Christmas is known to have many popular traditions surrounding it, from hanging socks on the fireplace to opening presents. Jesus’s birthday has some iconic traditions attached to it. But some lesser-known traditions from around the world are just as interesting as obscure. Here are five Christmas traditions from around the world that tickled our fancy.
1. Spain: Christmas Log
Everyone has heard of Santa giving gifts but you wouldn’t have heard of a wooden log given presents. You read that right! In Spain, a wooden log called Tio de Nadal is dressed up, including a face and legs and is given its own little bed and blanket to keep warm. Sounds adorable, doesn’t it? Well, don’t get too googly-eyed because the next morning, it is burnt.
2. Norway: Brooms And Mops
In Norway, people traditionally hide their brooms and mops come Christmas time. Why you ask? It’s because they believe that during Christmas time, spirits and witches become very potent. They believe that if you don’t hide them, the witches and spirits will steal your mops and fly away with them!
3. Ukraine: Christmas Spiderwebs
Spiders are probably the last creatures that would come to your mind when you think of the jolly spirit of Christmas. But you’d be surprised to find out that in Ukraine, Christmas trees are decorated to look like they’re covered in spiderwebs. The story goes that an old lady who didn’t have any money to spend on Christmas tree decorations woke up and found her tree covered in spiderwebs on Christmas. These webs glistened in the sunlight and made her tree look beautiful.
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4. Poland: Guiding Star
In some parts of Poland, the tradition is to wait till it’s nighttime to open presents. Usually, the youngest child climbs on the roof and waits for the first star to appear in the sky. Only then can they open their presents. This appearance of the star is seen as a sign indicating that it’s okay to open the presents now.
5. Slovakia: Christmas Pudding
Just the thought of pudding and Christmas together might not seem that odd to you. However, in Slovakia, there’s a special pudding called the Lokse pudding. The tradition is that the head of the family takes a spoonful of the pudding and tosses it to the roof. The more pudding that sticks on the roof, the greater the luck coming your way. Certainly not applicable to the person responsible for cleaning up afterwards!
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Which of these traditions did you find to be the most interesting?
Cover Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons