Christmas and New Year around the World
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In this season of friendship and renewal, across cultures and languages, we are here for you as you head into 2019.
Our multi-cultural perspective and expertise led us to stories of special, perhaps even unusual, Christmas and New Year traditions from different corners of the world. Join us on this journey.
Christmas and New Year around the World
The usual tradition of presents and a Christmas tree? Think again when you visit these countries:
• In Romania it is common to don real bear skins, while in nearby Moldova people gather for the traditional bear dance.
• In Norway people hide their brooms for fear that witches will come and steal them, as broomsticks are known to be the witch’s preferred mode of transportation.
• On Christmas morning in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, people get to church on rollerblades!
• Though not considered a Christian country, the Japanese also have a Christmas tradition – they go to the local KFC for a special Christmas Eve meal.
• Definitely consider experiencing Christmas in Amsterdam if you want to travel abroad but avoid the hassle of long flights. Alongside the familiar attractions you can enjoy the amazing Light Festival, the dozens of decorated Christmas markets, the Winter Parade that is actually a fancy meal with live performances on a meters-long table, and ice skating with the locals.
Air tickets for the appropriate dates cost around $270, and the average price for a room for two at a hotel in the city center will be about $175. We already arranged for a babysitter for while we are away, how about you?
Speaking about traditions, consider these interesting New Year customs …
• If you visit Denmark on New Year’s Eve you may see people throwing plates at their friends’ front doors at midnight. Don’t worry, the pile of broken plates is actually a sign of their friends’ popularity, a sign of friends that love them and came to wish them a Happy New Year.
• In Puerto Rico people throw a bucket of water out the window in order to drive away the Jojo, the evil spirits, from the preceding year. Another popular tradition in welcoming the New Year is to eat twelve grapes, a grape with each strike of the chiming bell beginning 12 seconds before midnight.
• In the UK it is believed that the first person who steps into the host’s home for the holiday meal must be young and dark-haired, and bring a full loaf of bread, salt and lump of coal for good luck.