10 Christmas Traditions From Around the World That Will Completely Surprise You

 Christmas looks familiar - until you step outside your own culture.

 Around the world, the holiday is celebrated with roller skates, spider webs, demon parades, book floods, and even fried chicken feasts. These traditions aren’t just unusual - they tell powerful stories about culture, belief, and identity.

Here are the most surprising Christmas traditions from around the world, along with the countries where Christmas feels completely different.

1. Japan: A Christmas Feast of Fried Chicken

In Japan, Christmas is more about celebration than religion—and surprisingly, fried chicken is the star of the day. Thanks to a famous 1970s marketing campaign, KFC became the go-to Christmas meal.

Families pre-order weeks in advance, and restaurants are packed on December 25th.

Japan KFC Christmas feast

2. Norway: Hiding Brooms on Christmas Eve

In Norway, an old superstition lives on - families hide their brooms on Christmas Eve to prevent witches and evil spirits from stealing them to fly through the night sky.

While few believe the legend today, it remains a playful nod to folklore.

3. Colombia: Day of the Little Candles

Little Candles’ Day also known as Noche de las Velitas, or Día de las Velitas in Spanish, is celebrated every year on the 7th of December. It marks the start of the Christmas season across Columbia. People place candles and paper lanterns in their windows, balconies and gardens in honour of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception.

The tradition has grown so popular that some neighbourhoods compete with each other to see who can create the most impressive arrangement!

4. Austria & Germany: The Terrifying Krampus Night

In parts of Austria and Germany, December brings Krampusnacht, when people dress as horned demons and parade through towns to scare misbehaving children into good behavior.

It’s a dramatic and unforgettable spectacle for visitors.

Germany also prides in hosting the oldest and most magical Christmas markets – the Striezelmarkt.

Krampusnacht

5. Ukraine: Spider Web Christmas Trees

Ukrainian Christmas trees often sparkle with ornamental spider webs, symbolizing good luck and prosperity.

The tradition comes from a folktale about a poor family whose web turned to silver. From then on, they never lived in poverty again.

Spider Web Christmas Trees

6. Spain (Catalonia): A Gift-Pooping Log

Catalonia’s beloved Caga Tió or Tió de Nadal is a smiling wooden log that “poops” presents after children beat it with sticks and sing festive songs.

The story goes that in the days preceding Christmas, children must take good care of the log, keeping it warm and feeding it, so that it will defecate presents on Christmas Day or Eve.

Catalonia, Gift-Pooping Log

7. Iceland:  The Yule Lads

The Yule Lads (jólasveinarnir or jólasveinar in Icelandic) visit the children across the country over the 13 nights leading up to Christmas. For each night of Yuletide, children place their best shoes by the window and a different Yule Lad visits leaving gifts for nice girls and boys and rotting potatoes for the naughty ones.

8. Venezuela: Roller-Skating to Christmas Mass

In Caracas, streets are sometimes closed from December 16th to 24th, so people - especially children, can roller-skate to church early in the morning.

It’s even said that kids sleep with a string tied to their toe so friends can tug it and wake them up.

Roller-Skating to Christmas Mass

9. Philippines: Giant Lantern Festival

The Giant Lantern Festival takes place every year on the Saturday preceding Christmas Eve in San Fernando, famously known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines.” It draws huge crowds from across the country and visitors from around the world. Eleven local villages compete in the event, and the rivalry is intense as entire communities work together to create the most stunning and intricate lanterns.

In its early days, the lanterns were modest in size - about half a meter wide - crafted from Japanese origami paper and illuminated by candlelight. Over time, they have evolved dramatically, now reaching up to six meters in diameter and constructed using diverse materials. Modern lanterns are powered by electric bulbs, producing dazzling, ever-changing light patterns.

Philippines, Giant Lantern Festival

10. Sweden: The Gävle Goat

The Gävle Goat is a famous Christmas tradition in the Swedish city of Gävle, where a massive straw goat is erected every year at the start of Advent. Standing several metres tall, the goat has become a symbol of Swedish holiday culture and draws attention from visitors around the world.

Made from straw and bound together with red ribbons, the goat is inspired by ancient Scandinavian Yule Goat traditions. Over the decades, it has gained international fame not only for its impressive size, but also for the repeated attempts—successful or not—to burn it down, despite strict security measures. Whether it survives the season or not, the Gävle Goat remains one of the most unusual and talked-about Christmas attractions in Europe.

The Gävle Goat

Final Thoughts

From roller-skating streets in Venezuela to book-filled nights in Iceland, Christmas around the world is wonderfully diverse. Whether you’re planning future travels or simply exploring cultures from home, these traditions reveal the beauty of global celebration.

Which tradition surprised you the most?

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