Everybody has their own Christmas traditions which they follow with enthusiasm every year, and that's true for the whole world. With Christmas on the horizon, we've put together a list of six festive traditions from all over the world, including Japan, Serbia and more, that are fascinating, funny or just downright bizarre!
Iceland: The 13 Trolls of Christmas
In Iceland there isn't one santa, instead children are visited each night for 13 days in the run up to Christmas by a different troll - known as a Yule Lad. These trolls all have their own personalities which are reflected in their names such as 'Door Slammer', 'Spoon Licker', 'Window Peeper' etc. Although they sound terrifying, it's traditional for children to place their shoes by the window each night and the trolls will place a gift inside. They gifts range from sweets and toys to the less enjoyable, such as rotten food...
Mexico: Radish Carving
Mexico has an interesting festive tradition dubbed Noche de Rábanos, Night of the Radishes which takes place annually on 23rd December. Farmers in Oaxaca, a Mexican city with long wood carving traditions, carve nativity scenes (or whatever takes their fancy) into oversized radishes with the competition attracting large crowds eager to view the carvings before they wilt. Prizes are even awarded to the best looking radish display!
Venezuela: Skate Date
Citizens of the Venezuelan capital Caracas enjoy a customary group roller-skate to masses leading up to Christmas Day. Known as ‘patinata’, roads are closed for the occasion and children go to bed with a string tied to their toes that is left hanging out the window, allowing passing by skaters to give them a friendly wake up tug come Christmas morning!
Serbia: Parents for Ransom
Flying in our magical sleigh over the ocean now, we reach Serbia, where they indulge in an unusual tradition. Two Sundays before Christmas Day, children tie up their mothers, followed by their fathers the following Sunday, demanding ransom in order to free them in the form of presents. Don't worry though, the children don't get off lightly! Before all of this the children have been tied up by their parents and only released on the receipt of presents, too.
India: Where Prancer is a Pony
Onwards to an Indian Christmas, where banana or mango trees are decorated in place of pine. Father Christmas and his sleigh pulling reindeer are swapped for Christmas Baba (in Hindu, or Christmas Thaathaa, in Tamil) and his horse and cart. Midnight mass is followed by sharing curries and in southern states, small clay oil lamps are lit and placed on the flat roofs to represent Jesus as the light of the world.
Japan: KFC for Christmas
Along similar lines to Coca-Cola turning Santa from green to red, KFC's 1974 Christmas campaign in Japan called for people to enjoy 'Kentucky for Christmas' and to this day it's a very common tradition. Although Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan, it's still marked by family visits to the global fried chicken giant for a deep-fried dinner.
