Christmas is a time for family, presents and good food: a holiday in the depths of winter in which we put aside the cares of the rest of the year and enjoy a brief reprieve from work and stress. But it's also a time where, all over the world, we indulge ourselves in some pretty odd customs. Yes, you might well think that gobbling down a turkey dinner, hanging stockings and putting gifts under the tree are ubiquitous throughout the world but, to be honest, Christmas traditions are different everywhere. I myself experienced this when I spent Christmas time in Mexico City, and everything I thought I knew about the Christmas season was upended. There, my family ate roast pork leg and chicken salsa tamales and beans. At one point we had to take part in a tradition where we pretended to rock a doll (symbolising an infant Jesus) to sleep with a blanket. It was pretty strange, but also eye-opening. However, there are much more bizarre Christmas customs out there. Check out five prime examples below.
1. The Krampus
Whoever thought that Christmas could get as metal as this? Yeah, in Germany the holidays are a lot more badass than the rest of the world, and if you think the scene below is from a Metallica album, then think again. These guys are actually dressed as the Krampus and his mount. In Germany, the Krampus is an antagonistic, frightening demon. In stark contrast to Father Christmas, who rewards dutiful children, the horned Krampus punishes children by frightening them. In Germany, it's custom for adults to dress up like the Krampus for parades and such. However, the fearsome-looking goat dude isn't as obscure as he used to be, appearing in a feature-length horror movie and in the BBC anthology series Inside Number 9.
2. Caganer
A nativity scene with the baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary and the Three Wise Men in the stable is usually painstakingly crafted and overly cutesy. But in Catalan, however, it's an opportunity for raunchy toilet humour, with these little porcelain/clay statues called "Caganers." These little figurines, which are sometimes made to depict celebrities, are usually inserted into the nativity scene in the act of squatting down and taking a little clay dump. I know, I'm as baffled are you are. Even anthropologists aren't too clear on what a tiny guy taking a crap next to our Lord and saviour is meant to symbolise. Is he a representation of the other? A way of bringing down authority figures? Is he meant to represent the distinction between the sacred and profane? Who knows. What even Catalan? Seriously.
3. Yule Cat
In Iceland, they believe in a festive feline monster called the Yule Cat (J
ólakötturinn), a folkloric monster which takes the form of a gigantic and fearsome kitty-cat. The Yule cat allegedly lurks outside the warm homes of the Icelandic people around about Christmas time, finds anyone who isn't wearing new clothes before Christmas Eve and devours them whole. Cute and terrifying! The perfect Christmas tradition. Apparently, stories of the voracious moggy were first employed by farmers centuries ago as an incentive for their workers to finish weaving woollen garments before Christmastime. Those who managed to make their quota would be rewarded with new clothes, but the lazier workers would end up eaten. So you see, Christmas has always been about crass commercialism folks. However, some believe that the Yule Cat isn't truly predatory, and will instead punish slackers by eating all the Christmas food in their house - probably a likelier prospect for all you cat owners.
4. Black Peter
Probably the most controversial item on the list; in the Netherlands, Santa Claus is typically accompanied by a golliwog-like sidekick character dressed in Elizabethan garb and called "
Zwarte Piet" (Black Peter). Adults often dress up as Black Peter for Christmas parades, however, in modern times the practice and the character have come under heavy criticism for perceived racism due to the fact that it usually involves white people performing in blackface. It's a sobering reminder that not all Christmas traditions are quite as wonderful as stockings by the fireplace - and that cultural sensitivity can only go so far.
5. La Befana
What's more festive than jolly old Saint Nick bringing presents to kids in the night? Well, in Italy apparently this honour belongs to a wicked old witch on a broomstick. Yes, over there presents are delivered by a haggard old crone called Befana who zooms around the country with a lump of coal for bad kids and presents for good ones. She is also something of a deft housekeeper as well, and may well oblige the household in question by sweeping up after she leaves. Legend has it that Befana was approached by the Three Wise Men after the birth of baby Jesus, and she sheltered them for the night. The Three Wise Men invited her to see baby Jesus with them, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Now she travels the world in search of the Messiah. Breaks your heart doesn't it?
Sure, these traditions are strange, but I'll tell you what the weirdest Christmas tradition of all is: leaving out a carrot and sherry for some morbidly obese housebreaker. Or nailing old socks to your mantlepiece to stuff oranges into. What kind of nut thought that one up? Or how about the annual tradition of the whole family shouting at each other trying to get the flashing fairy lights to work? Compared to that stuff, the Krampus seems positively wholesome, right?
