- By Poorva Karki
- Thu, 21 Dec 2023 07:18 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
10 Most Unusual Christmas Traditions Around World: The best part about festivals in a world full of diverse cultures and populations is that every country or community has its own tradition that it follows during the festive celebration, and each one of them is beautiful and unique on its own. So, with Christmas just 4 days away, we thought to take a look at these beautiful Christmas traditions that might surprise you and compel you to try them at least once in your life. So we found out about a few Christmas traditions for you, which are unique to their core and are celebrated all around the world. The list was compiled by ‘travel.earth’.
Here are top 10 most unusual Christmas traditions from around the world:
KFC Party
Christmas is not that big of a holiday in Japan, but with time, the Japanese people began to follow a festival tradition unique to their country- parting at the KFC. Yes, the Japanese people celebrate Christmas by enjoying fried chicken.
Throwing Shoes
Coming to yet another unique tradition that the women follow to know whether they will get married soon or not, ladies in the Czech Republic throw a shoe backward towards their front door. If the toe ends up facing the door, then the wedding bells are near, while if the heel lands facing towards the door, then she will remain single.
Spider Web Christmas Tree
This unique tradition is followed in Ukraine, where people use decorative spider webs. The tradition was based on an old story where a poor family’s Christmas tree ended up beautiful after some spiders covered their otherwise less decorated tree with webs. As per the story, the webs in the morning gave the Christmas tree the perfect look the poor family wanted to achieve.
Saunas
This might be one of the most relaxing traditions, but families in Finland warm up in Saunas on Christmas Eve and connect with their ancestors.
Roller Skates
Another unique Christmas tradition that might be a fun one to do is Venezuela’s roller skates tradition. On Christmas morning, people roller skate to the church.
Pickle Ornament
In Germany, people follow a fun tradition, where they hide a pickle ornament somewhere in the Christmas tree. Meanwhile, the kid who spots the pickle first receives a special gift.
Cracker-Pulling
The cracker-pulling tradition is celebrated in the UK, where a wrapped tube-like structure with gifts is pulled from each side by people. The one to get the bigger end gets to keep the gifts inside the cracker.
Chandlers
In Colombia, people follow this beautiful tradition on the night of December 07, when they light candles on their windows and balconies to honour the Virgin Mary.
Radish Carving
The Night of the Radishes or La Noche de Rábanos is celebrated in Mexico’s Oaxaca, where people participate in a radish carving festival, which begins on December 23.
Christmas Special
This tradition in Sweden originated out of the famous show ‘Kalle Anka och Hans vänner önskar God Jul’ or ‘Donald Duck and his Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas’, which began in the 60s. Now, people watch the popular Donald Duck show on Christmas Eve as a tradition.