From Japan to Ukraine: 7 weird yet wonderful Christmas traditions from different countries that bring families and people together

It's that time of the year when there's chill in the air, and warmth in people's hearts. Christmas is just around the corner and people are in a joyful mood to spend quality time with their loved ones. During this time, Christians across the world celebrate Jesus Christ's birth which also symbolises hope and goodness. People from world, belonging to different faiths also get together with their families and friends, eat, feast and be merry. Apart from this, there are also many weird yet wonderful Christmas traditions that are followed in different countries and they bring families and people together. Here we list some of them:

In many countries, turkey is traditionally made as a part of the Christmas feast. However, in Japan a traditional Christmas dinner generally includes Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). How? Well, this is a result of a clever marketing campaign (by KFC) and smaller ovens in Japan. Such is the craze of having KFC on Christmas that people make reservations for it days in advance.

In Norway, people hide their brooms on Christmas Eve before going to sleep. Why? Because Norwegians believe that on this day many evil spirits and witches (who ride on brooms) often roam around. And so, they hide their brooms for the festival.

Christians worldover go to the church for the mass on Christmas. On similar lines, Venezuelans visit the local church from a week before the festival for the Misa de Aguinaldo (Early Morning Mass). However, in Venezuela's capital Caracas, people travel to the church by roller skating. The tradition is so widely followed that the roads in Caracas are closed on Christmas for sometime for worshippers to commute safely.

In Catalonia, Spain, people follow a strange Christmas tradition of the ‘defecating log’. Shocking, isn't it? According to this Catalan tradition, local create a character using a log and they feed it fruits, sweets and nuts for two weeks leading to Christmas. On the evening of Christmas, it's a family tradition for people to come together and beat the log with sticks, while singing a traditional song. This is done till the log character spills out all the treats. While it may sound bizarre, this fun tradition brings families together.

Every year as Advent begins, cities across Sweden welcome the festive season by building traditional Yule Goats, with the most famous one standing proudly in the town of Gävle. Made entirely of straw, this iconic structure often towers up to an impressive 40 feet, drawing visitors from around the world.

But since 1966, the Gävle Yule Goat has been damaged or completely destroyed nearly 36 times, turning its survival each year into an ongoing Christmas tradition of its own.

This unique tradition is based on the story that a ‘man-sized’ goat figure had accompanied Saint Nicholas on Christmas in the 11th century.

In Romania, buzz has it that men are often seen dressed as goats, called capra, on Christmas Eve as a part of their tradition. The capra wears traditional, brightly coloured clothing, complete with a carved wooden goat mask and a sheepskin draped across the back. Accompanied by singers, they move through the streets, bringing the festive ritual to life.

In Ukraine, a bizarre yet fascinating Christmas tradition includes decorating the Christmas tree with spider webs. Rooted in folklore, this tradition comes from a story about a poor family whose web turned into silver threads overnight on Christmas Eve. And so, Ukrainians even today hang glittering spider web ornaments, called pavuchky, on their trees. It is interesting to note that while spiders may seem unlucky in other cultures, in Ukraine they symbolise good fortune, prosperity, and protection.