The strangest Christmas traditions all over the world

Christmas is mostly about celebrations, gift-giving, merry-making and church-attending. There are so many different elements that contribute to the celebration that we have come to know as Christmas.

Here are some of the strange things people around the world do for Christmas in the name of celebration.

Iceland: The Yule Cat (Jolakotturinn)

The Icelandics are big fans of myths and of hard work. (They have the most overtime in Europe.) One famous Christmas character is the scary Yule Cat who eats children who haven't worked hard enough. Basically, if you have finished all your work before Christmas you get new clothes and you are safe. The scary Icelandic Yule cat only looks for the lazy ones in old clothes. A good reason to go clothes shopping.

LATVIA: MUMMERS

The tradition of mummers is associated with the winter solstice more than Christmas. It dates back to pagan times when people would try to employ magic to encourage the sun to return before daylight completely disappeared. In Britain, mummers perform small dramas about the struggle between the sun and the forces of winter -a tradition that survives to this day in some areas. In Latvia, Christmastime is still a solstice holiday, and is often celebrated from December 22nd through the 25th. Customs of a Latvian Christmas are usually traced to activities that encourage the return of the Sun Maiden. Latvian mummers are more like Halloween trick-or-treaters, going from house to house wearing masks, usually disguised as some kind of animal or the spirit of death. They play music and bestow blessings on the homes they visited, and are given food to eat.

Sweden: Find the almond in the rice pudding 
In Sweden, you eat rice pudding at Christmas (before or after the Smorgasbord) and the big question is: Who will get the almond? There is one peeled almond hiding somewhere in the rice pudding and the lucky one who gets it will get married within a year.

ICELAND: YULE LADS

The Jólasveinar, or Yule Lads, are Icelandic trolls. In ancient times, they stole things and caused trouble around Christmastime, so they were used to scare children into behaving, like the Yule cat. However, in the 20th century, culture creep brought tales of the benevolent Norwegian figure called Julenisse (Santa Claus), who brought gifts to good children. He was the carrot while the Yule Lads were the stick. The traditions became mingled, until the formerly devilish Jólasveinar became kind enough to leave gifts in shoes that children leave out ...if they are good boys and girls. This gift-giving used to last for 13 days straight! That's because there are 13 Yule Lads, and they each have a name and distinct personality.

Czech Republic, Slovakia: Toss Your Shoes And Get Hitched

If you don’t want to celebrate another Christmas single, then try this: stand with your back to the door and throw a shoe over your shoulders on Christmas day! If the shoe lands with the toe pointing to the door, congratulations, you’re going to get married soon! There’s no clue as to how long before you meet your prince charming though.

Japan: KFC for Christmas dinner In many Japanese homes a KFC bucket with fried chicken is the main dish at Christmas. Thanks to a lack of turkeys and smart marketing by KFC the fried chicken is so popular you have to order weeks in advance for the holidays

Ukraine: Christmas trees dressed in spider webs

Spider webs in the house are typically considered at best, a nuisance, and at worst, a nightmare for the arachnophobic among us, but in Ukraine, Christmas trees are often decorated with (fake) spider webs to usher in good luck during the coming year. 

The legend goes that a poverty stricken family went to bed on Christmas eve despondent because they wouldn't be able to decorate their tree. The spiders, roaming the home's walls and floors, heard the cries of the family, and took it upon themselves to decorate the tree with their webs. On Christmas day, the strands turned to gold and silver, changing the family's fortune forever.