Christmas is often imagined through a narrow set of images: evergreen trees, wrapped gifts, midnight Mass, and familiar carols.
But beyond this largely Western template, the season unfolds in remarkably different ways across the world.
In many cultures, Christmas is shaped less by uniform religious ritual and more by folklore, climate, and local history. This results in traditions that can feel surprising, playful, or even strange to outsiders.
In Ukraine, Christmas decorations sometimes include delicate spider webs made from silver or metallic threads. This custom traces back to a folk tale about a poor widow whose spider’s web turned into silver on Christmas morning. Today, the spider web symbolises hope, transformation, and unexpected fortune, keeping folklore alive through ornament rather than belief.
In Caracas, Venezuela, the journey to early morning Christmas Mass can involve roller skates. Streets are occasionally closed so people can skate safely to church, and a popular legend claims children sleep with strings tied to their toes, hoping passing skaters will wake them. Whether practiced literally or remembered symbolically, the tradition highlights how collective participation defines the season.
Christmas in Catalonia - an autonomous community in northeastern Spain - features one of Europe’s most unusual characters: Caga Tió, a smiling wooden log that children “feed” throughout December. On Christmas Eve, they beat it with sticks while singing songs, prompting it to “poop” small gifts. Though humorous, the custom has agrarian roots tied to abundance and generosity.
In Norway, echoes of pre-Christian belief linger in the tradition of hiding brooms on Christmas Eve. According to folklore, witches and spirits roam the night seeking brooms to fly. While no longer taken literally, the practice survives as a cultural memory embedded in the holiday.
Japan offers a strikingly secular Christmas. With little religious significance, the day is associated instead with strawberry shortcake and fried chicken — popularised by a 1970s KFC campaign. Christmas is often spent with friends or romantic partners, emphasising warmth and found family rather than worship.
In Ethiopia, Christmas — known as Ganna — is observed on January 7. The day begins with long church services, where worshippers wear traditional white garments. In some regions, men and boys play a hockey-like game also called Ganna, linking the celebration to shepherds honouring Christ’s birth. About 12 days later, they celebrate another massive festival called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism of baby Jesus.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, Christmas is a process rather than a single day. Las Posadas, observed from December 16 to 24, reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter through nightly processions, song, and communal gatherings — blending Catholic ritual with Indigenous traditions of movement and hospitality.
Taken together, these customs reveal a simple truth: Christmas is not one story told everywhere the same way. It is a global season with many meanings — shaped by local memory, belief, and imagination.