Christmas Traditions
By: Marsha Rusli
Edited by: Anna Carmelita
Christmas, the annual event on the 25th of December that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ is a religious and cultural celebration that is shared among billions of people around the world. While Christmas may have started as a Christian holiday, many people all over the world have embraced this special event and added their own unique traditions along the way. Some may celebrate it in a religious nature by attending church while others who are less formal may decorate Christmas trees or watch Christmas movies. It can also be celebrated for longer periods of time or at a different date. Different countries have different and distinctive ways of making their Christmas memorable.
Firstly, what are Christmas traditions? It is a variety of customs, religious practices and folklores that are associated with the holiday that honors the birth of Jesus. These traditions are what makes Christmas a memorable holiday that many of us look forward to regardless of our ages.
The Christmas traditions that come to mind when we think about this festive season are usually the ones we see in Western movies and TV shows. These may include exchanging gifts or joining a Christmas dinner. We may even conduct some of these activities in our own household too; however, there are many Christmas customs that are rarely shown in these famous movies and shows we often watch.
A Christmas character we are all well acquainted with is Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas who brings gifts to children. However in Austria, kids are more familiar with something a little more sinister. During the first week of December, people would dress up as this folkloric, beast-like creature known as Krampus. The masks these people would wear included glowing eyes and grotesque wounds which resembled the creatures we see in modern horror movies. Moreover, this ghoulish creature is said to be the evil accomplice of St Nicholas is said to wander around and search for badly behaved children. Thus, if you were to spend Christmas in Austria, expect to see terrifying masked figures whose purpose is to scare children.
A Christmas tradition we incorporate to our celebration may be the ‘Pickle in the Tree’ Christmas Tree tradition. It is believed to originate from Germany around the 16th Century and is widely popular among Germans nowadays. This is when you hide a pickle in one of the Christmas tree’s branches and get a gift to the child in the household that finds it. However, there are also rumors that claim that this Christmas pickle tradition started in Spain when two young boys were held as prisoners inside a pickle barrel.
In Norway, there is a pagan belief that evil and naughty witches as well as mischievous spirits come out and ride on brooms on Christmas Eve. As witches often use brooms as their preferred mode of transportation, the belief also states that the witches would steal our brooms that we keep at home for riding. Hence, Norwegians plan to hide their sweeping sticks on Christmas Eve where the witches won’t be able to find them.
Another unique Christmas Tradition that we may not think of is ‘KFC for Christmas’. In the late 1960s, Japanese people started to enjoy celebrating Christmas by hosting parties and dinners at home. Local confectionery companies also started promoting cakes and sweets this time of the year. In 1974, the first KFC Christmas campaign was launched. They sold a bucket of KFC’s famous fried chicken along with wine which not only appealed to children but also adults. The main idea of this campaign was to replace turkey that is eaten during this festive season with KFC chicken. This marketing plan came about when Takeshi Okawara, the manager of the first KFC in Japan overheard how a foreign couple missed having turkey for Christmas. He thought it would be a good idea to replace the idea of turkey for Christmas with chicken. KFC’s Christmas campaign started off as a successful idea and has continued to evolve over the years. They did this by improving their Christmas-exclusive menu and having workers dressed in Santa attires stay outside KFC restaurants. These party buckets also differ each year, featuring different side options and distinct bucket designs. It may seem odd but KFC’s party barrel has grown to become a nationwide Christmas tradition.
Nevertheless, these are only some of the Christmas traditions that we may not be familiar with. Being aware of these different Christmas traditions around the world, it is evident that Christmas is a festive event that may be celebrated in different ways but always aims to bring friends and families together.