Although it’s a universal symbol for Christmas throughout the world, Santa bringing gifts under the Christmas tree isn’t the only tradition during the holiday. Countries from around the world have very different ways of feeling festive. Some of them are downright weird!
For example, Catalonians enjoy putting together nativity scenes for the holiday. Nothing unusual here, right? Wrong! They like to include a small figure of a defecating man in the scene.
In case you’ve always wanted to trade in your roasted ham for fried chicken, heading to Japan can make that dream come true. The Japanese have been enjoying a KFC Christmas dinner for the past 40 years. If you really want to take it a step further, here are some tips on eating with chopsticks.
Are you a fan of holiday scavenger hunts? Adopt the German tradition of hiding a pickle under the tree. The first child to find it gets a gift! If your kids are older, you can follow the Swedish tradition of giving out rice pudding with an almond hidden inside. Whoever finds it will be getting married that year. But beware, a lot of leftover pudding is very common with this custom.
