Christmas is just around the corner and it is truly the season to be jolly. While, Santa Claus and the christmas tree are the universal trademarks of the festival, people from different countries have some unique celebration rituals. We bring you a sample of such unique traditions from around the world.

Ireland

In Ireland, milk cookies aren’t apparently good enough for Santa. It is traditional to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness out as a snack for Santa.

Czech Republic

A popular practice in Czech Rebulic involves a girl standing with her back to a door and throwing a shoe over her shoulder on Christmas day. If the toe of the shoe points towards the door, she should be married by the time 25 December next comes around.

Venezuela

The capital city, Caracas, gets into a skating mood during the lead-up to Christmas. The week before Christmas, streets are closed off in the morning, allowing churchgoers to rollerskate their way to church.

Ukraine

In Ukraine it’s believed to be good luck to find a spider web on Christmas morning. According to legend, spiders covered a poor woman’s bare tree in cobwebs on Christmas Eve. The next day when the morning sun shone through the window, the webs turned into silver, forming what is known today as tinsel.

Austria

In Austrian tradition, St. Nicholas rewards nice little boys and girls, while Krampus is said to capture the naughtiest children and whisk them away in his sack. In the first week of December, young men dress up as the Krampus frightening children with clattering chains and bells.

Japan

A new, quirky “tradition” has emerged in Japan in recent years – a Christmas Day feast of the Colonel’s very own Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Norway

Perhaps one of the most unorthodox Christmas eve traditions can be found in Norway, where people hide their brooms. It’s a tradition that dates back centuries to when people believed that witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on. To this day many people still hide their brooms in the safest place in the house, to stop them being stolen.

Sweden

Since 1966, a 43-foot-tall Yule Goat has been built in Sweden as a Christmas tradition. This has led to another “tradition” of sorts – people trying to burn it down.

Chhavi Mahajan