Christmas is one of the most globally celebrated holidays in the world. But not everybody celebrates the same way—or even on the same day.
Beyond the familiar traditions like Santa Claus, a fir tree, caroling and gift-giving, a number of countries—including the U.S.—bring their own unique twists, both old and new, to the holiday.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]In the U.S., one such tradition began in 1966, when local New York broadcaster WPIX offered viewers, especially the many in dwellings without fireplaces, an opportunity to enjoy the idyllic coziness of sitting around the fire. It played a three-hour commercial-free video loop of flaming wood, accompanied by holiday music, to serve as a “Christmas card to our viewers,” according to a history of the “Yule Log” published by TIME in 2008. In the decades since, the burning desire for a TV fire has certainly not extinguished, and in the current streaming era, even companies like Disney and Netflix have joined in, offering Frozen, Squid Game, and other such themed versions of the uniquely American holiday fixture.
While Christmas is, at its core, a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, over the centuries different cultures have blended it with their own histories and values—and of course, consumerist tendencies. Perhaps nowhere epitomizes the latter better than America, where another mostly U.S.-specific sight these days is “SantaCon”—an annual event that started in San Francisco in 1994 but has since spread to other other cities, including New York, where hundreds of usually inebriated revelers dressed as Santa parade the streets, often resulting in multiple arrests for vandalism and disorderly conduct. (According to Vox, the original SantaCon was actually inspired by a performance art protest against greed and consumerism that had taken over the holiday, staged in Denmark in 1974 by an anarchist theater troupe, and today’s New York organizers solicit donations for charity and bill the event as a convention “to fund art & spread absurdist joy.”)
Indeed, quirky localizations of the festive season come from all over. Here’s a look at some of the foods, stories, and customs that shape how Christmas is observed around the world.
Australia
There’s no such thing as a “white Christmas” in the land down under. Given its location in the southern hemisphere, the country experiences its summer in December. According to the government, to commemorate Christmas, many locals head to the beach to enjoy the weather. “It’s very casual, everyone is in a good mood,” one person told Australian broadcaster SBS, which reported that popular Christmas Day activities include swimming, backyard barbecues, and walks in the park.
Austria
Holiday fiend Krampus may have already gained some notoriety in the U.S. thanks to pop-culture portrayals such as the eponymous 2015 cult holiday horror film, but the malevolent half-goat, half-man anti-Santa traces back to folklore from Austria’s Alpine region. Krampus actually predates Christmas—it is of pagan origin, according to History, appearing in early celebrations of the winter solstice—but since then, he has become a Christmas icon, accompanying the nicer St. Nicholas. “Adorned with horns, a lizard-like tail and a hideous black tongue, Krampus makes it his business to scare the living daylights out of children,” TIME reported in 1953, adding at the time that the head of Vienna’s kindergarten system tried to discourage the tradition out of concern that he’d scar young minds. But in Austria and parts of Germany, adults dressing as the demonic creature on Dec. 5 or 6 (Krampusnacht) to quiz children over their naughty behavior and frighten them—as well as Krampuslaufs, or Krampus runs, in which drunken adults dressed as Krampus run through the streets and which isn’t tied to a specific day, according to History—remains very much alive.
Belarus
“Due to the enduring influence of pagan traditions, Christmas celebrations in Belarus blend Christian customs with elements of folk rituals,” the national tourism agency says, noting that most celebrations take place in January, in line with Orthodox Christian practices though Dec. 25 is also a public holiday. “For Belarusians, Christmas is an occasion to gather with family and remember Christmas traditions passed down through generations.” Some traditions like a Christmas feast and caroling mirror those in other countries, but several Belarusian Christmas rituals and superstitions stand out, according to the tourism agency, such as: in customary house visits, a man should enter first, not a woman, so the homeowners will have a prosperous year; “melting wax in water to see the face of a future groom”; and “tying the legs of the dining table with a rope to protect the house from misfortunes.”
Catalonia
In the autonomous Spanish community of Catalonia, the pessebre, or the nativity scene, would feature all the usual characters with one addition: a person wearing a traditional red-colored barretina hat who is called el caganer, or “the pooper.” And in the scene, they’re doing just that. It’s unclear why, but the Barcelona City Council says the caganer has existed since the late 17th to early 18th centuries—during the Baroque period, when realism was a key element in art—and today, figurines of celebrities pooping have become a popular tourism trinket. Poop also seems to be a recurring holiday theme in Catalonia: the Tió de Nadal or Caga tió, Christmas log or pooping log, is a chunk of wood with a painted face and a barretina that can be found in supermarkets across the region in December. It is traditionally “fed” and covered with a blanket for weeks, so that come Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, when children batter it with a stick and sing it a song, it “poops” out candies. Catalonia’s Tourism Board says the log symbolizes the spirit of the forest, as well as protection and fertility, and helps to teach children patience.
China
Most of China has no religious affiliation, according to the U.S. State Department, and Christmas is not a public holiday, though it is still celebrated by some and has gained popularity since the 1990s. “Christmas is commercialized in China, much like other Western festivals in China,” an American residing in China told the state-run Global Times in 2015. But the holiday has made some adaptations: Santa Claus in China almost always has a saxophone, and a new tradition, according to the Confucius Institute for Scotland, is the gifting of “peace apples”—the Chinese word for apple is píngguǒ, and Christmas Eve is the similar-sounding píng’ān yè (“peaceful night”).
Czechia
While turkey or ham may be the centerpiece of the Christmas meal elsewhere, in Czechia—and Slovakia—it’s carp. According to the Czech Tourist Authority, the fish has become “an indispensable symbol of Czech Christmas,” and even those who don’t wish to eat it can partake by buying one and keeping it in the bathtub for a few days before letting it go. Another carp-related practice is to put one or two scales in your wallet to ensure there will always be money in it throughout the year. A less fishy but just as traditional Czech superstition, according to the tourism agency, involves women throwing a shoe on Christmas Day: if the tip points toward the door, she’s destined to be married within a year.
Denmark
In Denmark, families do rock around the Christmas tree. “It’s a tradition in Danish houses to dance around the Christmas tree, holding hands as a family while you sing Christmas songs, before you start opening presents,” according to VisitDenmark. And that tree is typically adorned with real candles. According to Atlas Obscura, also on Christmas Eve, some families believe in appeasing the nisser—barn-dwelling house elves that are said to help residents survive tough winters—and many children continue to leave a bowl of risengrød, or sweet porridge, for the folkloric creatures. But the general festivities begin a lot earlier than Dec. 24. According to VisitDenmark, julebrygsdag, or J-Day, a holiday manufactured in 1990 by the Danish beer company Tuborg, marks the beginning of the holiday season on the first Friday of November. Some Danish will also countdown to Christmas by burning a large kalenderlys candle each day of December.
Ethiopia
Some 44% of Ethiopians are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, according to the U.S. State Department, and, like many Orthodox denominations, they celebrate Christmas in January. According to The Week, in Ethiopia, which was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity, the holiday doesn’t involve Santa or an exchange of gifts and is instead more religion-oriented. Fasting is a big part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and many practitioners participate in Tsome Nebiyat (The Fast of the Prophets), a 43-day abstention from eating meat, fat, eggs and dairy products, ending on Ethiopian Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, which next falls on Jan. 7 and is known as Ganna (or Genna), people dress in white to go to mass in the morning. Also part of the Christmas tradition in Ethiopia, particularly in rural areas, is a field hockey-type game called Ye Genna Chewata. According to the state-owned Ethiopian News Agency, legend has it that the game originated after Ethiopian shepherds heard the news of Jesus’ birth and, in their jubilee, began flinging things with their crooks.
Finland
According to the government-produced site ThisisFINLAND, about 75% of Finnish families traditionally visit the cemetery during the festive season, usually on Christmas Eve, to place candles on the graves of their deceased loved ones. Another custom is joulusauna, or Christmas sauna. “In fact, Christmas sauna is perhaps one of the oldest Christmas traditions in Finland. Traditionally, all the family members bathe in a sauna on the Christmas Eve in the afternoon,” according to regional tourism agency Visit ...
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