It’s almost Christmas! Kids are excited, parents are exhausted. It’s a holiday of tradition, and when deciding what to write this time, tradition is what first came to mind.
In my own family, most of our traditions have splintered as the years have passed. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure my children have traditions with their children, but as we get older, the holidays change, don’t they? But that’s another story entirely that I’ll tell another time!
Every country has Christmas traditions just like families do. And there are some funny ones! Others are downright frightening!
In Austria a ghoulish horned creature called "Krampus," meaning claw, wanders the streets with chains and a switch, in search of badly behaved children. He is said to be the evil accomplice of St. Nicholas. Throughout the whole month of December, you can expect to see masked figures scaring kids with ghastly pranks.
Equally creepy, one of Ukraine’s traditions is to use spider webs as decorations rather than tinsel. The tradition comes from a poor widow who couldn’t afford decorations for her tree. The spiders in the house took pity and placed their beautiful webs for the children to wake up to on their tree on Christmas morning.
Norwegians believe Christmas Eve is when mischievous spirts and witches take to the sky watching for unruly children. Kids are told to hide the brooms in their house to keep them away.
Christmas trees became a tradition in Germany that later spread throughout the world. Germans have a custom of hiding a pickle somewhere within the tree’s branches and give a special gift to the child who first finds it.
Using a pickle at Christmas was originated in Spain. There it happened when two young boys were held as prisoners inside a pickle barrel on Christmas. It is said that Saint Nicholas rescued the boys, and they hung a pickle on their tree in remembrance. Now families in Spain do the same.
In Venezuela, they close their city streets in the capital city of Caracas on Christmas morning to hold their tradition. A mass congregation of roller skaters take to the streets on their way to church to ring in the day. Children there will sleep with one lace from their skates tied to their toe, the other skate dangling from their bedroom window. It’s a signal for their friends to wake them with a friendly tug on the lace.
In a similar fashion, Dutch children place their shoes by the fireplace so the ‘Sinterklaas’ will fill them with small treats during the night. If they are naughty, he leaves them a potato in their shoe. The kids have fun leaving carrots in the shoes for ‘Sinterklaas’ to give to his faithful steed, a white horse named Amerigo.
The children in Italy believe an old woman named ‘Belfana’ fills their stockings on Christmas.
Have you ever heard of the Yule Cat? Or the Yule Goat? Kids in Iceland believe a giant cat roams in the snow looking for those who worked hard and behaved. It is rumored that if they did, they would get new clothes, for Christmas, a custom in Iceland, to keep from being devoured by the beast.
The Yule Goat is one of the oldest traditions, and it began in Sweden in the 1700’s. It is believed that the goat had the power to control the devil from St. Nick. Since the 19th century, the goat has become a good guy, instead of evil, he is the giver of gifts. And goat ornaments adorn their trees.
I’m sure your own family has traditions. And it’s important to pass them along. Tradition provides comfort for children. It teaches them to value their family and remain connected. Whether they come from your faith, culture, family, or you start your own, traditions create memories. And it’s our memories that are a big part of looking forward to the holidays.
Merry Christmas!
I’d also like to take a minute to plug Ole Olsen’s upcoming show I’m directing – The Crimson Cap Ladies Take on Vegas. Join the ladies as they travel to their Christmas Convention and Bake Sale. In Crimson Cap fashion they end up encountering three jewel thieves, and their trip turns into more of a roller coaster ride! Tickets are on sale now at www.oleolsen.org. The shows open with dinner theater catered by Garden Gate Café on December 5th. Also performances Dec 6, 7, 13, & 14 at 730 pm and Dec 8, 15 at 2 pm all at the Peru Depot.
And I’m having a sale on my books through Christmas! Buy all three: Vex and Valor, Verdicts and Vows, and Verve and Virtue for just $20! Contact debra.myers922@yahoo.com for info! It’s a great gift at a great price!
What an interesting post on a variety of topics. Your comment on holiday celebrations changing as we get older has me intrigued. Also, since I make an annual trek to Las Vegas to a writing conference, that show you've described sounds like fun! :)
What an interesting post! Some of those traditions are wild. Thanks for the share and Merry Christmas. Susie Black
Thanks for starting Window Holidays today, Debby. It's always nice to have you here!