As the holidays approach, millions of people around the world will participate in their own holiday traditions. Instead of hanging stockings on the mantle or drinking eggnog around a fire watching holiday movies, there are other whacky traditions that people in different cultures partake in.
From caroling with dead horses to the Austria Krampus festival, there are many ways to people celebrate the holidays without an Elf on a Shelf.
Christmas may have you licking your lips at the thought of roast and all the trimmings. But not everyone around the world tucks into a turkey, cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets. Here are some of the more unusual Christmas foods from across the globe.
When you think of Christmas candy, your mind probably conjures visions of sugar plums, or candy canes, or peppermint bark.
But there are a bunch of Christmas-themed candies that you probably have never heard of — and with good reason — because they center around such non-Christmassy themes as wasabi and farts.
Ever since the invention of social media, Christmas baking has gotten more competitive than ever. It's no longer just out-decorating your neighbors or going toe-to-toe at the elementary school's bake sale: It's now proving your pastry prowess to all of your friends on Pinterest.Thankfully, there are plenty of subpar bakers who are able to laugh at themselves and share their fails on social media — and that, truly, is our favorite Christmas miracle.
Pretty much everyone can agree that candy canes are the unofficial candy of Christmas. (Or, well, that’s what we thought until this map proved us otherwise. But we digress.) Yet we never really knew how those minty, sugary sticks earned such a status. The answer, it turns out, is convoluted and shockingly full of lies.
We've rounded up some of the strangest Christmas tree decorations from around the world, just in case you'd like to bring some outside culture into your Christmas — or just ponder its strangeness to your American sensibilities.