament anytime during Christmas receives a special gift. Some believe that this unique tradition originated in Spain when Saint Nicholas saved two boys who were kept prisoners in a pickle barrel.
First Star Tradition in Poland
In Poland, the houses are cleaned, and people wear new clothes. On Christmas Eve, people don’t start eating until the first star in the sky has been seen. Children look out their windows in the evening to spot the first star and only then start the Christmas Eve supper, also called Wigilia in polish. Some families leave an empty seat with cutlery and dishes for unexpected guests, such as a homeless person passing by who can celebrate the day with them.
Roller Skating to Mass in Caracas
Here’s a super unique and fun Christmas tradition, roller skating. In the capital city of Venezuela, Caracas, each day from the 16th to the 24th of December, people roller skate to Christmas Mass. On these days, streets bustle with people on roller skates, and some streets are closed to traffic.
Cobweb Christmas in Ukraine
In Ukraine, instead of decorating the Christmas tree with stars, and other colorful ornaments, they also adorn the tree with decorations looking like a spider web which is believed to bring good luck. According to a folktale, a poor woman could not afford to decorate her Christmas tree with colorful embellishments. But the spiders took pity on her and her the family, and so they decorated the tree with webs. The whole family woke up to a beautiful Christmas tree covered with sparkly webs under the bright daylight. People in Poland and Germany consider it very lucky to find a spider or spider webs on their Christmas tree.
And those were some of the unique Christmas traditions followed around the globe. Which ones did you find interesting? Christmas is the special time of the year that brings so much joy among kids and elders. Shop for the best Christmas gifts on Giftalove.com. It is one of the top gifting websites in India offering Christmas gift hampers , gifts for family, and more at the best prices with quick delivery.
Pratiksha is our in-house content writer who aims to provide quality content to her readers. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing, and learning about new things.