11 Unique Holiday Traditions Around the World

Like families in Mexico celebrate Dia de los Muertos, families in Finland also honor their dead with a visit to a cemetery on Christmas eve. Each year, families across the country head to the cemetery to place candles on the graves of their beloved family members.

The tradition, This is Finland explained, dates back to around the 1920s and is followed by non-churchgoers and members of the Orthodox faith, as well as believers from the majority Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Though the cemeteries can become crowded, the tradition calls for everyone to be silent so they can reflect and remember those who passed in peace.

According to Italian folklore, This witch—known as la Befana—is the Santa Claus of the Epiphany. Each year, on the feast of the Epiphany eve, which falls on the night of January 5, la Befana comes down Italian chimneys and leaves gifts for children. If they have been bad she too will leave a lump of black coal just like santa. And, because she’s such a good witch, she will even sweep the floor with her broom before she goes.

How she came to be a part of the Christmas and Epiphany celebrations is a bit of a longer story, but in the Christian belief, la Befana was approached by the three wise men on their way to meet baby Jesus. They asked for directions to the Son of God, but she didn’t know the way. However, she sheltered the men for the night and was apparently a rather good and tidy host. The next day, she too went in search of the Son of God but couldn’t find him. She is still searching for him to this day.

Bad little boys and girls in Austria better watch out. If they are too naughty the Krampus may come to get them. Sort of like Santa’s evil twin brother, the Krampus comes along every Advent season. Typically, on December 5, the night before the Feast of St Nicholas, the Krampus is released from the underworld.

He usually wears animal skins, a wooden mask, and has bells tied around him so people can hear him coming. He too carries a sack, but it’s not filled with toys. Instead, the Krampus uses it to carry away bad little boys and girls forever. And like Santa, he knows when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

If you take part in the Christmas pickle tradition odds are you live in the American Midwest, and you’re likely of German descent. As the story goes, the German diaspora living in the U.S. allegedly brought the custom of the Christmas pickle with them.

The pickle is actually a glass blown ornament and is typically the last one put on the tree. It is camouflaged among the tree, but the first child to find it gets an extra gift and wins good luck for the next year.

Though the tradition is now a genuine one, it was apparently invented by the Woolworth department store sometime in the 1880s when they started importing glass ornaments from Germany. But, who cares where it really came from. It’s an adorable myth that’s well worth celebrating year after year.

When conjuring up thoughts of Christmas dinner odds are a 12 piece of the Colonel Sanders special recipe probably doesn’t come to mind. Unless, of course, you live in Japan. In the 1970s, just after the first KFC opened in the country, the company had the idea to market and sell a Christmas "party barrel."

The barrel was inspired by the American-style turkey dinner but subbed out the turkey for fried chicken. The promotion became a wild success because there’s no real institution of Christmas in Japan as only one to two percent of the population is Christian and this celebration helped fill the void.

But, if families wanting to ensure their party barrel—which includes chicken, salad, and a cake—they need to order early as an estimated 3.6 million people take part in the tradition and the barrels tend to sell out fast.

Each year, on December 7, Guatemalans take to the streets to attend the procession of the Immaculate Conception. The parade has been a part of the Christmas time tradition for hundreds of years, though it is thought that sometime in the 16th century, Guatamalens began lighting fires along the route to light the way.

At first, it consisted of taking all the rubbage in the home and burning on the sidewalk. The people turned that into burning effigies of the devil, which they believed would cleanse their house of evil and purify it for the year ahead.

This act became known as La Quema del Diablo, or “Burning the Devil.” The devils are all burned at 6 p.m. sharp and the evil of the past year is reduced to ashes.

If you love the look of poinsettias in your home for the holidays you may want to thank Mexico. The flowers, which are endemic to the nation, typically bloom in November and December, which gives them their association with the holiday. However, the flowers take on special meaning on Christmas Eve.

As legend has it, a poor peasant girl was on her way to attend mass on Christmas Eve. However, she had no gift to leave upon the manger. But, as she walked to the church, she picked a few weeds that grew on the side of the road. When she arrived, she placed the weeds upon the feet of Jesus at the manger.

Suddenly, they bloomed into a beautiful poinsettia and the plant became known as a Christmas miracle. And that is why you’ll see the flower adorning alters in both Mexico and around the world all season long.

You’ll likely find a tiny manger in every home you visit this Christmas season. In it, you’ll probably find Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. But, if you’re stepping into a house in Catalonia, you’ll probably find something else—a Caganer.

In the corner of the scene, you’ll find the Caganer, who is a small man in the midst of going to the bathroom. In fact, the word Caganer literally means “pooper.” Though there are no answers as to how this legend started—or why—some believe it may be to symbolize life’s randomness. Others believe it may be to show how God will manifest himself at any time, regardless if humans are ready or not.

Children in Iceland get to experience not one, not two, but thirteen fun-filled nights of Christmas merriment thanks to the Yule Lads. Each year, for the 13 days leading up to Christmas, children in Iceland must place one shoe on the windowsill. If they have been good, that night’s Christmas lad—who is sort of like Santa’s cousin—will leave them a treat.

But, if they have been naughty, he will fill their shoe with rotten potatoes. According to the National Museum of Iceland, each of the lads has their own unique name and characteristics including Sheep-Cote Clod, who apparently tries to suckle yews in farmer’s sheep sheds, and Gully Gawk, who steals foam from buckets of cow milk and Spoon Licker who, you guessed it, licks spoons. But hey, as long as they leave a treat who cares what they do, right?

As the story goes, a poor, but a rather hardworking widow lived in a small Eastern European hut with her children. On one warm, summer day, a single pinecone fell from a table and took root right in the hut’s floor. The children tended to and cared for the pine tree so they could have a Christmas tree come winter. But, when Christmas Eve arrived, the children became saddened because they were still too poor to buy ornaments from the tree.

After the children went to bed the spiders in the house got to work spinning wild webs. When the children awoke they found gold and silver webs all over the tree, which brought prosperity and joy to the home. To this day, homes in Ukraine and other European nations pay homage to the arachnids by decorating their Christmas trees with ornate glass spider ornaments and tinsel.

If a stranger in disguise knocks on your door in Newfoundland during the 12 days of Christmas it’s best if you answer the door. Each year, the province takes part in a tradition dating back to 1819 known as Mummering.

During that time, people dress up in odd disguises, including capes, masks, fake horse heads, and more, and visit their neighbors, friends, and family. The homeowner can then choose to invite the mummer into their home, at which point they will do some type of performance.

The host then tries to guess the mummers’ identity. Once they are accurately identified the mummer can take off their costume and enjoy a bit of holiday merriment with their host.