The world's weirdest Christmas traditions

Watching Donald Duck cartoons, rollerblading to church... are strange Christmas customs in many countries.

Wood waste for candy (Catalonia)

The custom originated in Catalonia, Spain and is still practiced today. Caga Tio is a log, a symbol of Christmas. People paint a face and attach legs to the log with the bark intact to personify it. During the first two weeks of December, the homeowner feeds this wooden man candy and nuts every day through a hole in the middle and covers him with a red blanket. On Christmas Eve, they place the log in front of the fireplace and beat it with a stick until it spits out the candy and nuts it was fed, while singing traditional Christmas carols.

Watch Donald Duck cartoon (Sweden)

Christmas for Swedes, like many other countries, is a special time for family and close friends. Every year, at 3pm on Christmas Day, families gather around the television to watch “Donald Duck and Friends” and other funny cartoons. The TV show, called “From All of Us to All of You”, or Kalle Anka in the local language, has been aired on the same channel at exactly 3pm on December 24th since 1959. Swedes watch it over and over again every year, never getting tired of it, and always eagerly wait for it. Every time the TV station tries to stop broadcasting it, they face fierce public opposition.

Krampus scares children (Austria, Germany)

These two countries have a tradition of scaring children by dressing up as the evil Krampus and wandering the streets to scare children on Santa’s blacklist. The Krampus is Santa’s twin brother, whose job is to “kidnap” naughty children and “eat” them on Christmas Eve. People dressed as the Krampus devil run around town with whips to chase the children. This strange custom originated in the German Alps and spread throughout Hungary, Bavaria, Slovenia, and is especially popular in Austria.

Rollerblading to church (Venezuela)

Venezuela begins its Christmas celebrations on December 16 with an early morning ritual called Misa de Aguinaldo, which people attend by rollerblading. Streets are blocked off until 8am to ensure the safety of the skaters. Also, before going to bed the night before, the children in the town tie a string to their big toes and tie the end to their windows. Passing worshippers pull the string to wake the children.

Piet the Black-Faced Dwarf (Netherlands)

According to Dutch tradition, every evening for three weeks before December 5, children place wooden clogs in front of the fireplace. Sinterklaus' assistant, the black-faced dwarf Piet (Zwarte Piet), will climb down the chimney to fill the clogs with candy and toys for the good children, while Sinterklaus and his white horse will wait on the roof. In addition, it is believed that naughty children will be captured and taken to Spain for punishment. On this day, children and adults dress up and paint their faces black as the dwarf Piet and go around the streets to distribute candy.

Statue of a man defecating (Spain)

The Canager is a statue of a man wearing a red hat like Santa Claus, pulling his pants down to his knees, and a pile of "products" at his feet. It is a symbol of fertility and equality. Every year, at Christmas, people often buy a Caganer statue and put money in it, then hide it in the feeding troughs of animals for children to find. Caganers are also transformed into caricatures of famous people in all fields.

Sleeping on the floor in Finland

Finns believe that on Christmas Eve, the beds in the house will be reserved for the dead, so they choose to sleep on the floor.

In addition, in Finland, Christmas is also the occasion for people to visit graves to remember the deceased. They often prepare meals for the deceased, light small candles together at the graves of their ancestors, creating a sparkling scene at the cemetery.

Shoe throwing custom of single women in Czech

Christmas is a special time for single women in the Czech Republic. They stand with their backs to the gate and throw their shoes over their shoulders. If the toe of the shoe points to the door, they will find a partner in the coming year. If the heel of the shoe points to the door, they will remain single.

Eat KFC fried chicken in Japan

Instead of eating turkey like Western countries, Japanese people have a rather strange Christmas tradition: eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. On this day, KFC stores across Japan operate at full capacity, and people often order buckets of fried chicken to eat with their families on Christmas. Christmas cakes are also very popular in Japan. They are not fruit cakes but round, two-layer cakes with chocolate or white whipped cream and a picture of Santa Claus on top.

Christmas tree decorated with spider webs in Ukraine

Ukrainians use spider webs to decorate their Christmas trees and believe that whoever is the first to see the spider web on the tree on Christmas morning will have good luck all year.

This tradition comes from a folk legend about a poor Ukrainian family who did not have enough money to buy Christmas tree decorations. The next morning, the children woke up to find the tree covered in gold and silver spider webs. Since then, Ukrainians believe that covering the Christmas tree with spider webs will bring prosperity and good fortune to the family.

Denial in Norway

During Christmas, Norwegians are especially afraid of witches and evil spirits. They hide their brooms so that witches cannot find them and use them. Women hide in their houses while men go out and shoot guns into the air to scare away ghosts.

Santa Claus and Machine Guns in America

America is famous for its easy use of guns, but it is even more special when gun culture is attached to Christmas. In Arizona, USA, every Christmas, the Scottsville Gun Club organizes the event "Santa Claus and the Machine Gun".

On this occasion, all members of this club will bring out their "big guns" from rifles, shotguns or machine guns and sit around Santa Claus to take pictures. Every year, hundreds of people line up to participate in this event.

Chasing Santa in Switzerland

In the city of Kussnacht, Switzerland, there is an extremely interesting festival called Chasing Santa Claus on Christmas. During the 2-hour festival, locals will use whips longer than 2 meters to chase Santa Claus.

Then, about 200 people will change into giant, colorful hats and parade down the street. After the hat parade, more than 1,000 people will march through the streets, carrying rattles, horns, and anything that can make a loud sound. The people of Kussanacht believe that the louder the sound, the more evil spirits will be driven away. It is estimated that more than 20,000 people flock here every year to watch this unique festival.

According to Discovery