The Ten Most Curious, Bizarre, And Terrifying Christmas Traditions In The World

How is Christmas celebrated around the world?

How much do you know of Christmas and its celebrations?

Do you know any other curious traditions?

We sang Christmas carols, set up the nativity scene, opened the Epiphany gifts, left food for Santa Claus’ reindeer, discovered the surprise of the roscón, the grapes at the end of the year, and so on.

Christmas is full of traditions, superstitions, and rituals that, year after year, are repeated at dinners.

And family gatherings as an indissoluble part of these holidays.

Some of the habits outside our borders reach such a level of extravagance that they deserve a special mention.

Here are the ten strangest Christmas customs in the world:

1. The goat of Gävle (Gävle, Sweden)

Halfway between Uppsala and Sundsvall, on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia, lies the Swedish town of Gävle.

In 1966, an enormous goat figure made of straw got installed in the main square (Slottstorget): the Gävlebocken, a giant version of the Yule goat, a symbol of the Scandinavian Christmas tradition.

Since then, the goat has been erected every Christmas on the first day of Advent and burned on Christmas Eve.

However, almost every year, it is vandalized who try to set it on fire before the date.

In 2001, an American tourist ended up in prison for doing the grace.

2. The carols of the dead horse (Wales)

Welsh Christmas carols are not as well known as the Spanish or Italian ones.

At some point in December, and even in the middle of January, upon opening the door of their homes, the Welsh may find a friend or relative hiding under a sheet adorned with ribbons and bells holding a (real) horse skull on a stick.

The tradition, called Mari Lwyd (gray mare), indicates that the little surprise got completed with an equally particular challenge: a battle of rhyming insults.

3. Beach party (Australia)

At Christmas time, temperatures in Australia can exceed 30 degrees, so naturally, many people go to the beach.

Families and friends have picnics, go swimming and play sports on the sand.

Often, even a few surfing Santas show up.

A couple of Sydney beaches, a destination for foreign travelers and backpackers, got known to witness the past such wild parties to such an extent that strict alcohol bans had to take place in the area.

4. Lucky spider webs (Ukraine)

Would you feel lucky to find a spider web in your Christmas tree?

Maybe not, but Ukrainians associate spider webs with good luck, thanks to an ancient story.

The idea became significant when a simple destitute family grew a Christmas tree from a pine cone; the children were enthusiastic about decorations, but the family didn’t have the resources for it.

Sensing the family’s distress, the spiders spun shimmering silk webs around the tree that turned silver and gold as the sun rose in the morning, leaving a beautifully decorated tree.

Today, Ukrainian families decorate their trees with spider webs for good luck.

5 . Christmas fried chicken (Japan)

Just as in Argentina, the holidays are associated with pan dulce and vitel toné; in Japan, it’s all about Kentucky Fried Chicken’s famous frit chick.

It is calculated that 3.5 million Japanese families eat frit chicken every year on Christmas Eve, thanks to a marketing campaign the company ran in the 1970s called Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (“Kentucky for Christmas”).

Christians make up a short percentage of the Japanese population, so this campaign compensated for the lack of long-standing Christmas traditions.

This Christmas menu is so popular that many customers book their dinners, including fried chicken, cake, and champagne, months in advance.

6. Krampus (Germany, Austria, Hungary)

Santa’s worst half is a hairy, devilish creature named Krampus.

Legend has it that while Santa Claus brings toys to “well-behaved” children;

Krampus’ job is to punish “naughty” children.

He only scares them with his appearance, but it got said that he puts particularly naughty children in his sack or ties them up in his basket and takes them to hell.

In early December, many people in Austria and neighboring countries often dress up as Krampus and roam the streets to scare children.

7. La Befana (Italy)

The version of Santa Claus, according to Italian legend, is an old witch named la Befana.

According to the story, the magi paused at her house to ask for directions on their visit to the baby Jesus and invited Befana to accompany them on their trip, but she said she had too much household to do.

After they left, she changed her mind and tried to find them but couldn’t, so now she flies on the night of January 5 (the eve of the Three Wise Men’s meeting with the baby Jesus).

Like Santa Claus, La Befana delivers toys to the children, but instead of milk and cookies, the Italians leave her a plate of sausage and broccoli and a glass of wine.

8. The burning of the devil (Guatemala)

Every December 6, “La Quema del Diablo” in Guatemala is celebrated. Families light bonfires outside their homes and burn the faces of Satan to eliminate evil spirits and hold the victory of good over evil.

Although in the past, it was customary for Guatemalans to take out all the garbage from their homes to set them on fire, and many still do so today, as a consequence of the environmental reaction, many choose to burn devil-shaped piñatas.

9. Caganer (Spain)

The most charismatic and endearing figure that appears every year in the Bethlehem portal is an individual dressed in traditional clothing playing the role of a belly.

Emerging in Catalonia between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Caganer does not become popular until the nineteenth century, spreading throughout the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and Portugal.

Even though the significant figurine has its buttocks in the air and is placed in a semi-hidden place in the Bethlehem portal;

The Church accepted it as it got considered to humanize the Christmas scene, bringing its transcendent and supernatural message closer to everyday reality.

10. Parrandas Remedianas (San Juan de los Remedios, Cuba)

The origin of these celebrations dates back to 1820.

That year, a priest named Francisco Vigil de Quiñonés ‘Francisquito’ hired a group of young people to make a scandal on the nights of December 16 and 24.

Their purpose was to wake up the neighbors who preferred to sleep in rather than attend the Aguinaldo masses.

As of 1871, the festivity acquires its current format where the neighborhoods of San Salvador and El Carmen;

In the Cuban town of San Juan de Los Remedios, each other every Christmas Eve in combat to demonstrate creative skills in their float.

A war of fireworks, mortars, flares, and the sound of traditional music are the ingredients that make up the atmosphere that surrounds Cuba’s oldest national celebration.

Bonus

11. Kiviak (Greenland)

Although some who have tasted it consider it the most disgusting dish, kiviak is for the Greenlandic Inuit, one of the traditional Christmas meals.

This “delicacy” got made by stuffing hundreds of auks, puffin-like birds, into the body of a seal, which is then sealed with fat and thoroughly sewn.

The birds remain intact inside the marine mammal, beak, legs, and feathers for about eight months.

This kind of bag is covered under a rock to favor their fermentation. After this time, they are uncovered and are ready to be consumed once plucked.

In Greenland, at weddings and Christmas Eve dinners, it is customary to put this strange delicacy on the table.

Sources:

https://cadenaser.com

https://www.rionegro.com.ar

https://www.24con.com

https://www.lavanguardia.com

https://www.infobae.com

https://www.vix.com