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.

How to Stay Fit and Healthy while travelling

How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the Road

Here are seven tips on staying fit while travelling:

1) Make healthy living on the road a priority! Yes, you DO have time to exercise, you just need to make time for it. You can complete a workout in 20 minutes in your hotel room or hostel.

2) Walking for the win. Do everything you can to walk as often as possible. There’s no better way to explore a city than on foot: you get to exercise

3) Playgrounds and parks are everywhere: use them. Check google maps for that green patch of ground and walk over there for your workouts; you can do pull ups on swing sets or tree branches.

4) Remember that your diet is 80% of the battle. Consider upping your food budget, even slightly so you can eat healthier. Bags of rice and/or pasta for every meal: processed carbs and very little else. Get some protein in there! Don’t be afraid to do a healthy ‘family dinner’ with hostel mates where you all split the cost.

5) Do the best you can. If you only have 10 minutes to exercise, exercise for 10 minutes! Every little bit adds up, and 10 minutes is WAYYY better than nothing. If you have to eat poorly at train station, make up for it the next day.

6) Employ the “Never 2″ rule. If you miss a day of exercise for whatever reason, don’t allow yourself to miss two days in a row. If you eat one bad meal, that next meal should be healthy. Never two in a row.

7) Have fun. Don’t be afraid to have late nights with friends or say yes to crazy adventures. Just make sure you get right back on track as soon as possible after so you don’t lose the momentum you’ve built up.

Desert Safaris in Egypt

Egypt Desert Safaris

Deserts cover about 20% of the Earths land surface, and are often thought of as unforgiving environments where it is difficult to survive even a day or two. While you do need special preparations to stay in the desert, its actually quite possible to do it even fun! Deserts provide the perfect atmosphere for some really interesting activities you wont be able to do anywhere else in the world. Hot deserts are, perhaps, more versatile in the kinds of activities that you can do, and the largest hot desert, the Sahara, has many points where you can take part in these activities.

When in Egypt, its a great idea to go on a desert safari. These alternative style trips are an absolute adventure that you must experience. While hot deserts the world over can offer great experiences, in Egypt you can have these experiences and have a blast while doing it! Often traveling into the desert with Bedouin guides, youll have a chance to see their interaction with the environment, and enjoy it the way locals would with song and dance around a campfire at night! While camping out in the desert, youll experience one of the clearest night skies around as you sit in front of the camp fire and drink traditional Bedouin tea. At your Bedouin camp, you might even enjoy a traditional dinner of lamb, slow cooked in the heat under the sand. While in the Egyptian desert, youll probably even be lucky enough to see a fox or two during your stay!

Enjoying a campfire in the Egyptian desert under the stars 

Besides camping, the other desert safari activities you can enjoy in Egypt are sand boarding and dune bashing. Sand boarding is a slightly more forgiving version of snowboarding, where you climb up a sand dune with your board, and slide down either standing (for the adventurous with a good sense of balance) or sitting (for those who are more cautious, and would like to enjoy the same experience, but a little close to the ground); its a fun activity, and one that you can only enjoy in the desert, as there are no man made sand dunes that would suit the activity. You can enjoy this on a simple day trip outside of the desert at the Qataneya Dunes, or while spending a weekend in the Western Desert.

Dune bashing is an activity where youre riding in a 4x4 vehicle that climbs up the dunes, drives along its crest, and sometimes crosses to the other side of the dune. Its quite exciting, and you have to hold tight as youre actually leaning sideways during the ride along the crest of the dune.

While out in the Egypts Western Desert, you can also arrange a trip to see one of the 5 oases, and have your very own mirage experience in the Bahariya Oasis, except youll be seeing actual palm trees around a small spring of water, or even enjoy a dip in some mineral water! The Western Desert even has some areas like the Great Sand Sea that are ideal for sand boarding.

Enjoying a dip in a therapeutic mineral pool in an Egyptian oasis

On your next trip to Egypt, make sure you set aside a weekend for a trip to the desert its something youll never forget!

Guide to visiting Jordan

Guide to Jordan

While it may be true that nine tenths of Jordan is semi-arid desert, the rest includes striking landscapes, all with plenty to entice the nature-lovers to explore; several nature reserves set up and protected by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) add a luxurious splash of jade to the baron amber wilderness, and offer a range of accommodation for keen eco-tourists. From the hustle and bustle of capital city Amman to the historic and beautiful sights of Petra, the cities of Jordan are awash with culture. A fusion of Arabic and traditional Mediterranean thanks to a largely immigrant population, Jordan is well worth a visit, if only to sample the fantastic cuisine

Where To Stay

FEYNAN ECO-LODGE AND DANA GUESTHOUSE

Feynan is a 26-room adobe lodge the colour of the desert around it, with solar-powered showers, candlelight at night and delicious vegetarian dinners, making it a peaceful retreat for wilderness- and nature-lovers.

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL AMMAN

Cool, calm neutrals with judicious splashes of red and mustard add to the serene atmosphere of this luxurious 192-room bolthole in one of the smartest districts in the city. The service is impeccable, as are the fabulous flower arrangements in the lobby.

HOTEL KEMPINSKI ISHTAR

Supposedly inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, this lavish 318-room resort on the shore of the Dead Sea is awash with pools, fountains and watery delights: a guilty pleasure in a country so short of the wet stuff.

MÖVENPICK RESORT PETRA

Handily located at the gates to Petra, this comfortable hotel has a spectacular neo-Damascene-style atrium with carved wooden balconies, a tinkling fountain and an exotic-looking ground-floor bar, but for peace and ice-cream the fourth-floor tearoom wins hands down.

EVASON MA'IN HOT SPRINGS

Secreted in a lush oasis at the bottom of a deep, rocky canyon, some 20 minutes' drive east of the Dead Sea, this is the Six Senses group's latest addition to its Middle Eastern spa properties. The shimmering sandstone edifice blends in seamlessly with the surrounding sheer rock walls, and its domes and arches give it the design-savvy look of an ultra-modern Arabian palace. Inside, this theme continues with a stylishly simplistic blend of pale pastel colours and low-slung, dark-wood furniture.

A Woman's Guide to Visiting Egypt

Women Traveling Alone Tips in Egypt

While Egypt is a Muslim country, it is much more progressive than other Arab nations. Some women wear a niqab (a veil covering the face), others wear a hijab (a covering of the hair and neck but not the face) and still others do not cover their heads at all. Women are not required by law to follow a dress code, so as a tourist, you can wear whatever you'd like; some people do.

You do not need to cover your head in Egypt, but dress modestly. Wear pants or long skirts. Cairo is hot, so loose fitting pants are going to be more comfortable than a pair of skinny jeans. It is also dusty and dirty, so white clothing will appear soiled far more quickly than clothing of other colors.
Sunglasses are a must, not only because it's bright out but also because they make it easier to avoid making eye contact with men on the street.

While you don't need to wear a headscarf, it's not a bad idea to carry around a lightweight pashmina in case you go into a mosque and want to cover your head. In the more conservative mosques, if you're not completely covered, they will ask you to wear a bathrobe-type garment.

Egyptians are very friendly and outgoing people. You can certainly socialize, but while in the US (or Lebanon for that matter) it's perfectly acceptable to talk to a stranger at a bar, be aware that this is not part of the Egyptian culture. When Egyptians go out at night, they do not interact with others outside their immediate group. So be yourself and enjoy the hospitality, but keep the rules of the locals in the back of your mind.

There is always the potential for unwanted attention from men, but if you use common sense and dress appropriately, you can relax and enjoy Egypt's rich history, abundance of archeological sites, and delicious cuisine.

How to Travel to Israel

How to Travel to Israel

By Air

Step 1
Make your flight reservations. A number of U.S. cities, including New York, Miami and Los Angeles, offer nonstop flights into Tel Aviv, home to Israel's largest international airport. Flights take approximately 12 hours from New York City.

Step 2
Fly to Israel and get a visa on arrival. U.S. citizens with valid passports are granted a visa on arrival at the airport for stays of up to three months in Israel. If you are planning on working, you need to have a letter of introduction from your Israeli employer. If you have dual citizenship, you are required to use your Israeli passport to enter and leave the country.

Step 3
Pass through customs and immigration. The customs process in Israel can be short and easy to get through, or it can take a few hours of questioning to get through. This is dependent on the nature of your trip and the types of stamps in your passport. If you have difficulty getting through, let the U.S. consulate or embassy in Israel know.

By Land

Step 1
Cross the King Hussein Bridge towards Jerusalem. Private cars are not allowed to pass across the King Hussein Bridge; however, a variety of taxis and tour buses ferry passengers across into Israel. Show your Jordanian-stamped exit slip to the Israeli border guards along with your passport. Crossings may take a few minutes to a few hours, depending on traffic.

Step 2
Travel between Aqaba and Eliat. Aqaba is in southern Jordan along the Red Sea, about five miles east of Eliat, in Israel. Crossings here generally are easy, as the border is traveled by many day trippers to Petra, about an hour's drive north of Aqaba in Jordan. You need to present both your Jordanian exit slip and your passport to the border guards.

Step 3
Use the Jordan River crossing. This crossing is in northern Israel and Jordan, and private cars are allowed to cross this border. It passes through the Galilee area of both countries, and traffic generally is lighter here than at the other two crossings between the two countries. Your passport and Jordanian exit slip are required at the Israeli border.

4 ways to save money while travelling

4 ways to save money while travelling

1)  Travel Outside of North America and Europe

Travelling in North America of Europe is certainly expensive.  Developed nations have a much higher cost of living and finding budget or value accommodation and activities is often tricky.  Consider travelling in South East Asia or Central America where the cost of living is much lower.  Not only will this offer better bang for you buck, but these countries will be far more exotic than nearby options back home.

2)  Travel with a partner

Travelling with a partner can help you save money in a number of different ways.  Meals, food, drinks and long haul transportation will still cost the same; however, accommodations and local transportation (such as taxis and tuk-tuks) can be split.

3)  Slow Down

One of the biggest mistakes of first time backpackers is to feel the need to rush around and see and do everything.  Slowing down is the name of the game when it comes to reducing costs while traveling and taking less things in your backpack while mobile.  Not only will you experience local culture in a more enriching manner, but more importantly, you’ll save money by not having to buy transportation all the time.


4)  Eat Locally

Foreign food restaurants are always more expensive than local options.  This rule applies to any country.  One of the best ways to save money while travelling is to eat locally.  Try to find restaurants that locals frequent as opposed to tourists.  Not only will the prices be lower but the food will also be more authentic.

How to Pack for Weekend Trips

How to Pack for Weekend Trips

Here are seven things to think about while you’re packing for your next weekend trip:

1. Keep calm and carry-on. If you remember your passport, credit cards, and medications you might need when you’re running around before a flight, you’re halfway to golden. Most everything else can be purchased later if left behind. But don’t you dare check a bag on a weekend getaway! Even if you’re not flying, you don’t want to be weighed down. That said, quality luggage is one of the most important investments a traveler can make. Luxury hotel inspector Tiffany Dowd and Erik Wilkinson, a director of sales for Eton of Sweden, both swear by Tumi. The Quintessential Tote is Dowd’s favorite because it’s “stylish and durable,” while Wilkinson prefers the International Carry-On, a bag he reports holds a surprisingly large amount of clothes. Dowd’s also a fan of the brand’s luggage recovery program which identifies your bag with a unique registration number.

2. Don’t underestimate the power of a plastic bag. I put everything from chargers to jewelry in plastic baggies. I also always keep a plastic bag filled with essential toiletries — like contact solution, lotion, and toothpaste — at the ready en route. Bigger plastic bags double as laundry hampers on short trips, but for those of you who want to class it up a bit, Wilkinson recommends trying Flight 001 Spacepaks. “You fold everything in on one side of the bag on your outbound journey and then your dirty clothes go on the other side on your return,” he said.

3. Accessories are your best friend. On a weekend trip, neutral color palates — tans, blacks, whites, grays — can maximize your options while keeping your carry-on, well, carry-able. Then, all you need is a fabulous selection of accessories to brighten and vary your look. “Great accessories are my secret,” Dowd said. “You can add a pop of color to a simple black dress with some vibrant Prada pumps, then change up your look by adding a long Chanel necklace and some high-heeled boots the next night.” I also love adding to my collection when I’m away: Picking up a scarf from a London shop or a bracelet from a market in Dubai remind me of my travels long after I’ve returned home.

4. Wear the same outfit on both flights. Picking out your “plane uniform” is important business, and can help you conserve valuable carry-on space. For instance, always wear your heaviest items, like winter coats and big boots, on the plane. Travelers often end up in quite a different clime when they disembark at their destination, and planes themselves can be chilly, so layering your clothing is always a good way to go.

5. To thine own self be true. Identify and embrace your must-haves. Confession: I own way too many black dresses — but they’re just so easy when traveling, and I don’t care how often someone sees me in one. So when I know I’ve packed a few of them, I feel at ease. And, since I have yet to come to terms with my Medusa-esque head of curls, I always bring a flat iron along with me. Wilkinson, on the other hand, subscribes to something he calls “the blazer effect.” “If there’s a better table to be had at the restaurant, I get it wearing the blazer,” he said. Same with hotel upgrades. “My wife and I laugh about it now because it happens so often.”

6. Be prepared. Part of my power-packing strategy for weekend trips is invisible to the eye. When you only have a few days, you want to spend them wisely, so I do a lot of research about my destination ahead of time. I save tweets, articles, quotes, friends’ advice, and more in documents and spreadsheets, then use SugarSync to link my laptop to my phone so it’s all at my fingertips. Even if you’re a see-where-the-day-takes-you traveler, it always helps to have some idea of what you want to do, especially when it comes to securing reservations at that fabulous new restaurant or tickets to that gonna-sell-out show.

7. Keep it light. This rule is both literal and figurative. In addition to not weighing myself down with checked luggage, I make a habit of leaving books behind on short getaways. Instead, I bring my iPad and buy magazines at the airport for take-off and landing. Dowd, who gave the best advice of all —  “Leave any stress you may have behind!” – reminded me that weekend getaways are about enjoying life and getting some rest. Amen, sister.

Do you have tips for packing for weekend getaways? Share your insights by leaving a comment below:

How to Find a Cheap Flight

How to Find a Cheap Flight

 

The world is in an economic crisis, and tourism is down all over the world. Airlines have slashed fees and costs in order to fill some of the empty seats. Yet flights — especially on the major airlines — are still expensive. Rising oil costs, increased personal costs, and material costs have all added to rising ticket fares. Bankruptcy has also meant that airlines, which are under pressure to make a profit, can’t reduce fares that much.

The era of dirt-cheap travel is over, and, when the flight can represent the biggest part of your trip expenses, finding that hidden cheap deal can be just as important as finding the right location, the right tour company, the right backpack, or the right 

place to stay.

Here are a few tips that can help you find cheap flights and flight deals:

Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates

Be Flexible with Your Destinations

Fly to Secondary Airports with Budget Carriers

Try Alternative Routes

Know What You Want to Pay for a Flight

Remember Not All Search Engines are Equal

Take Advantage of Student Discounts

Sign Up for a Frequent Flier Program

Join Airports Mailing Lists

Book Early