10 Wonderful Christmas Traditions From Around The World

Hello folks! How are the preparations for Christmas going? Decorating the entire house from wall to wall, baking all sorts of treats for the feast, shopping for gifts and immersing in the local holiday celebrations. What is there to not like about Christmas? Hell, it even makes winters feel cozy. For a couple of weeks every year, the world takes on a magical glow, people look merrier and a festive vibe fills the neighborhood. It is the time when we want to be with our family and traveling is just not on the to-do list. But what if we could change that? The most fun and interesting Christmas traditions from around the world have the power to push you to the airport to travel far and wide to live all of them, one each year. Shall we present to you our favorite traditions which are loud, proud and guarantee oodles of fun? Why have Christmas fun for one day when you can have it for 13 days? That's Iceland's idea of this big winter festival. Yule lads visit children across the country over the 13 nights leading to Christmas. And for each night of Yuletide, kids place their best shoes by the window. The idea behind this is that the yule lad would leave gifts in the shoes for the well-behaved children and rotting potatoes for the naughty ones. Imagine waking up to find squashed rotten potatoes in your favorite shoes. Not one of the best ways to start a day. The tradition is based on the folklore of 13 mischievous boys of the ogress called Gryla who lived in the mountains but came down on Christmas to have her favorite snack, naughty children. Number 2. Ukraine What is your favorite part of Christmas planning? If it is decorating the Christmas tree, then you probably have a big stash of felt toys, metallic stars, pines, banners and LED lights. Is that what you use for decorations? Um, not if you're in the Ukraine. This beautiful country has its Christmas trees covered in spider webs. You heard that right. Small ornaments in the shape of a spider and its webs are hung on the Christmas tree. Weird tradition it is but it comes with the folklore. There is a legend that once a poor widow lived with her kids in a small hut and had no money to decorate a tree for Christmas. But when her children awoke on Christmas day, the tree was covered in webs that glistened gold and silver in the morning light. Now this legend is celebrated on the big holiday. Sweet! Number 3. Philippines Each year on the Saturday before Christmas Eve, the city of San Fernando proves why it's called the Christmas capital of the Philippines. People from all across the globe flock to this city to be a part of the festivities. 11 villages take part in the Giant Lantern Festival, which as the name suggests, is a competition to build the most elaborate lantern. It started off with simple lanterns about half a meter in diameter, made with Japanese origami paper. But today, the lanterns are made from a variety of materials and have grown to around 6 meters in size. They are illuminated by electric bulbs that sparkle in a kaleidoscope of patterns. That surely is a sight to behold! Number 4. Sweden How do the Swedish celebrate Christmas? Well, they put up a giant straw statue of a goat in the center of Gavel's Castle Square on December 1st. Where did this strange idea come from? Well, the Yule goat was supposed to help deliver presents, so sometimes Santa Claus would ride a goat instead of his sleigh. So when in 1966, when the town of Gavel wanted something over-the-top Christmassy for the town square, a giant Yule goat seemed like a great idea. We understand that, but make it from something as flammable as straw? We are directing focus here because in the past 50 years, the Gavel Yule goat has been destroyed 35 times. Yes, some people try to burn it down every year, and others bet on whether the goat will make it to Christmas. Now that's what you call strange! Number 5. Austria Dress up like Santa and distribute sweets? Nah, that's so boring for the Austrian. So, you're more likely to find a beast-like demon creature that roams city streets frightening kids and punishing the bad ones. And this isn't even Halloween, guys. This is the first week of December. In Austrian tradition, St. Nicholas rewards nice little boys and girls, while Krampus, his evil accomplice, is said to capture the naughtiest children and whisk them away in his sack. So, on St. Nicholas Day, a lot of men dress up like Krampus and set out frightening children with clattering chains and bells. Yikes! Number 6. Russia Russians have their own way of living life, and when it comes to Christmas, their traditions are sort of similar to ours in the West. We have the good old dude Santa Claus to get us gifts, and Russians prefer the idea of babushka doing the rounds. Hey, relax! That's not an army, but how the Russians call their grandmothers. So, on January 7, which, by the way, is the date they celebrate Christmas on, old grannies play Santa. But why? Based on the biblical story of the woman who didn't give a gift to the baby Jesus, the tradition was built because to repent, the lady gives gifts to children. We do like the idea of receiving presents from grannies. It is adorable! Number 7. Norway Perhaps one of the most unorthodox Christmas Eve traditions can be found in Norway, where people hide their brooms. This bizarre tradition is centuries old to a time when people believed that witches would steal the brooms for a midnight ride. Till this date, Norwegians hide their brooms in the darkest corners of the house to protect them. This sounds fun! If this wasn't enough for you, wait till you hear about the porridge ritual. It is believed that if Nys, a sort of gnome-like guardian spirit who lives in Norwegian barns, doesn't get porridge left out for him with a big dollop of butter on top, he will wreak havoc. This naughty monster might tie the tails of the cows to show his displeasure, so his serving of porridge gets extra butter. Simple! Number 8. Colombia Celebrated on December 7, on the eve of Immaculate Conception, the Little Candles Day is one of the most celebrated traditional holidays in Colombia. You can call it the unofficial start of the Christmas season in the country. You're expecting the start to be eventful, and trust us, you won't be disappointed. On this night, people place candles and lanterns on their windows, balconies, streets, sidewalks and parks to commence the festive season. People take it so seriously that neighbors can be seen competing with each other to be tagged the best decorated house. That sounds a fun way to welcome the big holiday! Number 9. Venezuela One fine day, people of Venezuela decided that Christmas needs to be improved, and what better way than adding a touch of rollerblading? Ok, we don't know how this started, but in the capital city of Caracas, there's a tradition of people roller-skating to the early morning church services from 16th to 24th December. The roads are often closed to traffic by 8 a.m. to make it safe for people to skate. That is probably the only country where you'll find this less than traditional outdoor sport being incorporated in Christmas festivities. Totally worth experiencing! Number 10. Canada Santa Claus hailed from Canada, or at least that's what Canadians believe, so it makes sense that this old man is an important part of the celebrations. But there's no beating Toronto's love for Mr. Claus. After all, they have a full-fledged parade dedicated to him. The Toronto Santa Claus Parade, held annually on the third Sunday of November, with about half a million people in attendance. It is rightly called one of the biggest and oldest in the world. The city hosts the annual cavalcade of lights to officially mark the start of festive season, where the Nathan Phillips Square and Christmas tree are illuminated by more than 300,000 energy-efficient LED lights that shine from dusk until 11 p.m. until the New Year. Plus, you get to play in snow on Christmas in Canada. It cannot get better than this! Which of these Christmas traditions do you want to be a part of? Tell us in the comment section below. Subscribe to our channel if you like this video. And while you're here, check out our other videos and tell us what you think of them. You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for watching.