Published 23rd December 2021
Christmas traditions come in all shapes and sizes, from giving gifts and getting together with
family to burying a small dead bird in your garden and eating its moldy remains…you know,
the usual… Here are 10 of the most peculiar traditions across the globe to feast your festive
eyes on.
According to popular Pagan belief in Norway, the 24th of December is a night when
evil spirits come out to play. Therefore, in the hopes of keeping ahold of their
cleaning supplies for another year, families hide their brooms in safe places to stop
them being used by passing witches to take to the sky.
Since 1974, KFC has been the traditional Christmas dinner for millions of people
across Japan. With the task of getting hold of a turkey proving almost impossible for
most families and the help of some very clever marketing, they turned to the next best
thing- chicken, and the best way to eat chicken? Deep fried of course!
What better way to get in the Christmas spirit than gathering all the rubbish in your
house, throwing it in the street, adorning it with a sculpture of Satan and then
setting it alight? Guatemalans believe that the smell of burning trash will warn off
evil spirits and negative energy, allowing them to have a happy and peaceful
Christmas. Not quite the spiced apple and mulled scents we’re used to, eh?
It is traditional in the Czech Republic for unmarried women to stand with their back
to a door and throw one of their shoes over their shoulder on Christmas eve. If the
toe of the shoe lands facing the door, it’s their lucky day and they’ll be wed within
the year, however if the heel lands facing the door, they’re doomed to another 12
months of singledom.
Nothing screams Christmas like decaying flesh, right? Well, in Greenland it means
just that, Kiviak is one of the countries traditional festive dishes and it involves
wrapping a small Arctic bird called an Auk in seal skin, burying it for several months
in the run up to Christmas and then tucking into its decomposed remains on the big
day!
The Night of the Radishes is a competition held every year in the city of Oaxaca,
Mexico. The event attracts thousands of visitors each festive period as they oversee
competitors carve intricate designs into giant radishes, with the winners receiving
prizes and major bragging rights.
In Canada, children can use Santa’s real address and post code to get their letters
straight to the grotto in time for Christmas. The Canadian postal system recognizes
the address Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada, HOHOHO and sends the letter straight
to the big guy himself, where each letter is opened, read and even individually
replied to!
In the weeks leading up to Christmas the children of Iceland leave shoes in their
bedroom windows to ensure a visit from each of the 13 yule trolls who are said to
bring gifts and good fortune. Each troll has his own unique personality and is named
accordingly, ranging from Spoon-Licker, Sausage-Swiper and Doorway-Sniffer to the
rather more uncomfortably named, Window-Peeper.
It seems Iceland is full of mystical creatures this time of year, as another magical
being that is said to roam the country’s streets is the Yule Cat; but be warned, this
isn’t the usual, fluffy, rub up and down your leg and cover you in hair kind of kitty-
oh no- this is a blood-thirsty beast who lurks only at night, eating all of the people
who haven’t bought a brand-new outfit for Christmas Eve. I mean—at least they’ll
stay on trend!
Finally, in most countries, the figure of the festive season is Father Christmas, a
friendly chap with a white beard who delivers presents to all the good girls and boys,
but in Austria, there is a much more sinister story. Half-goat, half-demon, Krampus is
an evil entity who haunts the festive period, punishing the naughty children by
beating them with birch sticks, before kidnapping them and taking them to the
underworld to burn for all eternity. Festive, right?
From all of us at Camp HQ, we hope you have a very merry Christmas however you choose to celebrate! See you in the New Year!
By Katie Loughran
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the NHS has up-to-date advice on staying safe and healthy abroad. For more on security, local laws, plus passport and visa information, see https://travelaware.campaign.gov.uk
Keep informed of current travel health news by visiting www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk
The advice can change so check regularly for updates.
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