To kick start this holiday season, Esteban Touma, teacher and content producer at Babbel Live, shares his insights into some of the most fascinating and quirky Christmas traditions celebrated across the globe.
From the Yule Lads in Iceland with their distinct personalities, to the roller-skating kids of Venezuela, and the craze for festive fried chicken in Japan, here are 10 of the world’s most unique and quirky Christmas traditions.
9. Las patinatas in Venezuela
A long running holiday tradition in Venezuela is “las patinatas” - or the skating, where the capital city of Caracas typically roller skates to early morning mass on Christmas Day. Children who live along the skating route will often tie their toe with a piece of string and dangle it outside their window so that when Christmas morning arrives skaters may gently tug on it in order to wake them up and get them skating.
10. Spider webs in Ukraine
Ukrainian families decorate their trees with spider webs for good luck. This tradition originates from an ancient tale where a poor family grew a Christmas tree from a pine cone, but the family was not able to afford any decorations, so spiders spun glistening silk webs around the tree leaving the family with a beautifully adorned tree. (Photo: Erika Smith / Wikimedia Commons)