SANTA Claus is coming to town in just a few weeks, but he won’t be visiting everyone in the world.
While Saint Nick’s arrival is greatly anticipated in many countries, there are other places where he takes more of a back seat when it comes to Christmas celebrations.
AlamyIn 2016 a shopping centre in Barcelona put up a 19-foot tall statue of Caganer, who appears in Catalonian Nativity scenes[/caption]
Here are some of the stranger Christmas traditions from around the world that you might not have heard of, according to YourOverseasHome.com and Busuu.
Pooping log, Catalonia
A bizarre Catalonian festive tradition involves a wooden log that families ‘feed’ scraps of food to on the run-up to Christmas.
The families will then smack the log with a stick while singing a special song in the hopes of it pooping out presents.
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In the days preceding Christmas, children must take good care of the log – also called Caga Tió, or Tió de Nadal – keeping it warm and feeding it, so that it puts out presents on Christmas Day or Eve.
Tio de Nadal has a rural and likely pagan origin related to the winter solstice celebrations and pre-Christmas traditions, although the exact origin has been forgotten.
The pooping theme continues into Catalan Christmas culture, with Caganer, the a defecating man, present in Catalonian depictions of the Nativity since at least the 18th century.
Rollerblading to mass, Venezuela
AlamyIn Venezuela people rollerblade to mass in the week leading up to Christmas day[/caption]
In the week leading up to Christmas, Venezuelans attend a daily church service, Early Morning Mass.
But to make things a little more interesting, in the capital, Caracas, it is customary to travel to the church service on roller skates.
This is such a widespread practice that many roads in the capital are actually closed until 8am to provide Christmas worshippers with a safe passage.
Going veggie, Italy
GettyOn Christmas Eve Italian people avoid eating meat and often eat pasta, rice and vegetables[/caption]
The festive season officially begins on December 8 in Italy, the time of Immaculate Conception, when Christmas trees are put up and light displays decorate towns and villages.
Italian tradition dictates that Christmas Eve must be a meat-free day, with many choosing to sit down to a meal of pasta or rice.
Christmas Day however is all about feasting on grand roasted meat meals and finishing off with a slice of traditional ‘Panettone’ Christmas cake.
This tradition comes from the religious custom of having a light, meat-free day before the big celebration on December 25, with Christmas Eve known as ‘giorno di magro’, meaning ‘lean day’.
KFC buckets, Japan
GettyPeople queue up for KFC in Japan every year for Christmas dinner[/caption]
While the Italians are cutting out meat for one of their meals, the Japanese are busy getting stuck into a bucket of fried chicken.
Since its original launch in 1974, KFC Japan’s Christmas campaign has continued to evolve over the years and a bucket of the Colonel’s famous chicken is now a festive tradition among many Japanese families.
Some pre-order their chicken meals months in advance and long queues are expected on the 25th outside KFC restaurants.
Christmas in Japan tends to only be celebrated by families with children or couples.
Kids will wake up to presents next to their bed and couples spend the day like Valentine’s Day – going on dates, having dinner and exchanging small gifts together.
Yule Lads, Iceland
AlamyThe Icelandic Yule Lads give gifts to good children, who leave their shoes out for the trolls[/caption]
In Iceland, Christmas trolls or ‘Yule Lads’ are said to give gifts to good children, much like Santa.
Except unlike Santa, there are 13 of them, going by strange names such as Meat-Hook, Gully Gawk, Bowl-Licker, Door-Slammer and Stubby.
There is also Sausage-Swiper, who steals sausages from family homes and Window-Peeper, who looks through people’s windows for items of value to steal.
On the night before December 12, it’s customary for Icelandic children to put a shoe in the window.
They do this in hope that the Yule lads, who come into town one by one from the mountains in the nights leading up to Christmas, will leave a little something for them in the shoe.
Christmas caterpillars, South Africa
Science Photo LibraryIn South Africa, Pine Tree Emperor Moth caterpillars are eaten for good luck[/caption]
While mince pies, turkey and Christmas pudding will be on most Brits’ tables this Christmas, in South Africa, creepy crawlies are on the menu.
South Africans tend to tuck into fried caterpillars to mark the festive period, but they’re not the run-of-the-mill variety you tend to find in the garden.
The Pine Tree Emperor Moth, or Christmas caterpillar, is covered in festive hues which apparently give all who tuck in a little extra luck in the coming year.
Meanwhile, these are some of the weirdest Royal Family Christmas traditions.
And is this Britain’s weirdest Christmas tree, decorated with baubles filled with bodily fluids?
GettyPeople in Japan have eaten KFC for Christmas dinner since 1974[/caption] Read More