Christmas Traditions from Around the World Online Quiz

Thanks to a highly successful marketing campaign launched by KFC in 1974 called "Kentucky for Christmas", eating fried chicken has become a dominant Christmas Eve tradition in Japan. Many people order their special holiday buckets weeks in advance to avoid long lines.

In Ukraine, decorating Christmas trees with artificial spider webs and spiders is a traditional custom believed to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year. This tradition comes from a folktale about a poor widow who could not afford to decorate her tree, only for spiders to spin beautiful webs around it that turned to gold and silver on Christmas morning.

On Christmas Eve, single Czech women stand with their backs to the house door and throw a shoe over their shoulder. If the toe of the shoe points toward the door, it indicates they will marry in the coming year; if the heel points toward the door, they will remain single.

In Greek folklore, the Kallikantzaroi are mischievous, malevolent goblins who live underground and surface during the 12 days of Christmas to cause chaos and play pranks on humans. According to legend, they spend the rest of the year sawing the World Tree, but emerge to cause trouble when Christ is born, only to be driven back underground on Epiphany.

Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar for religious festivals, which places Christmas (known as Ganna or Genna) on January 7th. This celebration is marked by fasting, attending church services, and playing a traditional game also called Genna.

In Great Britain, traditional Christmas pudding is prepared on Stir-up Sunday, which is the last Sunday before Advent. Superstition dictates that every family member must stir the pudding from east to west (clockwise) to honor the journey of the Wise Men, and make a secret wish while doing so.

The modern tradition of decorating evergreen trees for Christmas began in Germany during the 16th century, where devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The custom gained global popularity in the 19th century, notably after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (who was German) were illustrated with their family around a Christmas tree.

The Yule log originated in Scandinavia as part of ancient winter solstice celebrations, where a large log was burned to symbolize the return of the sun and to ward off evil spirits. Over time, this pagan tradition was absorbed into Christian Christmas celebrations across Europe.

In Sweden, the Christmas season officially begins on December 13th with St. Lucia's Day, a festival of lights commemorating the martyr Saint Lucia. On this morning, the eldest daughter in the family typically dresses in a white gown with a red sash and wears a crown of lighted candles to serve traditional saffron buns to her family.

In northeastern regions of France, such as Alsace and Lorraine, Saint Nicholas Day on December 6th is a major holiday that is often celebrated more eagerly than Christmas itself. On this day, Saint Nicholas visits children to distribute sweets and gifts, accompanied by his companion, Pere Fouettard, who punishes naughty children.

The first commercial Christmas card was designed in England in 1843 by John Calcott Horsley for Sir Henry Cole. The custom quickly gained popularity in both England and the United States, where Louis Prang later became known as the father of the American Christmas card in the 1870s.