{"id":15874,"date":"2021-12-10T18:01:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T10:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=15874"},"modified":"2022-08-10T14:41:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T06:41:26","slug":"strange-christmas-customs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/strange-christmas-customs\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Strange Christmas Customs You Probably Don&#8217;t Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/tag\/christmas\/\">Christmas<\/a> is mostly about celebrations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/ideas-for-tech-gifts\/\">gift-giving<\/a>, merry-making and church-attending. There are so many different elements that contribute to the celebration that we have come to know as Christmas: tucking into the Christmas feast of yummy pudding and turkey, hanging up socks and leaving out cookies and milk for Santa, opening presents under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/unusual-christmas-trees\/\">Christmas trees<\/a>, and having a great time with family and friends.<\/p>\n<p>At least, that\u2019s what the common notion of Christmas is to most of us. But in some parts of the world, you may find strange and bizarre traditions and customs that would raise an eyebrow or two.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the strange things people around the world do for Christmas in the name of celebration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ref-block ref-block--post\" id=\"ref-post-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/unique-christmas-trees\/\" class=\"ref-block__link\" title=\"Read More: 30 Unconventional Christmas Trees\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">30 Unconventional Christmas Trees<\/span><\/a>\n<div class=\"ref-block__thumbnail img-thumb img-thumb--jumbo\" data-img='{ \"src\" : \"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/thumbs\/250x160\/unique-christmas-trees.jpg\" }'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<noscript>\n<style>.no-js #ref-block-post-15651 .ref-block__thumbnail { background-image: url(\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/thumbs\/250x160\/unique-christmas-trees.jpg\"); }<\/style>\n<\/noscript>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"ref-block__summary\">\n<h4 class=\"ref-title\">30 Unconventional Christmas Trees<\/h4>\n<p class=\"ref-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t'Tis the season to be jolly. Well, you know what season this is. Everywhere you go there are...\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Read more<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>1. Go Bananas With Christmas (India)<\/h2>\n<p>In India, only about 2.3% of the population are Christians, but because of the large population they have, we are talking about 25 million people here! Christians here celebrate Christmas with midnight mass and gift-giving like the rest of the world, but with the absence of fir trees or pine trees to decorate, they usually made do with banana trees and mango trees instead.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/christmas-banana-tree.jpg\" alt=\"Go-Bananas-With-Christmas-India\" height=\"188\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wagonmaker.com\/bananas.html\">Tom Elliot<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>That means instead of Christmas pine trees lining up celebrating households, you\u2019ll find brightly lit, well-decorated Christmas banana or mango trees on the streets. They even use the leaves of those trees to decorate their houses.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Toss Your Shoes and Get Hitched (Czech Republic)<\/h2>\n<p>If you don\u2019t want to celebrate another Christmas single, then try this: stand with your back to the door and throw a shoe over your shoulders on Christmas day! If the shoe lands with the toe pointing to the door, congratulations, you\u2019re going to get married soon! There\u2019s no clue as to how long before you meet your prince charming, though.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/marriage-shoes.jpg\" alt=\"Toss-Your-Shoes-and Get-Hitched-Czech Republic\" height=\"334\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<h2>3. Kentucky Fried Christmas (Japan)<\/h2>\n<p>No kidding \u2013 just like how Christmas turkey is a must on Christmas, for the Japanese, it\u2019s the Colonel\u2019s Chicken. Since the beginning of this marketing campaign four decades ago, KFC has been associated with Christmas in the minds of the Japanese for generations, a tradition passed on from parent to child in spite of its commercialized beginnings.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/japan-kfc.jpg\" alt=\"Kentucky-Fried-Christmas-Japan\" height=\"373\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: katjamueller)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>More than 240,000 barrels of chicken will be sold during Christmas, five to ten times its normal monthly sales. \"In Japan, Christmas equals KFC.\"<\/p>\n<h2>4. Christmas Cakes (Japan)<\/h2>\n<p>Another Christmas food associated with Japan is the Christmas cake. These sponge cakes with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberries on top are ordered months in advance and are eaten on Christmas Eve. Any cake that is not sold after the 25th is unwanted.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/Christmas-Cakes.jpg\" alt=\"Christmas-Cakes-Japan\" height=\"375\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/makedo-and-mend.blogspot.com\/2010\/12\/christmas-around-world-no-3-japan.html\">Make Do & Mend<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>For the same reason, single Japanese women over the age of 25 used to be called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/japanqna.wordpress.com\/2007\/12\/20\/christmas-cake-and-japanese-women\/\">Christmas Cakes<\/a> (yikes!).<\/p>\n<h2>5. A Christmas of Remembrance (Finland)<\/h2>\n<p>Families in Finland usually visit the graves of their ancestors and relatives on Christmas Eve to light candles in memory of the deceased. Even those who don\u2019t have their kin\u2019s graves nearby visit cemeteries to place candles in honor of their family members buried elsewhere. Hence, on Christmas eve, cemeteries would be lit up with candles <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/finland.fi\/christmas\/christmas-eve-in-a-candlelit-cemetery\/\">presenting a beautiful sight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/finland.jpg\" alt=\"Christmas-of-Remembrance-Finland\" height=\"332\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: Huffington Post)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Food will also be left on tables and family members leave their beds to sleep on the floor to give the dead a nice meal and a place to rest when they visit.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Skating your Way to Christmas (Venezuela)<\/h2>\n<p>In the capital city, Caracas, before young children go to bed on Christmas Eve, they tie one end of a string to their big toe, leaving the other end outside their bedroom window. The fun part of the Christmas celebration is on the day of the \"Early Morning Mass\".<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/roller-skate.jpg\" alt=\"Skating-your-Way-to-Christmas-Venezuela\" height=\"441\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: Mike Hartz)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Streets were closed off to cars until 8 a.m. for people to roller-skate to the service, and they customarily proceeded to tug on any of the strings they saw hanging.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Let the Goat Live Until Christmas (Sweden)<\/h2>\n<p>In 1966, a 13-meter tall goat figure made of straw was erected in the town square of Gavle. At the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, the goat went up in flames.<\/p>\n<p>But the town never stopped building it year after year, and vandals never stopped trying to burn the goat down! By 2011, the goat had already been burned down 25 times. The burning of the Gavle goat happened so often that bookmakers began taking bets for the survival of the goat in 1988.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/sweden-goat.jpg\" alt=\"Let-the-Goat-Live-Until-Christmas-Sweden\" height=\"396\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/swedenland\/3118270556\/\">Nicole<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Just to be clear, the town doesn\u2019t <strong>want<\/strong> the goat to be burned down; in fact, In 2001, an American tourist served time in jail and was fined for successfully doing so.<\/p>\n<h2>8. A Spidey Christmas (Ukraine)<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of glittering ornaments and tinsel, Ukrainian Christmas trees are covered with an artificial <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wildjunket.com\/gifts-for-travelers\/\">spiders and cobwebs<\/a>. Why the eccentric taste in spiders? According to the local folklore, there was a poor woman who could not afford to decorate their Christmas tree.<\/p>\n<p>But the next morning, her children woke up to see the tree covered with webs and when the first light of Christmas morning touched the web threads, they turned into gold and silver, and the family was never left for wanting again. Hence, it is believed that seeing a spider web on Christmas morning brings luck.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/Ukrainian-Christmas-trees.jpg\" alt=\"Spidey-Christmas-Ukraine\" height=\"345\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: Robin L. D. Rees)<\/small><\/p>\n<h2>9. The Christmas Sauna (Finland)<\/h2>\n<p>Most Finnish families have their own sauna because it\u2019s believed that a sauna \u2018elf\u2019 lives in there to protect it and to make sure people behave themselves. And every Christmas Eve, people would head to their sauna, strip to their toes, and enjoy a nice, good soak naked. After sunset, though, the place is for the spirits of dead ancestors.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/sauna.jpg\" alt=\"The-Christmas Sauna-Finland\" height=\"400\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: Destination 360)<\/small><\/p>\n<h2>10. Don\u2019t Stuff It in My Socks (Philippines)<\/h2>\n<p>Christmas is huge in the Philippines since 80% of the population are Christians. Celebrations last all the way to January. Children will leave their brightly polished shoes and freshly washed <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.seasite.niu.edu\/Tagalog\/Cynthia\/festivals\/three_kings.htm\">socks on the window sills for the Three Kings<\/a> to leave gifts in when they pass through their houses at night. The \"Feast of the Three Kings\" marks the end of the Christmas celebrations.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/christmas-shoes.jpg\" alt=\"Don't-Stuff-It-in-My-Socks-Philippines\" height=\"367\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<h2>11. Pudding & Wishes (Britain)<\/h2>\n<p>The Christmas pudding is served on Christmas Day, but the traditions we\u2019re looking at have to do with how it is made. Every member of the family (especially the kids) is to stir the mix clockwise while making a wish.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/english-christmas-pudding.jpg\" alt=\"Pudding-and-Wishes-Britain\" height=\"406\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image Source: 99holidays)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Earlier traditions include putting a coin in the mix, which brings wealth to whoever finds it in their serving. Other additions include a ring for luck in marriage and a thimble for good luck in life.<\/p>\n<h2>12. Santa\u2019s own Postal Code \u2013 H0H 0H0<\/h2>\n<p>Where do you send your letters to Santa to? The North Pole? Santa\u2019s workshop? Actually Santa has his own postal code, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/fact-check\/santas-canadian-postal-code\/\">H0H 0H0<\/a> (with zeros instead of the letter \u2018o\u2019) and it\u2019s in Canada where postal codes are alphanumeric. Letters \u2013 the kind that bypasses parents \u2013 used to end up undelivered because there was no centralized address for Kris Kringle.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/strange-christmas-customs\/santa-letters.jpg\" alt=\"Santas-own-Postal-Code\" height=\"346\" width=\"500\"><\/figure>\n<p><small>(Image source: The Big Red Box)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>But for the past 30 years, Canada Post volunteers (in the thousands) had been helping Santa reply to a million letters (every year!) from children around the world in different languages, including Braille.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christmas is mostly about celebrations, gift-giving, merry-making and church-attending. There are so many different elements that contribute to the celebration that we have come to know as Christmas: tucking into the Christmas feast of yummy pudding and turkey, hanging up socks and leaving out cookies and milk for Santa, opening presents under the Christmas trees,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3401],"tags":[1110],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>12 Strange Christmas Customs You Probably Don&#039;t Know - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christmas is mostly about celebrations, gift-giving, merry-making and church-attending. There are so many different elements that contribute to the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/strange-christmas-customs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 Strange Christmas Customs You Probably Don&#039;t Know\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christmas is mostly about celebrations, gift-giving, merry-making and church-attending. 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