Christmas, perhaps the most notoriously celebrated holiday around the world, is less than 24 hours away!
A tradition that was first celebrated around the time Emperor Constantine ruled Rome is now not only celebrated all over the world but has been adapted to fit the different traditions of varying cultures.
Although the holiday began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, today, many celebrate Christmas regardless of their religion.
The way people celebrate the holiday even varies locally, where you and your family may have a certain tradition that your neighbors don't necessarily share.
From burning a giant straw goat to a radish-carving festival, festivities around the world all have one thing in common - celebrating friends and families.
JAPAN -
Although Christmas has never been a huge cause for celebration in Japan, in recent years an odd but tasty tradition has emerged - a Christmas Day KFC feast! Colonel Sanders would be proud of this bizarre tradition as almost 3.6 million Japanese families have decided to incorporate their love for Kentucky Fried Chicken into the holiday traditions. Some families also exchange gifts and set up light displays, but the quirky new tradition has been gaining more and more traction - so much it'll soon be advertised on Japan's KFC website! The demand for fried chicken is so high you need to plan ahead and order your dinner at least one week before Christmas.
SWEDEN -
Since 1966, the Swedish city of Gävle, situated about 100 kilometers away from Stockholm, has been building a giant, 13-meter-tall Yule Goat every year. However, given the fact that the goat is made entirely out of straw, a couple of Grinches have started their own Yule Goat tradition - that of attempting to burn it down. The goat has actually successfully been burned down 29 times, where the most recent destruction happened just last year.
AUSTRIA -
In what perhaps is one of the most unsettling Christmas traditions on this list, a half-goat, half- demon horrendous beast shows up a few weeks before Christmas to whip naughty children into being nice. Krampus isn't exactly what one pictures when thinking of the jolly holiday, but the centuries-old tradition celebrated in Germany has seemed to work well into tricking kids into being nice during the holidays. Not only will kids not get their presents if they're disobedient, but Krampus will also swat them with his bundle of birch sticks and haul the especially "wicked" ones into the underworld with him. According to folklore, Krampus shows up on the night of December 5th, the night known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night. Krampus' presence precedes Santa's arrival because December 6th is Nikolaustag, or St. Nicholas Day, the day where children leave a shoe or boot on their windowsills so the jolly St. Nick can fill it with presents.
VENEZUELA -
Attending Christmas Mass in Venezuela is nothing out of the ordinary, especially considering the fact that the nation's predominant religion is Catholicism. However, in some neighborhoods, residents celebrate what they call "patinatas", the tradition of roller skating your way to church! Local churches and congregations organize the festivals where children and adults will skate, rollerblade or bike to and from the services. Streets are closed off by local authorities so everyone can safely join in on the fun.
NORWAY -
There's no cleaning on Christmas Eve in Norway as all brooms will be stashed away! This odd tradition where Norwegians hide their brooms dates back to centuries ago when people believed that witches and evil Christmas spirits would come out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on. Even though people now know better than to fear their brooms being stolen by evil ghouls and witches, they still make a point of hiding them in the safest and most out of reach places in the house.
CATALONIA -
In a rather improper fashion, Catalonians include a small figurine of a defecating man among the figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in their nativity scenes. Dubbed as "cagner", the little figurine is a tiny man in a suit, often times depicted as a famous character, hunched over with a smiling face. The tradition began around the 18th century as a form of celebrating the fertilization of the earth, thus bringing prosperity. Children in Catalonia have made a game out of attempting to point out the cagner amid the other nativity scene characters.
ITALY -
Forget Santa Claus! In Italian Christmas, children eagerly await for the arrival of La Befana, a friendly witch who comes by on January 5th to deliver sweets and toys. She flies around in a broomstick (guess the Norwegians were right after all) and slides down chimneys to deliver presents to the nice children and coal for the naughty - and she'll even sweep around the house before leaving! In return, families will leave out a little treat for La Befana, but rather than cookies and milk, she gets a glass of wine and plates of food.
ETHIOPIA -
Since Ethiopians adhere by the Julian calendar, they celebrate Christmas on January 7 instead of December 25. Ethiopians' Christmas celebration is called Ganna or Genna and most people go to church in the evening. Before celebrating Ganna, Ethiopians partake in what is known as the "Fast of the Prophets", or "Tsome Nebiyat", where, for 43 days prior to the celebrations, only one vegan meal is eaten each day. For Ganna, people dress in all white clothing, sing their own versions of Christmas carols, enjoy delicious meals with their families and play a game with sticks and a round wooden ball, similar to hockey. Interestingly, Ethiopians don't exchange presents during Ganna - this is seen as a time for going to church, eating good food and playing games.
PHILIPPINES -
Filipinos celebrate the Giant Lantern Festival, or Ligligan Parul Sampernandu, every year on the Saturday before Christmas Eve in the city of San Fernando, which has been dubbed as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines." The festival is essentially a competition between anyone willing to participate in building the most elaborate lantern. People from all over the country and even from other parts of the world gather to see the fantastic giant lanterns illuminated in a kaleidoscope of lights. Originally, the lanterns were small, paper creations lit up with candles, but nowadays creativity runs wild and people build their lanterns with a variety of different materials and most use LED lights to light them up.
MEXICO -
In a whimsical tradition, dozens of artisans and amateurs in Oxaca, Mexico, come together to showcase and celebrate the Noche de Rabanos, or Night of the Radishes. The tradition, customarily celebrated on December 23, stretches back to more than a century where merchants would carve intricate shapes out of radishes in an attempt to lure customers to the town square before and after Christmas church services. The gimmick worked so well that, in 1897, the mayor of Oaxaca turned the radish-carving into an official celebration. Radishes big and small are carved into the shapes of people, animal and things and attract thousands of people where the creator of the best carved radish wins a prize of $12,000 pesos.