Jennie
Reedy: holiday decorating consultant, author, and blogger.
Christmas
around the globe is celebrated with many customs and traditions.
Often the
traditions are similar with only slight variations from country to country, but
some Christmas traditions are truly bizarre.
1 In the
nine days leading up to Christmas Day in Venezuela, the people attend an early
morning mass. This may seem like a pretty normal tradition, but in the busy
city of Caracas, on Christmas they skate to mass on roller skates. Firecrackers
pop to wake the citizens, who put on their skates for the pre-dawn trip to
mass. Streets normally packed with traffic are closed in the mornings to allow
the skating churchgoers to pass.
2 Many
countries welcome a figure bringing gifts to children, such as Santa Claus in
the United States or Father Christmas in England. In Italy, the gift-bringer is
a kind but hideous witch named La Befana. She missed seeing the Christ-child
because she was busy when the wise men told her to come. La Befana comes late,
several days after Christmas Day, but leaves gifts at each house in case the
holy infant is there.
3 While
Italian children anxiously await the arrival of a witch on a broom, Norwegians
hide all their brooms. Their legend says witches and evil spirits come out on
Christmas Eve to steal the brooms and ride around causing mischief. Norway is
known for the Yule log, but the witch legend is more unique.
4 Most
cultures decorate for Christmas, but in the Ukraine, the décor is a bit more
bizarre. Ukrainian Christmas trees are adorned with silver and gold spider
webs. This tradition was weaved from a story of a poor woman without any means
to decorate for the holiday. As she slept, spiders spun webs of pure gold and
silver to beautify her tree and bring her wealth.
5 Catalans
from Spain also have a tradition for bringing wealth, but it is definitely not
as pretty as silver and gold webs. In Catalonia, the traditional nativity scene
has an extra figure. El Caganer can be found somewhere on the outskirts of the
nativity, crouched in a squatting position in the midst of a bowel movement. It
is believed that “The Defecator” in the nativity scene will fertilize the
coming year with a good harvest of wealth and prosperity. The statue can be a
monk, a shepherd, or a popular sports star or celebrity, but he is always
wearing his signature red Catalan hat as he squats above a pile of crap.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/12/5-bizarre-christmas-traditions/
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