29 Of The World’s Most Bizarre Christmas Traditions Will Blow Your Mind!

In Newfoundland, families or groups of friends will don masks and go out visiting various homes. Though they may seem frightening to us, the masks are a part of the carolers' traditional wear. Once inside, the "mummers" will perform songs, short plays or jokes in exchange for the host's hospitality. I sometimes complain about carolers, but I'll gladly take too many choruses of "Jingle Bells" over spooky masked visitors like these!

Catalan children take a log, often painted with a smiling face, into their home and they feed it every night. They bundle the log at night to keep at warm and they treat it with love and kindness.

Then, on Christmas day, the children beat the log with sticks while ordering it to poop out gifts for them.

That is one holiday cartoon I don't want my children to see.

Portuguese households always set a few extra plates around the table on Christmas Day so that the spirits of the dead can join them for the annual feast. They make extra food for the spirits to take with them so they have a successful year.

(This also gives a chance for Aunt Linda to complain about the turkey being too dry, even in the afterlife.)

Supposedly, a Western tourist found himself in Japan with nothing to eat on Christmas except KFC. He mentioned this to an employee who mentioned it to a manager, and eventually the message was passed up high enough that KFC Japan decided to capitalize on the marketing opportunity. The fried chicken joint now heavily advertises KFC as a primary feature of the Christmas meal. It's now such a popular custom that lines form and some locations ask that customers pre-order their buckets.

In Italy, this popular legend says that the Three Wise Men visited this old woman when searching for Jesus. She was kind and hospitable and gave them many gifts. They invited her to join them on the search for the babe. She declined, but later regretted her decision and set off on her own to give the child a gift. Now, La Befana flies throughout the world on a broom with gifts for all children. Instead of milk and cookies, the children leave her a nice glass of wine and some local food.

Personally, I think La Befana gets a better deal in this situation than Santa does.

In the capital city of Caracas, children wake up early for the morning's mass so they can roller-skate through the streets on the way there. Some folklore insists that roller-skaters would ride by houses where children would sleep with their big toes hanging out the window. The roller-skaters would tug on the toes to wake the children up in time for mass.

When you hear the phrase "Santa's Little Helper," do you think of elves or a man who flogs bad children?

In Belgium and France, St. Nicholas is sometimes known as Père Noel and his assistant is Père Fouettard. The legend says that Père Fouettard was a gruff innkeeper who killed his wife and children. As a punishment for his crime, he is forced to be Santa's assistant who travels with Santa to dispense punishment to any misbehaving children.

Pretty heavy stuff, if you ask me.

Spiderwebs might seem more suitable for Halloween than Christmas, but the reason Ukrainians do this is actually beautiful. Ukrainians tell the story of an old widow who was too poor to buy a Christmas tree. Her family instead tended to a pinecone with such tenderness that it eventually began to grow into a tree. Yet, the widow still had nothing to use to decorate the tree. This caused her great grief. A spider overheard the crying widow and overnight decorated the tree with a beautiful web. Modern Ukrainians now place a web on their tree to remind themselves to be grateful for what they have. Aww!

This event happens every December 23rd in Oaxaca, Mexico. Hundreds of tourists gather to see the main square filled with amazing sculptures…carved from radishes.

Catalonia likes connecting the scatalogical with their Christmas traditions as evidenced by the addition of their favorite Christmas figure, the Caganer. "Caganer" translates literally to "The Crapper." The traditional Caganer features an impish man with his trousers down and is placed in a discreet corner of the Nativity scene. While this may seem controversial, the Catholic Church in Catalonia has not forbade the practice. One cathedral in Barcelona even has its own official pooper.

Residents of the former Yugoslavia would tie mothers to chairs and sing the song "Mother's Day, Mother's Day, what will you pay to get away?" demanding she give them presents in exchange for untying her.

They clearly didn't know my mother.

Krampus is a mythical creature who appears in the lore of Alpine countries. Legend says that the terrifying Krampus comes on Christmas to collect the bad boys and girls to carry them back to his lair. Suddenly a lump of coal doesn't seem so bad, does it?

Frau Perchta is based off the Pagan goddess of the Harvest. Legends often portray this silvery witch as a cohort of Krampus. She'll reward the good children, but she also inspects the feasts being served. She will cut open the belly of anyone who has been lazy and stuff them with straw. That leads us to our next bizarre tradition…

Austrians gather on a given date the last two weeks of December to dress as Krampus and Perchta while banging pots, singing songs, and usually getting a little drunk. The festivity combines old Pagan traditions with Christmas, and is supposed to scare away winter.

And now, at last, for something less terrifying: In many countries, including the Philippines, small toys and goodies are stuffed into shoes rather than stockings.

Back to Christmas tales of terror! The Kallikantzaroi are malevolent goblins who enter homes through yule logs to wreak havoc and hurt children. There are two methods of keeping them out of your home: 1) Keeping the yule log lit so it's too hot for the evil gnomes to enter, or 2) Placing a colander near the yule log to confuse the goblins. Apparently, the Kallikantzaroi can't count past three so they end up getting stuck counting the holes for hours.

The Mari Lwyd is a welsh custom that involves neighbors fixing a horse skull onto a stick and then decorating it with sheets and ribbons. Then, they carry the skeletal remains of the horse door-to-door to greet neighbors who invite the revelers inside for food and drinks.

Maybe that famous scene in the Godfather was meant as a gesture of Christmas spirit?

This is another example of a Pagan tradition that evolved into a Christmas tradition. A group of Bavarians dress as "straw monsters" and run through the streets intentionally scaring their neighbors. Participants enjoy ranking the "worst" straw monster.

I guess it's the Bavarian version of our crazy American Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties?!

Single women in the Czech Republic will turn their back to the front door and throw the shoe behind them. If the shoe lands with the toes pointing towards the house, the woman will be married within the year.

Maybe we do have a few strange traditions of our own.

Festivus was introduced in an episode of Seinfeld by the character of Frank Costanza.  The holiday features aluminum poles and events such as the Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, and the labeling of Festivus miracles.

The made-up holiday has gathered a following, and is celebrated on December 23rd. You can even find Festivus poles on sale if you know where to look…

Bavarian Highlanders will launch the Christmas season by shooting mortars into the air while wearing traditional dress.

It's common for most homes in Finland to have a sauna because of the frigid weather. It shouldn't be too surprising that Finnish families enjoy a spa together on Christmas morning.

What's slightly eerier is that they keep the sauna warm after sunset in case any deceased relatives stop by for a visit.

Kiviak is a traditional dish in Greenland where dead awks are placed inside the hollowed out carcass of a seal. The seal is left to ferment for seven months under a rock.

Just bring up this dish the next time someone complains about your cooking.

I first heard of Belsnickel on an episode of "The Office." I thought it was so strange it must have been made up, but he's actually common in Germany and even in the Pennsylvania Dutch communities. Belsnickel is used to scare children into good behavior. He's an old man with dirty furs and a long beard. He raps on the door or window with a stick then makes children sing songs for him or answer questions.

He then tosses candies on the floor and if the child leaps to the sweets too quickly, he will hit them with a stick. 

As Dwight on "The Office" said, "He's kind of like Santa except dirty. And worse."

Knecht Ruprecht is a companion of St. Nicholas, but he's far from jolly.

Like Belsnickel, he exists to scare children into good behavior. He asks children if they can pray, and if they can, he will provide them with delicious gingerbread and fruits. If not, he will beat them with his bag of ashes.

He's basically bad-cop to Santa's good-cop.

A poppyseed and honey bread pudding is a traditional Christmas dish in the Slovak areas of Europe. At the end of the meal, the patriarch of the family will take a spoonful of the pudding and fling it toward the ceiling. The more the pudding sticks to the ceiling, the better the harvest will be the following year. A ceiling covered in pudding is the sign of a bountiful year.

Grýla is the basis of many Christmas myths in Iceland. This giantess has an insatiable appetite for human flesh, but she is bound to only eat children who misbehave. During Christmastime, she leaves the mountains to seek out the prey of bad children.

Christmas must be such a joyous time in Iceland.

The Yule Cat is Grýla's pet cat who lurks in the mountains and also preys upon human flesh. The cat will devour anyone on Christmas Day who has not been given new clothes as a gift. Make sure that all of your loved ones get new clothes to avoid this terrible feline. 

If you get annoyed by the "12 Days of Christmas," imagine have 13 gnomes who come into your home during Christmas to steal your belongings.

The Yule Lads are sons of Grýla, but not so malevolent. They bring either gifts for good children, or potatoes for bad ones. Each lad has his own distinct personality. 

Please SHARE these amazing Christmas stories with anyone who loves this time of year!