Guest Post - 5 of the Most Unusual Christmas Traditions from Around the World

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Today's Guest Post is written by Joe Morris of http://www.100bestdatingsites.org/ and is perfect for those who love Christmas Traditions.


5 of the Most Unusual Christmas Traditions from Around the World



While you’re feeling the joy of the holiday season by decking the halls, sipping hot chocolate, sending letters to Santa, and enjoying a slew of other festive pastimes, be sure to check out five of the most unusual traditions celebrated by fellow Christmas lovers across the globe:


#1: Italy. Parents in Italy, who were concerned about the pagan-nature of dear old St. Nick, did away with telling their children that a jolly old man with a serious sugar addiction is the one who delivers their presents each year. Instead of Santa Clause, Italian children spend sleepless nights before Christmas waiting for the kind old witch, La Befana, to magically deliver their presents.


#2: Norway. Another spot on the map that believes in witches is the country of Norway. Legend has it that every year on Christmas Eve, witches and other evil spirits take to the night in search of brooms to ride and wreak havoc upon innocent Norwegians. To keep the evil away, all brooms in the house are hidden in a secret place and shot guns are fired into the air to scare off any lurking demonic beings.


#3: Japan. As you prepare your traditional Christmas dinner complete with a turkey, stuffing and of course, eggnog, the people of Japan are preparing to enjoy their traditional Christmas dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken. So popular is KFC over the season that orders for holiday meals are taken two months in advance and reservations actually have to be made to eat at the fast food chain on the day of Christmas.


#4: Ukraine. In homes across the Ukraine, you will find beautifully decorated Christmas trees with glass balls, shiny baubles, and other standard ornaments hanging from the limbs…you might also find something in the branches that isn’t so standard: an artificial spider and web! This custom hails from an old Ukrainian folk tale about a poor widowed mother who could not afford to decorate the Christmas tree for her children. On Christmas morning her family awoke to find a spider had decorated the tree with its web, making their Christmas merry. In today’s Ukraine, if you’re the one who finds the fake spider and its web, good luck is said to be heading your way!


#5: Austria. If you adhere to the Austrian Christmas traditions and you’re on the naughty list…you better watch out! Austrians tell a tale of Krampus, Santa’s evil twin who is to punish all children who have misbehaved. So before every Christmas in the land of Austria, a creepy celebration of Krampus Night takes place when men dress up as this character, wearing frightening devil-like costumes and drunkenly ravaging the towns, hitting people with sticks! Let’s hope you’ve been good this year!




This guest post about strange holiday traditions around the world is brought to us by Joe Morris. Joe also works for Best Dating Site where he educates readers about safe online dating.

Comments

  1. Col (Col Reads)December 21, 2011 at 2:34 AM

    Wow -- and I thought the pickle on the tree was strange! Thanks for this post, I'll share it with my daughters.

    ReplyDelete

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