IT’S THE MOOOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! Heat up some hot cocoa and start your engines folks, ‘cause the holiday season is here. If you’re looking to spice up your holiday traditions, then look no further than this infographic.
The first step to getting ~festive~ is decorating. At my house, we normally put up the Christmas tree and ornaments the weekend after Thanksgiving. Ukrainians just stretch some artificial spider webs onto their trees and call it a day. If you ask me, this is a great alternative to flimsy homemade ornaments -fancy Christmas bulbs that shatter way too easily and stems that conveniently disappear every year. Stop by the clearance rack at your local holiday store and pick up some leftover spider web from Halloween!
Italy and Norway also seem a little confused on whether it’s Christmas or Halloween, at least by America’s standards. The Italian alternative to Santa Claus is a witch that rides in on a broomstick with presents, and in contrast, children from Norway hide their brooms and don’t do chores on Christmas Eve to prevent theft by evil witches and spirits.
While most Americans have ham or roast beast (ala The Grinch) for Christmas dinner, the rest of the world has other ideas. In South Africa, caterpillars can kiss their dreams of becoming butterflies goodbye. And the Japanese know how to avoid the stress of cooking by ordering KFC.
And while my siblings and I begged to open a gift before Christmas morning, in Germany, you just have to be the lucky kid that finds the pickle in the tree.
Rest assured, we all have our holiday traditions, and no tradition is superior to the next. If you don’t have any family or friend traditions, then consider starting your own traditions – globally inspired.