Christmas Traditions & Superstitions Around The World

There are many traditions and superstitions surrounding Christmas around the world.  From Europe to Asia and South America, let's take a look at some of them.In Italy, instead of Christmas trees, they decorate small wooden pyramids with fruit.

Ukranians decorate their trees with an artificial spider and matching web. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

In Caracas, Venezuela, they block off the streets on Christmas eve so that people can roller-skate to church.

A British Christmas tradition is that a wish made while mixing the Christmas pudding will come true only if the ingredients are stirred in a clockwise direction.

In Britain, Santa is known as Father Christmas and instead of mailing their Christmas list to him, kids throw it in the fireplace and Father Christmas reads the smoke.

We hang stockings on the fireplace because Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins when he was coming down the chimney and they landed inside some stockings that were drying on the fireplace.

And instead opening their Christmas gifts when they wake up, British kids wait until afternoon.

In Japan – it’s bad etiquette to send anyone a red Christmas card. That’s because funeral notices there are usually printed in red.

In Norway on Christmas Eve, all the brooms in the house are hidden because it was always believed that witches and spirits came out on Christmas Eve and would steal their brooms for riding.

Some European superstitions – eat an apple at midnight on Christmas Eve and you’ll have good health for the next year.

Refuse mince meat pie at Christmas dinner and you’ll have bad luck for the next year.

The fire in your fireplace must burn for the entire 12 days of Christmas. It’s bad luck to let the fire burn out.