Celebrations vary throughout world
In the United States, Santa is the one who travels to bring all the good children of the world gifts.
But, did you know that in other countries, Santa isn’t known? The following is a list of different traditions from around the world that we might find odd.
• Honey head: In Slovakia, people have the tradition of putting honey on the forehead in the shape of a cross. This ensures good luck for the next year.
Feast of the seven fishes: In parts of Italy, Italians have seven different fishes for good luck: baccala, cod fish balls, fried smelts, fried calamari, marinated eel, fried cod and fried shrimp. Also, Christmas is celebrated from Dec. 24 – Christmas Day – to Jan. 6, which is known as the Epiphany. On Jan. 5 and 6, a witch named Befana gives gifts like Santa would.
• Julian calendar: In Russia, most Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, because of the old Julian calendar used for religious holidays. Advent is also celebrated.
• Gift or rotten potato: In Iceland, 13 yule lads come two weeks before Christmas, one on each day. They each leave a gift or a rotten potato, depending on if the child was good or bad. They have odd names, some being “Door Sniffer” and “Meat Hook.”
• Shoe throwing: In the Czech Republic, single women are supposed to take a shoe on the morning of Christmas Eve, and throw it over their shoulder at the house door. If the shoe lands heel toward the door, she will stay single for another year. If the toe points toward the door, she will move out of her parents house and get married soon.
• Spider web in the Christmas tree: Although spiders are commonly not welcome in many homes, during the Christmas season, a spider and its web are thought of as a sign of good luck to Ukrainians. In remembrance of an old folk take, most Ukrainians decorate their Christmas trees with an artificial spider web to bring luck into the new year.
• Broom hiding: After finishing a big dinner and opening gifts on Christmas Eve, Norwegian families gather all the brooms in the house and put them into hiding to keep evil spirits and witches from stealing them. The families then proceed to light a fire using spruce wood to fend off evil.
• KFC?: Fried chicken is the closest thing to yuletide turkey, according to a customer visiting the KFC in Aoyama, Japan. The phrase “Kentucky for Christmas” caught on in Japan, and now it is common for families to suit up in their winter coats to go to KFC for dinner on Christmas Eve.
• Pickle in tree: A very old German tradition tells of a pickle ornament being hung in a family’s Christmas tree to be found by a child. The child who finds the pickle first is said to receive one extra gift from Santa. Though this tradition is fairly well known in America, many sources state that those living in Germany have never heard of this practice.
• Yuletide goblins: Between Christmas and the epiphany on Jan. 6, rioting goblins called Kallikantzaroi are believed to run loose in Greece, and even break into homes. Some Greeks burn a large log for 12 days straight in their fireplace to keep the goblins from coming down their chimney and terrorizing their home at night.
All cultures celebrate the holiday season in their own way, which might make some of the traditions to which they’re accustomed seem strange to outsiders. Though there are endless amounts of traditions in everyday life, some traditions are based more from folklore and myths than others, which can makes them sound bizarre.
By Nicole Bakaitis
Freshman, Washington
and
Amanda Reilly
Freshman, Washington