Hi world! Chris here. This week’s post is going to be somewhat small because I’ve been in finals mode for the past few days. All my energy has been devoted to papers about language and linguistics and all that good stuff I’m studying. However, I still think I managed to come up with a pretty fun topic for the holiday season.

Even though this is the time of year when everyone comes together with family and friends, I still think it’s important to remember the people that aren’t close by. And the people that you don’t even know. That’s why I wanted to take the time to study some of the different Christmas traditions of different cultures around the world!

Now, obviously there are like hundreds and thousands of different ways to celebrate Christmas so I just tried to find ten that I found the most interesting or the most different from the American way. I also tried to make sure that there were multiple sources that said it was true because I don’t want to spread any false stories about other countries. So, thanks to my intense internet searches, these should be fairly accurate.

Enjoy my top ten Christmas traditions from around the world!

Philippines- Giant Lantern Festival

This is probably the prettiest tradition for any holiday. I would love to go to the Philippines’s “Christmas Capitol” and see them for myself. If anyone would like to take a trip to San Fernando with me, let me know. We can even try to make our own twenty foot lantern because that’s the average size. They’re literally giants.

Sweden- Gävle Goat

I don’t fully understand this tradition, but what I do know about it makes me laugh so hard. Not because of the giant goat being a part of the Christmas Advent, but because it’s part of the tradition for people to just attempt to burn it down. That’s wild. So many safety hazards going on there.

Japan- KFC Dinner

As far as I could tell, this tradition is a relatively newer one. It seems to stem from the fact that there aren’t a lot of Christians in Japan, so Christmas isn’t a big religious observation. I guess that makes it more commercialized and I don’t think anything fits that kind of theme better than fast food. Why KFC is the fast food of choice, I don’t know. Nobody seemed to have the answer posted.

Iceland- Yule Lads

The Yule Lads are traditionally called jólasveinarnir, but that’s a lot to type so I’m gonna be lazy and use Yule Lads. Originally, there were thirteen of them that came around Christmas to perform crazy pranks, but now they’re more commonly known to leave gifts for good children in their best shoes. The bad children are known to get rotten potatoes.

Norway- Hidden Brooms

This tradition is so simple, but it might be my favorite just because of how random it is. Of course, I’m sure it only seems random to us Americans. In Norway, I guess it would be considered normal. Either way, it comes from the belief that evil spirits appeared on Christmas Eve and hunted for brooms that they could ride. To prevent that from happening, people in Norway hide their brooms deep in their house.

Venezuela- Roller Skate to Church

Going to church on Christmas is a tradition that I have participated in before; however, I have never roller skated there. I don’t know why anybody would want to either. Roller skates are hard to master. Apparently, the real reasons behind this tradition are hidden for everybody except the cities that participate. Frankly, I’m glad I’m not in one of them.

Colombia- Day of the Little Candles

This tradition was started to honor the Virgin Mary and the immaculate conception of Christ through decorating one’s house with little candles and paper lanterns. Since it started, the tradition has grown into a celebration that can result in entire cities being covered in elaborate candle displays. Sometimes there are even competitions between towns to make the best lanterns.

Toronto- Cavalcade of Lights

This tradition started in 1967 to mark the start of the holiday season by lighting up Nathan Phillips Square with Toronto’s Official Christmas Tree. The lights are all energy-efficient and are left on every night from the end of November until the New Year begins. That’s not all though. Toronto also celebrates Christmas with fireworks and ice skating!

Finland- Family Sauna

This is another tradition that makes me laugh. I couldn’t find any information on what started it or why it’s popular, but apparently it’s a thing to go hangout with your family in a sauna around Christmastime in Finland. The sauna itself sounds nice, but I don’t think I’d wanna chill there with my whole family.

Ukraine- Christmas Tree Webs

I love how this tradition came from an old folktale. The story follows a poor, single mother as she tries and fails to provide for her children at Christmastime. However, because their tree is covered in spiderwebs, it seems to glisten and shine like it’s fully decorated when they wake up on Christmas Day. That’s why a lot of Ukrainian families decorate their own trees with fake webs.

There are so many other fun and wacky things that people do to celebrate Christmas, but these are just the ten I liked the best. If you want to know more about any of the ones I’ve mentioned, or look into some other countries and what they do, you can check out the website here.

Also, some of the pictures featured are not mine and were borrowed from other websites. They are all embedded with the link to their original sites, so I give the rightful owners all the credit. If you click on them, you can check out even more information on the tradition they depict!

If you’ve made it this far in the post, please leave a like or a follow! I promise it will be worth it to follow because I’m currently working on a very small mini series for the holidays and I really think it’s going to funny. If not, I’m still excited because I get to collab with one of my favorite people. You are not gonna wanna miss it!

Until then, stay jolly out there!