Hi parents!
How are the Christmas preparations going? Are you decorating the entire house with your kids this year? Or maybe you are baking all sorts of Christmas treats for the whole month? Oh yeah, did you plan all the gift shopping and have you prepared the holidays well, so you won’t miss anything?
Christmas time a great time, full of stress but also full of fun. What a great combination! Oh yah, Christmas time is just the best time of the year and we can’t wait to start. Very special about the Christmas season is the cosiness and heart-warming atmosphere which makes even the winter time feel warm. The Feast of Love brings families closer and everyone loves each other more then ever. At least for a couple of weeks every year, over and over again. So what should you dislike about Christmas? 🙂
On Christmas we don’t even think about going on holidays, no, most people just want to be together with their families, celebrating their lovely, well-known Christmas traditions. Hell yeah, Christmas traditions are just the best! But what if you try something new this year? Something that you have never thought about and you might like? Maybe you can imagine to introduce a new Christmas tradition from a different country with your kids! New rituals will interrupt your annual routine, which is nothing special any more for a long time.
Come with us on an amazing journey through the countries of the world and make your Christmas a bit funnier and more exciting for your children this year! 🙂
Christmas In Iceland
In Iceland Christmas is not only celebrated for one day, no, it is celebrated for 13 whole days! So why have Christmas fun just for one day, when you can have it much longer?
Iceland seems to have more of everything, because there are not just one, but 13 Santas that are called “Yule Lads”. The Yule Lads visit the children across the country during the 13 nights leading to Christmas. For each night of Juletide kids place their best shoes in front of the window. According to the legend, every night one of the 13 Yule Lads comes along and fills the shoes – depending on the kids’ behaviour. For the well behaved kids they leave little gifts, for the naughty ones they bring rotting potatoes.
Can you imagine your kids waking up to find squashed rotten potatoes in their shoes?!
Christmas In Ukraine
People from beautiful Ukraine have a Christmas tradition a little getting used to. While in most countries Christmas trees are decorated with sparkling lights and colorful glitter balls, some Ukrainians cover their trees in spider webs.
Yep, you heard that right! Small ornaments in the shape of spiders and their webs are hung on the Christmas trees in Ukraine. That is definitely a weird tradition and I can’t imagine having our Christmas tree decorated in spider webs! For sure our girl will not enjoy it :D.
This strange Ukrainian tradition comes with a folklore. According to an old legend, once a poor widow lived with her kids in a small hut and had no money to decorate their tree for Christmas. But as her children awoke on Christmas Day, the tree was covered in beautiful spider webs that glistened gold and silver in the morning light.
Isn’t that a wonderful legend? I think that casts a very different light on this Ukrainian Christmas custom :-).
Christmas On The Philippines
Every 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 magical festivities.
On Christmas eleven Philippine villages organize a giant lantern festival which, as the name suggests, is a competition to build the most elaborate lantern. The Christmas tradition started off with simple lanterns. Made out of Japanese Origami paper, once the lanterns had a diameter of about half a meter. Sounds big? Not at all! These days the lanterns have grown to a size of around six meters, made from a variety of materials! They are illuminated by electric bulbs that sparkle in a kaleidoscope of patterns.
This wonderful Southeast Asian Christmas tradition makes the hearts of the people beat faster and makes for a breathtaking, festive Christmas atmosphere for sure. 🙂
Christmas In Sweden
How do you think the Swedes celebrate Christmas? Well, they put up a giant straw statue in the shape of a Goat in the centre of Gävle’s Castle Square on December 1st. But where did this strange idea come from?
The Yule goat was supposed to help Santa Claus delivering the presents – so sometimes Santa Claus rides a goat instead of his slight. In 1966, when the town of Gävle wanted something special for Christmas, a giant Yule goat was placed on the Castle Square. It sounds like a great idea but why is it from something as flammable as straw?
In the past 50 years the Gävle Yule goat has been destroyed 35 times. Unfortunately some people try to burn it down every year. Some people already bet on whether the goat will make it to Christmas.
Christmas In Austria
Dress up like Santa and distribute sweets? No way, that is just to boring for the Austrians. In Austria you are more likely to find demon creatures that roam the cities’ streets frightening kids and punishing the bad ones.
No, it’s not Halloween, guys. This is the first week of December in Austria! According to an 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 as Krampus and set out frightening children with clattering chains and bells.
A tradition that needs getting used to, isn’t it?
Christmas In 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 Santa Claus to distribute gifts. Russians prefer the idea of Babushka doing the rounds. So on the 7th of January, the day where Christmas is celebrated in Russia, old grannies play Santa Claus and move around the houses to please the children with presents. But why do they do that?
Well, it is based on the biblical story of the woman who didn’t give a gift to the baby Jesus. The tradition was introduced so that it repents the old lady who is now distributing the presents.
We do like the idea of receiving presents from grannies! 🙂
Christmas In Norway
Perhaps one of the most unconventional Christmas Eve traditions can be found in Norway, where people hide their brooms. This bizarre tradition is many centuries old and has its roots in a time when people believed that witches would steal their brooms for a midnight ride. Until today, the Norwegians hide their brooms in the darkest corners of the house to protect them. This sounds really funny! 😀
And did you know about the Norwegian porridge ritual? According to a legend, there are gnomes called “Nisse” living in Norwegian barns as domestic spirits.
Once a year at Christmas, the house dwellers thank the gnome for the work he does. They put out a bowl of Christmas porridge, with a piece of butter on top. The butter must never be forgotten, otherwise the Nisse gets very angry and kills an animal in the stable. We would rather not risk that!
Here you can find a fun Youtube Video regarding kids trying different food from around the world, including Norway.
Christmas In Colombia
Celebrated on the 7th December, the day of immaculate conception, the little candles day is celebrated in Colombia. One of the most celebrated traditional holidays in Colombia, you can call it the “unofficial start of Christmas season” in the country. You will not be disappointed, the event is really magical.
On this night people place candles and lanterns on their windows, balconies, streets, sidewalks and parks to commence the festive season. People in Colombia take it so seriously that neighbours can be seen competing with each other to be tagged the best decorated house. Isn’t that a fantastic way to start the Christmas time? 🙂
Christmas In Venezuela
One day, people in Venezuela decided that Christmas needs to be improved and what could be better than doing some inline skating?
In Venezuela’s capital city Caracas, there is a tradition of people skating to the early morning church services from 16th to 24th December. The roads are closed for cars to ensure the safeness of the skating people. Now you get the desire to participate, don’t you? 😀
Christmas In Australia
For many people, a cuddly get-together sitting by the fireplace while it’s cold and snowy outside, is simply part of Christmas.
Not so in Australia! When others are having it very cold, people in Australia are celebrating Christmas in swimming pants on the beach. They build “sandmen” instead of snowmen and warm their bodies in the hot summer sun.
Maybe that’s not for everyone, but at least once in a lifetime you should have experienced that very special Christmas feeling! 😉
Christmas In Canada
Santa Claus hailes from Canada, at least that’s what Canadians believe in. Accordingly it makes sense that this old man is an important part of the Canadian Christmas festivities – and there’s nothing beating Toronto’s love for Santa. They do have a full fledged parade dedicated to him!
Toronto’s Santa Claus parade is held annually on the third Sunday of November with about half a million people attended. It is called one of the biggest and oldest Christmas parades in the world. The city hosts open the festive season with an annual cavalcade. The Nathan Phillips Square and a huge Christmas tree are illuminated by more than 300.000 energy efficient LED lights that shine from dusk to 11 p.m., until the new year – that is definitely worth-seeing.
On top of that, during Christmas season in Canada, you can enjoy the snow together with your kids! 🙂
More Christmas Traditions...
Do you and your kids want to learn more about worldwide Christmas traditions that we haven’t mentioned yet? Then just have a look at these great child-friendly Christmas Videos!