5 Wacky Christmas Traditions From Around the Globe!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so the song says, so here are some wacky ways countries around the world celebrate Christmas.

1. The Christmas Spider — Ukraine

Living in Australia, I’m quite familiar with spiders, but that doesn’t mean I want to put one on my Christmas tree!

A Christmas tradition in the Ukraine is to decorate your tree with spider web ornaments. This…creepy tradition actually comes from a rather sweet story.

According to folklore — and wikipedia, the Legend of the Christmas Spider tells that…

A poor but hardworking widow once lived in a small hut with her children. One summer day, a pine cone fell on the earthen floor of the hut and took root. The widow’s children cared for the tree, excited at the prospect of having a Christmas tree by winter. The tree grew, but when Christmas Eve arrived, they could not afford to decorate it. The children sadly went to bed and fell asleep. Early the next morning, they woke up and saw the tree covered with cobwebs. When they opened the windows, the first rays of sunlight touched the webs and turned them into gold and silver. The widow and her children were overjoyed. From then on, they never lived in poverty again.

There are other versions of this same story, in which the magical sunlight is replaced by miracles from Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or Jesus, with others telling the story from the perspective of the spiders.

While definitely a sweet story about hope and miracles/magic, I think I’d still prefer to sweep away any cobwebs I find in my house.

Bonus: It is also apparently the origin of tinsel on Christmas trees!

2. Krampus — Austria

You might be familiar with this one from pop culture — and hopefully not real-life.

As you can see in the delightful image above, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure, who gives those lacking in motivation to behave during the festive season a bit more…persuading.

Accompanying Saint Nicholas as he visits children, Krampus scares the children who have misbehaved. There are many variations to this creature, though all share a similar visage — hairy, brown or black, cloven hooves, horns, long pointed tongue, and fangs. He’s not exactly someone you’d bring home to mother!

His scaring of children definitely seems harsh, with ominous thrashing of chains, branches of birch or a whip to swat naughty children, and a sack or basket with which to kidnap bad children to either drown, eat, or transport to Hell. Lovely.

The origin of this folklore isn’t known exactly, but it has definitely gathered an active following. Traditional parades known as the Krampus Run (Krampuslauf), have young men dressed as Krampus, and these even feature on the front of postcards and holiday greeting cards.

3. Witches — Norway

In this tradition, Norwegians are said to believe the Christmas Eve is not just the day before Christmas, but is also the day when evil spirits — and witches — arrive. While these beings aren’t said to do much more than just cause general havoc, apparently that is enough to irk some people.

As witches are commonly depicted as flying on broomsticks, Norwegian households hide their broomsticks before going to bed.

I’m not sure why the witches don’t have their own brooms, or how they would get to Norway without them in the first place, but…whatever floats your boat, I guess.

4. Roller Skate Mass — Caracas, Venezuela

Not an oldie, but definitely a goodie.

In Caracas, Venezuela, it is a Christmas tradition to roller skate to Mass. This takes place on the week before Christmas, where streets are actually closed-off to allow the citizens to don their skates and have a fun trek to church every day.

Kids are involved too, with children tying a long piece of string around their big toe and hanging them out the window for the passing skaters to yank and get them up in time for a skate.

5. Festive Sauna — Finland

Christmas is a time when families gather together, but Finland goes that extra special step to ensure those family members who have passed-on are still included.

The Festive Sauna is a Christmas tradition in Finland, where most homes come equipped with their own sauna. During this time, these family home saunas become sacred spaces for long-dead relatives.

On Christmas Eve, family members strip named and head to their sauna for a long and respectful stint. After this, the family head off to enjoy their general celebrations, leaving their ghost ancestors to take their place and enjoy a steam.

Do you know any wacky Christmas traditions? Let us know!