The world tour of the most amazing Christmas traditions
Written on : 09 November 2020 By : Chloé Girod
Here we go! The long winter evenings are coming fast and Christmas is approaching more and more! This is a magical time for most of us, the streets and department shops have their most beautiful illuminations all over the world! However, you will see that Christmas is not celebrated in the same way and that there are amazing traditions all over the world. So let's go on a world tour of the most surprising Christmas traditions.
Forget the traditional turkey served at a family meal, in Japan, Christmas is celebrated instead with fried chicken from KFC! Isn't it amazing? This is due to a very clever marketing campaign in 1974 by Kentucky Fried Chicken, with the slogan "Kurisumasi ni wa kentakkii!". (Kentucky for Christmas!). Colonel Sanders' statues were then dressed like Father Christmas and in response to the craze, an online service was set up to pre-order his fried chicken for Christmas Eve.
Moreover, Christmas is not really seen as a family holiday in the land of the rising sun, this period would be more comparable to Valentine's Day. Couples usually get together to spend a romantic evening and celebrate their love.
Father Christmas is not the only one expected by children in Italy, an old witch called la Befana is also an important character during this period. The story goes that when the Magi decided to visit the baby Jesus, they offered a witch to accompany them, but she refused. She was remorseful and took a small basket full of sweets and other delicacies to bring him to her. This is how the legend was born. According to tradition, on the night of the 5th of January, the witch goes through the chimney and leaves sweets and presents to the children who have been good.
The Philippines is one of the only countries in Asia where the population is overwhelmingly Christian, with nearly 80%. Thus Christmas is a feast widely celebrated in the country. And we can't say that they do things by halves! For almost a month you can attend the Lidligan Parul, a grandiose festival of lanterns symbolizing the star of Bethlehem. This festival has been held for over 100 years and thousands of people flock to the city of San Fernando, which is known as the Christmas capital of the Philippines. You will be able to attend many celebrations and see the handmade lanterns over six meters high.
Catalonia is the perfect place to spend Christmas and even more so for its amazing traditions! Have you ever heard of the "Caga Tió"? Understand the log that defecates, the locals create a little character from a log by drawing a face on it and adding a traditional Catalan hat and a blanket so that you don't get cold. During the month of December, the children feed him sweets and fruit until Christmas Eve, when the little character will make a whole lot of presents and sweets appear.
During the Consoada, or Christmas Eve, Portuguese families celebrate their deceased by putting extra seats around the table. The families then gather around a traditional meal of cod and vegetables. In some regions, it is not uncommon for people to leave crumbs or not wash up until the next day to offer food to their deceased relatives.
While Christmas means joy and family sharing, in Austria, a wicked creature called "Krampus" goes on a hunt for children who haven't been good! It is a monster straight from the underworld, half-goat, half-demon. On the night of December 6th, the story goes that Krampus is out and in the early morning, the children can find in their shoes the gifts given by Saint Nicholas or a fishing rod from Krampus if they have not been good. A big annual parade takes place in Vienna where you will see many characters dressed up to frighten young and old alike!
