It’s the weekend before Christmas and whilst those of us that leave everything to the last minute will be flustered with panic, others, who are slightly more prepared, will be relaxing into the festive feeling – It’s tradition!
Christmas is one of those times of year where we love to stick to tradition, whether it be your usual yule tide traditions or your special family traditions, we just can’t seem to get enough of tradition.
And, it’s still the same, all around the world. So, to help you get into the cheery festive spirit, we’ve put together some of the strange Christmas traditions around the world – There could be some great Christmas crackers for the dinner table.
Sweden
In 1966, a 13-metre tall goat was built in the town square of Gavle, completely made out of straw. As the clock struck midnight on Christmas Eve, the goat burst into flames.
It became a tradition of the town to rebuild the goat every year, but that didn’t stop the vandals from burning it down. By 2011, the goat had met its maker 25 times!
The burning of the Gavle Goat became such a regular occurrence, in 1998, bookmakers started to take bets for its survival.
Russia
In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas wasn’t celebrated much throughout Russia as New Year was the far more important time.
Now, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. The Orthodox Church more importantly celebrates advent, starting on the 28th November right up until the 6th of January, making it a whopping 40 days long. And people say Christmas starts earlier and earlier.
Croatia
Well, it does in Croatia. Preparations for Christmas starts on the 25th of November! The 25th is St Catherine’s Day, and celebrate a further two Saint’s Days throughout December.
On St Nicholas’ Eve, the 5th December, children clean their shoes and boots and leave them in the window in the hope St Nicholas will leave chocolates and sweets in them.
And, just one more, there’s an old Croatian tradition that young men gave their girlfriends a decorated apple at Christmas – and we’re not talking a fancy computer.
Finland
Quite a large number of Finnish families have their own sauna, and there’s an ancient tradition related to their beloved steam room.
On Christmas Eve, the Sauna will be warmed up for a spot of relaxation before heading out for the festivities of the evening. However, you have to be out by sunset as it’s believed that the spirits of dead ancestors came to bathe in the Sauna when the skies turn dark.
There’s also said to be an elf that lives inside each sauna – The saunatonttu. It is customary for people to bring a drink into the sauna in Finland, whether beer or fruit juice, to pour a little onto the floor in honour of the saunatonttu.
Catalonia
In Spain’s province of Catalonia, there’s a Christmas character called Tió de Nadal, or The Christmas Log. It’s a small, hollow log, propped up on two legs with a smiling face painted one end.
From the 8th December, the date of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, families give the log food to ‘eat’ and a blanket to keep it warm and on Christmas day, people will sing songs and hit the log with sticks to aid its ‘digestion’ as the log drops sweets, nuts and dried fruits.
The log can also go by the name of Caga (pronounced caca) Tio – From the above description, we’ll let you figure out what that means.
Czech Republic & Slovakia
Some people dread the thought of a Christmas being grilled about their love life – others love the opportunity to ask about a loved one’s love life. Well, in Czech Republic and Slovakia, there’s a tradition to help with that.
On Christmas day, you stand with your back towards the door and throw a shoe over your shoulder.
If the shoe lands with the toe pointing at the door, well, congratulations, you’re going to get married soon. However, there’s no indication as to how long you will be waiting, so there may be a few more years of the dating inquisition.
China
In China, only around 1% of the population are Christian, so most people will know few things about Christmas. It’s only really celebrated in the big cities, however, these big cities treat Christmas just like us with lights, decorations and Christmas Trees.
A tradition that is becoming popular on Christmas Eve is giving apples, and once again, we’re not talking flashy computers. There must be some meaning behind this, right? Well, Christmas Eve in Chinese is ‘Ping An Ye’, and the Chinese for Apple is ‘Ping Guo’, and because they sound similar, this is the tradition.
And, what does Santa get up to on the run up to Christmas?
Well, you may think he’s in his workshop, however, he’s been tracked down by his personal postcode, H0H0H0 (with zeros). This postcode directs the letters to Santa, the kind that bypass parents, to Canada.
Whilst these used to end up undelivered, as there was no centralised address for Santa, now, thousands of Canada Post volunteers have been helping Santa reply to millions of letters ever year in different languages, including Braille!
Whatever you will be doing this year and wherever you will be, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2016.
If you’re wanting to experience Christmas around Europe, click here to see where we can take you in 2016.
