I love traditions. I love the consistency in memory building that they achieve. I love the expectation that they foster because you know it’s coming.
Christmas traditions are some of my favourite. We have friends that have come from many nations around the world and I always love to ask about what Christmas is like in their home country. This season I think it would be fun to add a Christmas tradition from another nation or culture to our own.
Germany has a cute tradition that comes in the form of a tree ornament pickle. Yes, a pickle. The pickle is hidden somewhere in the tree before everyone comes to open presents, and the first person to find the pickle receives an additional small gift. I’ve even seen the ornament pickles around town so you can pick one up, too!
There are a few countries, including the Netherlands and France, where children leave their shoes out on various dates in December for Santa to fill with treats and nuts. Like our tradition of leaving something for Santa, the children also fill their shoes with hay and sugar for his horses.
In Venezuela, the streets are closed to cars on Christmas morning and people travel to mass on roller skates. I couldn’t find the reason why, but it’s become quite the tradition. Afterwards, people roller skate in the streets and open their homes for coffee.
Here we’d likely have to either snowshoe or skate to church or open up the church gym or hall for rollerskating. We’ve rollerbladed in our church gym; it’s a blast.
From the bit of research I did there are a few traditions that we won’t be participating in because they seem a little fear based to me, just like how we don’t participate in the “Santa is watching you so be good or you won’t get presents.
In Norway, some hide their brooms Christmas Eve so that witches can’t steal them, and Iceland has a mythical Yule Cat that will devour anyone who didn’t receive new clothes before Christmas.
