Unique, unusual, intriguing, and fun Christmas Traditions from around the world.

Christmas is celebrated by many cultures worldwide, and each family or community has unique traditions. We have compiled a collection of customs demonstrating how the “most wonderful time of the year” can be the most peculiar and fascinating.

The article features eight of the most unusual and breathtaking ways Christmas is celebrated worldwide, such as half-goat demons, pooping logs, doorway-sniffing trolls, and even Colonel Sanders. Keep reading to learn more!

Lock up your brooms!

In Norway, it is believed that on Christmas Eve, witches and demons have the power to fly and walk among humans. To protect yourself from their evil intentions and ensure your broom’s safety, it is customary to keep your brooms hidden, far from the reach of these wicked creatures.

The 13 Lads of Christmas.

Why settle for just Santa when you could have a gang of 13 Christmas characters with names like Spoon-Licker, Sausage-Swiper, and Doorway-Sniffer?

Iceland’s mischievous Yule Lads come out to play (or cause mayhem) and visit the country’s children in the 13 days leading up to Christmas. In this Christmas tradition, Yule Lads visit any child who puts shoes in their bedroom window. They leave gifts for those who have been good and rotting potatoes for the naughty ones.

Find the pickle in Germany.

It’s fascinating to learn about unique Christmas traditions across different cultures. Hiding a pickle on the Christmas tree is a perfect example of how traditions can bring joy and excitement to families.

It’s heartwarming to see children eagerly searching for the pickle, and the reward for the first one to find it adds an extra layer of excitement. This tradition reminds us of the simple pleasures of the holiday season and the importance of spending time with loved ones.

The festive cat with a big appetite in Iceland

In Iceland, it is a Christmas tradition for everyone to receive a new outfit as a festive gift. They risk becoming the Yule Cat’s Christmas dinner if they do not receive it. This giant feline is believed to roam the frozen countryside during Christmas. Initially, the myth was used by farmers to motivate their employees to work hard. Those who did a good job were gifted with new clothing, while those who slacked off were next in line to fill the Yule Cat’s ravenous belly.

A web of fortune in Ukraine

In Ukraine, it’s tradition to deck homes and trees not with boughs of holly or baubles but with decorations made to look just like glistening spiderwebs. These decorations don’t just look beautiful; they’re meant to draw in good luck for the year ahead.

A classic folk tale is the inspiration. It tells of an impoverished widow who could not afford any decorations for her tree or to make her home jolly for her children. But when the family went to sleep on Christmas Eve, the house spiders heard the children crying and were moved to cover the tree in beautiful intricate webs. When the sun hit the webs, their threads shone and turned to gold and silver, and the family enjoyed good fortune for the rest of their days.

A giant flaming goat in Sweden

Sweden’s Christmas celebrations are enriched with a unique tradition that dates back to ancient pagan times. The giant goat made of straw, a rustic ornament adorning Christmas trees throughout the country, adds a special charm to the festivities. And for those lucky enough to be in Gävle during the festive season, a towering 40-foot straw Yule Goat awaits. Though it has become a target for vandals, this magnificent goat continues to inspire and captivate visitors from all over the world.

The pooper and the pooping log, Catalonia

Catalans have two unique Christmas traditions related to excrement that are meant to bring joy to everyone. The first tradition is called ‘caganer,’ meaning ‘the pooper.’ It is a figurine of a peasant without pants who is defecating. This figurine is often sneaked into nativity scenes alongside Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The second tradition is called ‘caga tió,’ or the ‘pooping log.’ It is a small stick with a smiley face that is placed on the dinner table in December. It is kept warm with a blanket and is ‘fed’ every day with nuts and sweets. On Christmas Eve, it is beaten with sticks to produce presents. In reality, while kids pray for gifts, relatives place the presents under the blanket.

Kentucky Fried Christmas, Japan

Introducing the biggest Christmas marketing success story since Coca-Cola popularized the image of Santa Claus in his red-suited, jolly form. While Christmas was not a big holiday in Japan, a successful KFC ad campaign during the 1970s established a new tradition in which families would enjoy buckets of fried chicken on December 25. Today, holiday-themed fried chicken has become so popular throughout Japan that restaurant reservations and pre-orders for specially packaged delivery are made months in advance.

Krampus, Austria

As if the threat of missing out on presents wasn’t bad enough, Austrian kids who end up on Santa’s naughty list also have to worry about Krampus: a horned, hairy beast that snatches misbehaving children in his wicker basket, serving as Saint Nicholas’ creepy enforcer. Many towns in Austria (and neighboring countries), especially the alpine villages around Salzburg and Tyrol, celebrate Krampusnacht on December 5th, when dozens of men dressed as the half-goat demon parade through the streets brandishing sticks and terrorizing children.

Best Christmas Quotes Perfect for All of Your Holiday Celebrations

Christmas is a particular time when people celebrate in their own unique ways. Some families have a Christmas Eve dinner with one side of the family and then Christmas morning brunch with the other. Others enjoy baking cookies and sharing Christmas desserts with their neighbors. Some people attend mass on the morning of December 25th, while some use the holiday to volunteer and help the less fortunate.

Regardless of how people celebrate, the season’s true meaning remains the same for everyone. Therefore, we have compiled a list of our favorite inspirational, thoughtful, and funny Christmas quotes to remind you of the Christmas season.

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?

May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.

Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day.

Christmas magic is silent. You don’t hear it–you feel it. You know it. You believe it.

Funny Christmas Quotes To Ease The Holiday Hustle

“It’s all fun and games ’til Santa checks the naughty list.” 

“Santa Claus had the right idea. Visit people only once a year.” 

“Dear Santa, before I explain, how much do you know already?”

“Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip.”

“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.”

“Christmas: the only time of year you can sit in front of a dead tree eating candy out of socks.”

“Dear Santa, this year please give me a big fat bank account and a slim body. You mixed those two up last year.”

“Adults can take a simple holiday for children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks from her dog, who drew her name.” 

“Christmas is a magical time of year…I just watched all my money magically disappear.”

“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.” 

The folklore of Christmas Day weather

Christmas Day is a special occasion that brings with it a wealth of weather folklore. Many proverbs suggest that whatever the weather on Christmas Day, the opposite will happen later.

The folklore of Christmas Day weather is fascinating and can be enjoyed by all. This is a reminder that many old folklore is linked to the calendar and special holidays, with Christmas Day being one of the most celebrated days.

If there’s thunder during Christmas week, the winter will be anything but meek.

If at Christmas ice hangs on the willow, clover may be cut at Easter.

Christmas in snow, Easter in mud! or Green Christmas, white Easter.

So many hours of Sun on Christmas Day, so many frosts in the month of May.

If there is much wind on Christmas Day, trees will bear much fruit.

New Year’s Eve Weather Folklore

As New Year’s Eve approaches, many of us tend to reflect on the past year and look forward to the year ahead. At the Almanac, we are no exception to this tradition. However, our focus is on the weather! While we rely on our long-range forecasts, we also enjoy exploring weather folklore.

So, let’s have some fun with New Year’s lore and see if it holds true! In particular, weather folklore often refers to the wind. Here is a fun activity for you to try: Step outside as the sun sets on New Year’s Eve, feel the breeze and recite:

If New Year’s Eve the wind blows south
It betokens warmth and growth.
If west, much milk and fish in the sea.
If north, cold and storms there will be.
If east, the trees will bear much fruit.
If north east, then flee it, man and brute.

Forecasting by the Onion

Our favorite is the onion method for predicting the weather for the year: Get twelve onions. From 11:00 pm to midnight on New Year’s Eve, remove the tops and create a hollow in the middle.

Get out your compass and line the onions in an east-west orientation. Place an equal amount of salt in each depression.

(Then, explain to your fellow partiers why you smell like an onion!)

Don’t look at the vegetables until the next morning. The salt has dissolved to varying degrees in each onion. The more water in each onion, the wetter the corresponding month will be in the coming year. After this, carefully add potatoes and other root veggies, rub with olive oil and spices, and bake.

Whether the onions are right or wrong, you’ll have a lovely New Year’s Day feast of roasted veggies.

Are you feeling the festive spirit at home yet?

It’s the most beautiful time of the year, and I hope you’re enjoying it to the fullest! Do you believe in the age-old sayings that come around every Christmas?

Let’s have some fun and choose which Christmas fortune teller is the most accurate and predicts what’s in store for us next year. I’m sure some fortune tellers are out there who never get it wrong!