While a roast turkey and paper crowns define a traditional British Christmas, families across the globe mark the festive season with rituals that might seem startling to UK observers. From fast-food queues to visits from frightening folklore creatures, the spirit of Yuletide is celebrated in a hundred different, and often quirky, ways.
Fast Food Feasts and Candlelit Remembrance
In Japan, the classic Christmas dinner centrepiece is not a bird from the oven but from a fryer. An estimated 3.5 million Japanese families partake in the tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day, a custom dating to a marketing campaign in the 1970s. Special festive 'party barrels' are so popular that orders are placed weeks in advance, with queues snaking around blocks.
Meanwhile, in Finland, Christmas Eve brings a solemn and beautiful tradition of remembrance. As darkness falls, families visit cemeteries to place candles on the graves of loved ones. This practice is so widespread that authorities sometimes implement special traffic plans. Earlier on the same day, many Finns observe joulusauna, or the Christmas sauna, a ritual of cleansing and calm that honours the mythical Saunatonttu, or sauna elf.
Folklore Beasts and Mischievous Visitors
Iceland’s festive folklore is rich with peculiar characters. Instead of one Santa Claus, children anticipate the arrival of the 13 Yule Lads, mischievous troll-like figures who visit on the thirteen nights before Christmas. Icelandic youngsters leave a shoe on the windowsill, waking to find a small gift—or a rotten potato if they've misbehaved.
They also heed the legend of the monstrous Jólakötturinn, or Yule Cat, a giant feline said to prowl the countryside and devour anyone who hasn’t received new clothes by Christmas Eve. This tale historically motivated farm workers to finish their winter chores for a reward.
In the Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, and beyond, the night of December 5th belongs to Krampus. This horned, half-goat demon is the fearsome counterpart to Saint Nicholas, punishing naughty children. Modern Krampusnacht parades see participants donning carved wooden masks and fur costumes, charging through snowy streets with chains and bells.
Ancient Rituals and Historic Claims
Eastern Europe offers its own unique takes. In Romania, the Capra (goat) dance sees performers in decorated goat masks and sheepskins visiting homes at Christmas and New Year. The lively, chaotic performance is meant to bring fertility and good fortune for the coming year.
Latvia boasts masked mummers called Kekatas who travel door-to-door in animal and spirit costumes during the midwinter period. The country also stakes a historic claim to a central Christmas symbol: Riga holds the first recorded mention of a decorated Christmas tree in 1510, describing a guild’s tree that was danced around and later burned.
These global traditions, from England’s crackers and Brussels sprouts to Japan’s fried chicken and Finland’s glowing cemeteries, showcase the incredible diversity of human celebration. They prove that while the core themes of light, family, and renewal are universal, the methods of marking the season are wonderfully varied.
