Holiday traditions around the world
Many places around the world celebrate many different holidays in many different ways. Here are just some places that celebrate in unique ways.
Krampus: (Austria and Hungary)
This is a pretty scary and unique tradition. At Krampusnacht parties or Krampus runs, there is someone who dresses up as a St. Nick Devil in a beast costume. This demon named Krampus is supposed to abduct bad children who have misbehaved during the year. It is the opposite of St. Nick, who brings toys and presents to reward the good kids. Instead of a holly jolly big red Santa Claus, they have a creepy and scary devil who parades around.
Ganna: (Ethiopia)
On Christmas Eve, a tradition in Ganna is to play a ball-and-stick game. According to their local legend, shepherds played this game when they heard about the birth of Jesus. However, this isn’t really a relaxed type of game, it gets kind of violent. In this game, the ball can possibly knock someone out because it is very hard and there are no rules, so the game gets very hectic and sometimes isn’t even finished by Christmas Eve. But, this tradition is most definitely unique and puts some fun into the Christmas holiday.
Japan:
This is a very unique tradition. Christmas isn’t considered a national holiday in Japan because about one percent of the population is Christian. But that does not stop them from celebrating Christmas. Instead of sitting down for a nice home-cooked meal with their family, they all go out to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for their meals. Since 1974, this has been one of the most popular traditions and gets the people into the Christmas spirit.
United Kingdom:
In the United Kingdom, people gather at Stonehedge on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, to watch the sunset. While they are there, they sing, dance and dress up into costumes to celebrate the winter solstice. Researchers believe that Stonehenge was built to mark the passing seasons, with the rocks perfectly framing the sun. This is a great way for families and friends to get together and celebrate.