Christmas around the world

[MauEvig]

I think it's fun to learn about different ways Christmas is celebrated around the world.
In Italy for instance, La Befana the witch delivers presents to children on Epiphany Eve. I'm sure any witch enthusiasts would appreciate this particular tradition.
Wikipedia has a nice article about La Befana:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana
When Christmas was brought over to eastern countries like China and Japan, different ways of celebrating were created and adopted.
In China, they decorate apples, and the apples look quite ornate. They call them "Peace Apples." The apples came about due to how Christmas Eve in Chinese is translated, in Manderin it's "ping’an ye" which means "peaceful night." "ping guo" is Manderin for "apple."
Here's a little more about Christmas in China if you're interested:
Read more at https://christmaslyn.com/christmas-china/
In Japan, it's custom to eat KFC for Christmas! Yep, KFC along with many popular American fast food places have made their way around the world, and I believe this custom began with an ad in Japan around Christmas time centered around the chicken.
Here's a bit about how KFC contributed a Christmas tradition in Japan:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/kfc- ... index.html
There's a great deal many more fascinating Christmas traditions around the world, do you all have any favorites that stand out to you?

[Murfreesboro]

I have the Rick Steves DVD and accompanying book about Christmas in Europe. He talks about traditions in England, Norway, France, Germany, and Italy. I knew from somewhere about KFC in Japan, but I knew nothing about Chinese Peace Apples.

[Andybev01]

I recommend a movie called 'Rare Exports'.

It's a surprisingly charming horror-ish movie set in a cold northern hunting village.

It's either a Santa origin story, a Krampus origin story or, both.

[Murfreesboro]

Rare Exports. I'll try to remember that. Sounds interesting.

[Murfreesboro]

Mau, I've been poking around the 'net, reading about Christmas customs around the world, and have just learned about something called the Yule Goat in Sweden. I'd never heard of this! Apparently it harkens back to pagan times, when the Norse god Thor drove a chariot drawn by two goats across the sky in December.

Nowadays they have a large Goat made out of straw on display in Sweden from Advent through New Year's.

Interestingly, there is or was a new year's tradition attached to this. Young men would costume as the Yule Goat and go door to door, singing and begging for refreshments. It was a little like ToTing.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting. You can read about it on Wikipedia.

[Murfreesboro]

Right now I'm baking a pie and watching Lucy Worsley's 12 Days of Tudor Christmas on DVD. You might have seen her stuff on PBS. She explores history through material culture. Anyway, she does a great job of explaining what the 12 days of Christmas actually were and how they were celebrated under Henry VIII. Even though it's about England, its historical focus probably qualifies it for this thread.

[Murfreesboro]

Mau, I just wondered if you'd found the site whychristmas.com. It has a feature where you can click on Christmas customs for dozens of countries.

[Andybev01]

I just took a peek and bookmarked it for later perusal.

[Murfreesboro]

You can spend a long time there and still not see everything.

[Andybev01]

Spelunking rabbit holes is fun.

[Murfreesboro]

Lol no kidding! I can spend a lot of time there. The authors have recipes and all kinds of stuff. Appears to be a UK site. They also have a whyeaster.com. I'll explore that in a couple of months.

[Andybev01]

Yeah, I'm the type to get ahead of myself when it comes to the seasons.

That's why I leave my Christmas stuff up to the end if the 12 days of Christmas.

[Murfreesboro]

Me too! *virtual fist bump*

I'm sure my neighbors think I'm lazy. Around here, most people say it's bad luck to leave them up past New Year's. I had an aunt who used to take her tree down on Christmas night!

[Andybev01]

My brother is the same way


On December 26th, all of the glorious Christmas doo-dads that festoon the halls come crashing down.

I can't do that, it's too much of a shock.

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. Where'd you find that gif?