10 Weird Christmas Traditions from Around the World

Did you know that over 160 countries from around the world celebrate Christmas each year?

However, do a little research and you will quickly find that people celebrate in vastly different ways! Some places like to keep it simple with a Christmas tree and a little gift exchange.

Other countries have zany traditions that you wonder how they even started! Some traditions are awe-inspiring and heartfelt, while others are just for fun and even a little creepy.

In this article, we’ll discuss ten weird Christmas traditions from around the world.

1. Leaving Out Shoes for the Yule Lads of Iceland

One weird Christmas tradition from around the world comes from Iceland. For the 13 days leading up to Christmas, children are supposed to leave a shoe outside of their door each night.

Then the Yule-Lads, troll-like festive characters, will supposedly leave them a gift each night. There are 13 Yule lads and a different one will visit you each night. If they’ve been good children, they get a nice present. But if they’ve been bad lately, they’ll find a rotten potato in their shoe instead!

After all, the 13 Yule Lads are pranksters with names that translate to things like “window peeper” and “sausage swiper.”

2. The Krampus Run in Austria

You have heard about Santa, but have you heard of Krampus before? He is a demon-like creature that is popular in many countries. Santa comes to reward good children, but Krampus comes to punish the bad ones. He will come scare the bad kids, and even take them for a snack if they’ve been especially bad.

In Austria each year, they hold a Krampus Run where everybody dresses up like the popular demon and runs around town scaring all the kids! As you might imagine, this festival usually involves a fair amount of holiday drinking as well.

3. Guatemala- Ridding Evil Spirits Before Festivities

Speaking of creepy things, in Guatemala they like to be wary of such spirits and creatures. That is why near the beginning of the holiday season, everyone sweeps their house and collects as much trash and junk as possible.

Then everybody piles it all together, sets it on fire, and makes an enormous bonfire. In the middle of the fire is a statue of the devil. Tradition says this cleaning ritual will make sure no evil spirits visit you during the holidays.

4. Norway- Hide Your Broom!

While they may not sweep trash and make a huge fire in Norway, they do have another weird Christmas tradition that involves brooms. They hide them!

This centuries-old tradition dates back to when people thought witches flew around on brooms. By hiding all the brooms in your house, it is believed you can ward off witches and evil spirits that may come to your house and need a broom.

5. Snowball Fights

Making a snowman and having a snowman fight are two popular traditions around the world. What makes this is a funny tradition is that it even happens in places that have no snow! Some warmer areas that never get snow basically use giant snow-making machines to cover a large field in snow.

Then the public can have a one-day snowball fight and still participate in the cold holiday activities.

It is even possible to use different toys and tools to make snowball fights more fun. One example is the SnoFling, a small tool that scoops up snow, packs it into a snowball, and lets you fling it at other people…all without ever touching the snow yourself!

6. Chinese Ice Sculpture Festival

Building a snowman is easy, but building ice sculptures is hard. In the city of Harbin, China they build an entire city out of ice!

Using hundreds of blocks of ice, a handful of talented ice artists create actual building-sized ice sculptures and make a whole festival that displays ice and snow creations, complete with Christmas lights that shine on everything. People travel from all over the world to see this colorful one of a kind Christmas village.

7. Giant Lantern Festival in the Philipines

On the Saturday before Christmas each year in San Fernando in the Philipines, people gather for the giant lantern festival. It started as a simple holiday tradition where people would come to see a large lantern, but the tradition became more of a global event.

Now people compete to see who makes the biggest and most elaborate lanterns, with some of these Christmas decorations ranging up to nearly 20 feet in diameter!

8. Finland Christmas Cemetery

In Finland, people want to be with their families for Christmas…even if their family members have passed on. At sunset on Christmas Eve, people all head to the graveyard to pay respects to their deceased family members.

Many churches hold events at this time to honor the dead, and families get some quality time together.

9. Sweden’s Burning of the Goat

Starting in the 1960’s people in Sweden started a tradition of making a giant Yule-Goat or Gavle Goat in the middle of town, that measures over 40 feet tall. People come from all over to see this Christmas goat.

But somewhere along the way, this lead to another unofficial tradition…people trying to burn down the goat. Each year, people try to vandalize and burn down the goat. So far since 1966, it has been destroyed 29 times!

10. Cobweb Covered Christmas Trees

In the Ukraine, there is a legend about a poor family who could not afford to decorate their Christmas tree. When they woke up the next morning, they found that spiders had spun webs all over the tree that turned into silver and gold.

This started a tradition, and now each year many people still decorate their Christmas trees with cobwebs, hoping it will bring good luck to the family. Spiders may or may not be included!

More Weird Christmas Traditions

These are just a few of the weird Christmas traditions you can find from around the world, but there are many more. If you want to see more funny news and weird Christmas gifts, then just visit our website Weirdomatic for your fill of holiday fun!

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?