1. Japan: All I want for Christmas is…KFC
Forget the Christmas turkey. For many Japanese, KFC fried chicken is a traditional Christmas meal.
Reservations are required to dine at KFC on Christmas Day, thanks to a combination of small Japanese ovens and clever marketing that convinced locals that fried chicken is a traditional American Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, a statue of Colonel Sanders dressed as Santa in front of KFC’s Japanese store. The chicken is served in special festive wrappers.
The demand is so great that an online service has been created: order your Christmas bucket in advance and have it delivered to your door.
2. Norway: Hide Your Broom
Norwegians believe that Christmas Eve coincides with the arrival of evil spirits and witches. So it’s only logical that Norwegian families stash all their brooms before going to bed.
After all, nothing ruins Christmas like finding broom fragments under a tree destroyed by a merry witch.
3. Caracas: Put on your skates
During the week leading up to Christmas, Venezuelans attend a daily service called Misa de Aguinaldo (Morning Mass).
In the capital, Caracas, people are used to going to church on roller skates.
So widespread is the practice, in fact, that many roads in the capital are closed until 8am to allow safe passage for Christmas worshipers.
4. Austria: Face your Christmas demons
In Austria, Santa Claus has an evil counterpart called Krampus. He’s the bad cop to the good cop of St. Nick, a demonic creature with only one job: punishing bad kids before Christmas.
Men in demon costumes parade the streets in chains and baskets, kidnapping particularly bad kids and dragging them to hell.
It’s certainly a way of keeping kids off the streets.
5: Catalonia: Christmas Poo
Welcome to the whimsical traditional Catalan caga tió or “doggy”.
The natives of Catalonia make a human figure out of a tree trunk, draw a face on it, and put a hat on it. They then spent two weeks “feeding” it fruit, nuts and candy.
On Christmas Eve, the whole family beats the trunk of the tree with sticks and sings a traditional song that means “If you don’t take a good shit, I’ll hit you with a stick” until the trunk emits all its goodness. It’s hard to see why this tradition hasn’t caught on elsewhere.
They also decorate their cribs with small ceramic potty boxes (figurines). People who are usually well-known to every household, often come from the news of the year, and the pants of the characters always wrap around their ankles.
6. Greenland: A Christmas dinner you’ll never forget
Welcome to the whimsical traditional Catalan caga tió or “doggy”.
The natives of Catalonia make a human figure out of a tree trunk, draw a face on it, and put a hat on it. They then spent two weeks “feeding” it fruit, nuts and candy.
On Christmas Eve, the whole family beats the trunk of the tree with sticks and sings a traditional song that means “If you don’t take a good shit, I’ll hit you with a stick” until the trunk emits all its goodness. It’s hard to see why this tradition hasn’t caught on elsewhere.
They also decorate their cribs with small ceramic potty boxes (figurines). People who are usually well-known to every household, often come from the news of the year, and the pants of the characters always wrap around their ankles.
7. Guatemala: How clean is your house?
Cleanliness is really second only to godliness in Guatemala. Locals believe that devils and other evil spirits live in dark, squalid corners of your home.
So they clean up the week before Christmas, pick up the trash, and make a big pile outside. Finally, the image of the devil was placed on top and the whole thing was set ablaze.
It was called “La Quema del Diablo”, or “The Devil’s Burning”. The idea in Guatemala is to burn everything bad from the past year and start the new year from the ashes.
8. Ukraine: Did you cover the halls with… cobwebs?
Besides the usual tinsel, fairy lights and balls, Ukrainians also like to throw an artificial spider and a web on a tree.
The tradition has its roots in an old story about a poor woman who couldn’t afford to decorate her Christmas tree and woke up on Christmas morning to find a spider covering it with a gorgeous shiny web.
It’s for luck. It’s not bad housekeeping.
9. Portugal: I feed the dead
During the consoda, Portugal’s traditional Christmas celebration, families sometimes make extra places at the table for deceased loved ones.
It is believed that this practice will bring good luck to the family. In some places, crumbs were left on the stove as well. And you think it’s hard enough to support all your living relatives.
10. Italy: Santa’s little helper is an old hag
Unable to conclusively prove Santa’s existence, the Vatican decided to focus his attention on something they’d already done countless deals with: an old hag named “La Befana” delivering presents to children in Italy.
Legend has it that the three wise men invited the witch to accompany them to see the baby Jesus. She said she was too busy and a legend was born.
11. Czech Republic: A pair of matchmakers
On Christmas Eve, unmarried Czech women stand with their backs to the door, one shoe slung over their shoulder.
If its toes point to the door, it means they will get married within a year.If it falls through the door, they get another year of Bridget Jones movies. Maybe it’s better than being married in high heels.
12. Germany: Put on your boots
On the night of December 5, German children leave a boot or shoe in front of their bedroom door.
If they’re having a good time, they’ll wake up in the morning to find their shoes full of candy. If they don’t, they’ll just find a branch.
Of course, it’s best to ditch the latest shoe you own—preferably right out of the box.
13. Spain: New Years, new (red) underwear
It’s a new year. In Spain, it is customary to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve.
The small town of La Font de la Figuera takes the tradition one step further: a New Year’s Eve run where runners wear nothing but red underwear.
Coincidentally, the city has the highest rate of pneumonia in the country.