Quirky Christmas traditions from around the world

While decorated hay bales and decorated farm mail boxes are common across the Back Country, today we offer up a selection some of the more bizarre Christmas traditions that we have gathered up from across the globe.

KFC Christmas, Japan

Until recently, Christmas wasn't a huge deal in Japan, but a very successful Kentucky Fried Chicken ad campaign during the 1970s established the tradition of families tucking in to buckets of fried chicken on December 25.

In fact, holiday-themed KFC meal has become so popular around Japan that restaurant reservations and specially packaged delivery orders are placed months in advance. 

KFC's Christmas packs typically include made-to-order fried chicken, a chocolate fudge cake, a commemorative plate featuring Colonel Sanders as Santa and wine.

Mari Lwyd, Wales

Welsh culture is ancient and steeped in superstition, and the residents of South Wales enjoy parading an undead horse around their villages to celebrate the happiest time of year.

In a wassailing display dating back to (probably) Celtic times, the custom involves draping a white sheet over a pole with a horse skull attached and knocking on townsfolk's doors, no doubt giving them the fright of their lives.

The party carrying the morbid effigy then sing to the residents, who are supposed to sing back before relinquishing some food or drink. There is some debate about whether Mari Lwyd translates as 'Holy Mary' or 'Grey Mare.'

The pooper and the pooping log, Catalonia (Spain)

Catalans observe not one but two excrement-based Christmas traditions. The first is the ‘caganer’, roughly meaning ‘the pooper’ – a figurine of a pants-less peasant that’s snuck into nativity scenes alongside Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

The second is ‘caga tió – or the ‘pooping log’ – which is a small stick with a grin on its face that lives on the dinner table in December. After being kept warm with a blanket and ‘fed’ every day with nuts and sweets, it then gets beaten with sticks on Christmas Eve to poop out presents (in reality, the kids duck out to pray for pressies while relatives pop the gifts under the blanket).

Other quirks

In Norway, it is traditional practice to travel to Church for Christmas services on roller skates. It is so popular that main roads are often closed to traffic to allow skaters safe passage.

In Austria, men dressed as St Nicholas' evil counterpart Krampus roam the streets, warning children to behave in the lead up to Christmas. They carry chains and a basket for 'abducting' especially bad children and hauling them to hell.

Ukrainian decorate their trees with spiders and webs, dating back to a folk tale of a poor woman who could not afford Christmas decorations. On Christmas morning she woke to find spiders had woven beautiful webs designs across her tree.

During consoda, the traditional Christmas feast in Portugal, families sometimes set extra places at the dining table for deceased relatives, to encourage good fortune for the household.

On the evening of December 5, German children leave a boot or a shoe outside their bedroom door. In the morning, if they’ve been good, they will wake to find the shoes filled with sweets. If they have haven’t, they will find only a branch.