Holiday traditions are not only a part of our respective regional celebrations, but they're also a distinctly integral thread woven through each of our families. Whether it's holiday cookie-making parties or Christmas Day sledding, Christmas Eve mass, or the lighting of the menorah, we are a diverse people rooted in traditions. While some of those traditions are deeply enmeshed in the spirituality of the season, others are about gathering, creating, and feasting our way into the new year. And still, others are just, well, we're not entirely sure what they're enmeshed in, but we're here for them.
If you can't imagine the holidays without the annual neighborhood gingerbread house competition, the kids' advent calendars, or the white elephant exchange at the office, here are a few internationally inspired traditions — ranging from heartwarmingly nostalgic to bizarrely inspired — that you might consider including in your family's festivities this season and beyond.
Capturing the Surprise:
Remember those childhood years when you came down the stairs to a twinkling Christmas tree and a mound of brightly wrapped packages from Santa? Capturing that wonder and excitement flash across a young child's face is a parent's unspoken duty on Christmas morning. And, if you're like a San Bernardino California family, it happens every year, when the mother still films each of her grown children's sleepy-eyed faces breaking into a grin of delight. Imagine the montage of memories!
All Wrapped Up:
A family in New York has been raising the bar on wrapping since childhood. Every year, family members compete to come up with challenging new ways to extend the anticipation. Unearthing a gift from a mound of moss and leaves or chipping it out of a block of ice brings an entirely new spin to extending the excitement of Christmas morning gifting!
The Naughty Nightmare:
In Germany, Austria, and Hungary, legend has it that Krampus — Santa's hairy, devilish counterpart — punishes naughty kids by frightening them. If you're at the top of the naughty list, the beast might even put you in a sack and sling you down to Hell. People in these countries will often dress up as Krampus in early December to scare children. All in good fun, of course... unless you've been naughty, that is.
The Night of the Radishes:
December 23 is La Noche de Rbanos — The Night of the Radishes — in Oaxaca, Mexico. Merchants and artists sell radishes depicting nativity scenes, animals, architecture, and any number of other seasonal designs through detailed carvings. The radishes go on to be the centerpieces on holiday tables, with the best design winning an annual prize.
Christmas KFC Anyone?
A 1970s marketing maneuver by KFC — Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii or "Kentucky for Christmas" — created a Christmas holiday tradition where one lacked (Christians make up a minuscule percentage of the population in Japan). Now, nearly 3.5 million Japanese families eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve: the meal — which includes fried chicken, cake, and champagne — is often ordered months in advance.
Christmas Caroling... with a Dead Horse:
While Christmas caroling is a common holiday tradition throughout the world, Wales' tradition is a horse of a different color. The Mari Lwyd or "Gray Mare" tradition has carolers arriving on doorsteps throughout December and January, hidden under sheets adorned with ribbons and bells and holding a real horse skull on a stick, and singing carols before launching into a barrage of Welsh insults. In battle form. And rhyming, of course. Afterward, the party is invited in for refreshments. That's one way to get the party started!
However you celebrate the holidays, may they be a time of equal parts rest and revelry.
InSouth Insurance Services wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season!