Christmas is that special time of the year for some and everything for many. This year we should celebrate the good times as well as the good moments we shared with the ones we lost and all that have been lost during these past two years due to this deadly virus the world has succumbed to.

Christmas however great in spirit and beautiful in essence has evolved in nature. We as humans with differences in culture, language, foods and music, perceive the holiday of Christmas differently. Investigating the different aspects of Christmas and its traditions around the world and influences, there are countless traditions shared and celebrated around the world.

Here are 11 weird and unusual traditions we should remember this Christmas. Both wonderful and different in their own way. There’s nothing better than to add to the Christmas spirit!

Within Japan for instance, Christmas is celebrated with a Kentucky Fried Chicken Feast! Better known worldwide as KFC, this fast-food chain has taken hold of Japan’s Christmas celebrations. With only 1% of the country identifying as Christian, KFC is something to bring the country together around Christmas time regardless of religion. The spirit of Christmas is then held truly dominant despite unhealthy food but hey! It's Christmas.

In the heart of Venezuela, in their dear capital of Caracas, going to Church is the tradition (yes a norm for most worldwide) but it is their method of going to church that is the unusual part. Every Christmas Eve, the city’s residents travel to church by roller skating. Roads are closed for safety measures to allow the residents to skate assuredly without fear of danger. This is then supposedly completed with a Christmas dinner of Tamales - a Mesoamerican dish made from corn dough or masa filled with some favourite fillings such as meat or rice and beans, wrapped in either corn leaf or banana leaf and then steamed.

In Ukraine, decorating the Christmas tree does not consist of sparkly baubles, tinsel and fairy lights. The tradition is to dress the tree up with glittering spiderwebs. According to an old wives tale, it states how a poor woman could not afford decorations around Christmas time and so spiders took pity on her and provided her tree with glittering cobwebs to  produce the same shimmer of christmas decorations but naturally. It proves to reason how Christmas is not about the money or the luxury items but the giving and the sharing. Reflecting those elements of Christmas for anyone anywhere.

So all in all, tradition is culturally diverse when it applies to Christmas. We all share the Christmas spirit in different ways, however different they may be, but we feel that Christmas joy and that does not make Christmas or any Christmas’ any different. 

Merry Christmas!