• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Go to Expat Living Hong Kong
Get our Newsletter

Lifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living HomepageLifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living

Moving to Singapore and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Singapore.

Login Pelcro Shop

Menu
  • Living in Singapore
      • Living here
      • Neighbourhood Guides
      • Schools
      • Property
      • Work & Finance
      • For Guys
      • Environment
      • Readers’ Choice Awards
        • Arete Culture XCL World Academy fitoutCheck out this fabulous school fitout!
        • America Mortgages happy family in front of real estate in the us propertyLooking to buy property in USA?
        • Moving house? Get your Wi-Fi connection right!
        • earth hour festival earth hour Singapore WWF SingaporeSwitch Off for Earth Hour by WWF Singapore
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things to do
      • EL Events
      • Calendar
      • Competitions
      • Noticeboard
        • Elke & man k9 empawer walkWhat’s on this week and beyond
        • 10 places for teenagers to hang out in Singapore
        • What to watch (or not!) on Netflix, TV and Movies
        • Virtual room fun things to do55 Best Things To Do In Singapore
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Enrichment
      • Kids Things To Do
      • Mums & Babies
      • Schools
      • Tots & Toddlers
      • Tweens & Teens
        • 10 places for teenagers to hang out in Singapore
        • Mental health support for toddlers to teens
        • Fun obstacle course in Singapore for kids and adultsHomeTeamNS challenges you to the ultimate obstacle course!
        • education system in Singapore Astor international schoolAstor: Small Singapore school with big impact
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Decor
      • Readers’ Homes
      • Furniture
        • Beautiful interior design by Arete CultureNeed decorators, home stylists or an interior designer?
        • Bedrooms: Bed frames, bedding & bedside tables!
        • Affordable art in SingaporeBuying affordable art in Singapore – it is possible!
        • Where to buy a really good bed and mattress in Singapore
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Asia
      • Australia & New Zealand
      • Rest Of World
      • News
      • Travel Offers
        • property in sydneyBuying property in Sydney
        • international health insurance for singapore expatsHealth insurance for Singapore expats
        • Travel News & Hotel Deals
        • Chloe from E&A InteriorsBuilding a holiday villa in Sri Lanka from start to finish!
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Asian Cuisine
      • Western Cuisine
      • Bars & Clubs
      • Groceries & Speciality Services
      • Recipes & Classes
        • crab bee hoon singapore recipeAll you need to know about crab bee hoon in Singapore
        • local desserts in singapore - Rainbow ice cream breadMust-try local desserts in Singapore
        • Best Restaurants in Singapore – Where to eat for foodies!
        • 3 Greek restaurants for your Mediterranean food fix!
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
      • Beauty Offers
        • yun nam hair care abd scalp treatmentYun Nam Hair Care Reviews DIY Treatments
        • weight gainLondon Weight Management reviews dangers of weight gain
        • ear piercing in SingaporeEar piercing in Singapore: types & how to avoid infection!
        • hairdressers in singaporeBest Hair Salons in Singapore for Haircut & Style
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Dental
      • Fitness
      • Medical
      • Wellness
        • weight gainLondon Weight Management reviews dangers of weight gain
        • Here’s why sleep is so important
        • core exercises in singapore7 Singapore Pilates studios for core exercises & more!
        • at-home personal training yoga in singaporeYoga classes in Singapore, and the benefits!
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • PRINT MAGAZINE
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINE
    • BOOKS
    • Close

Weird and Wonderful Christmas Traditions

26th December 2022 by Expat Living 3 Min Read

https://expatliving.sg/weird-and-wonderful-christmas-traditions-around-the-world/

Our travel options may be limited this year, but there’s nothing stopping us importing some Christmas traditions from around the world and giving them a try in our own homes. Take your pick from this collection of interesting ones we stumbled across!

Christmas traditions - sandman on beach

Catalonia

Put this Spanish autonomous enclave on your Christmas destination bucket list to experience the tradition of Caga tió or the “poo log”. We’re told it starts with getting craftsy and creating a character out of a log. Then you give it a face and a hat, and the family “feeds” the poo log nuts, treats and sweets for a fortnight. On Christmas Eve, you round up the family to beat “poo log” with sticks to help it, erm, excrete its gifts. And if it needs a little persuasion, there’s even a song that accompanies the tradition; it (kind of) translates as, “If you don’t poop well, I’ll hit you with a stick”. How … Christmassy?!
How to say Merry Christmas in Catalan: “Bon Nadal”

Christmas Traditions around the world- Catalonia

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, some single women are said to take part in a unique Christmas tradition to find out whether the upcoming year will continue to be one of single-hood, or whether marriage is on the cards. On Christmas Eve, they turn their backs to the house door and throw one shoe over their shoulder. If the shoe lands with the heel facing the door, the woman will stay single for another year; if the front of the shoe faces towards the door, she should move out of her parents’ house and start making wedding preparations!
How to say Merry Christmas in Czech: “Veselé Vánoce”

Guatemala

Sticking with the spooky theme, in Guatemala some locals are said to believe that evil ghosts and spirits lurk in the dirty corners of the home. That’s why they have a massive clear-out the week before Christmas, sweeping, cleaning, decluttering and collecting all their rubbish. They then pile it up in a massive heap outside, stick a devil effigy on top, and set the whole monstrous pile on fire. The tradition is called La Quema del Diablo –“Burning the Devil”. The idea is to set alight the rubbish from the year and start the new year in a decluttered fashion. Marie Kondo would be proud!
How to say Merry Christmas in Spanish: “Feliz Navidad”

Rubbish heap - Christmas tradition in Guatemala

Hong Kong

With its strong British influence, many Hong Kongers celebrates Christmas just like they do in Blighty.  The 25th of December is a public holiday, as is Boxing Day. There are Christmas trees and displays of lights in public places, and Catholics attend mass.
How to say Merry Christmas in Cantonese: “Seng Dan Fai Lok”

India

India’s population is mainly Hindu and Muslim, but those who do celebrate Christmas tend to decorate mango or banana trees instead of purchasing a Christmas tree!
How to say Merry Christmas in Indian (Hindi): “Śubh krisamas”

Japan

If you fancy celebrating the season in bright and merry Japanese style, just head down to your nearest KFC for its finger-licking, festively good chicken. The famous fast-food chain has become a popular Christmas hangout in Japan, due to an advert that ran in 1974 called “Kentucky for Christmas!” (Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!). You can even order your crispy fried chicken in advance (along with an estimated 3.6 other million people) in what has become a nationwide festive tradition.
How to say Merry Christmas in Japanese: “Merii Kurisumasu”

Norway

Hide your broom, the witches are out! We’re told that in Norway, those spooky women in black with the pointy hats decide to head out to join festivities on Christmas Eve. So it’s a smart move for everyone to hide their broomsticks. You really don’t want to wake up to find your favourite sweeping brush stolen or trashed by a party-pooping witch, right?
Merry Christmas in Norwegian: “God Jul”

Witch on broomstick

Russia

Russia and Ukraine celebrate this special day, not on the 25th of December, but on the 7th of January! This is because the Orthodox church uses the old Julian calendar for religious celebrations. A traditional Russian Christmas can see people fasting up to 39 days, then celebrating once the first evening star appears in the sky on January the 6th (Christmas Eve), when a 12-course meal, in honour of the 12 apostles, will begin.
How to say Merry Christmas in Russian: ‘S rozhdyestvom Hristovym!’

Sweden

For decades now, to mark the beginning of the festive season, the town of Gävle in Sweden has erected a huge straw goat in the town centre. At which point, some residents of the town promptly start planning to destroy it – usually by burning it to the ground! While it’s actually illegal to destroy the goat, it doesn’t stop ne’er-do-wells trying everything in their power to vandalise the festive symbol. Even if that means dressing up in a Santa disguise. Since the goat first appeared over 50 years ago, it has only survived until Christmas Day around 15 times!
How to say Merry Christmas in Swedish: ‘God Jul’

Take a look at our guide to Christmas dining in Singapore!

Or keep in shape with some exercises you can do at home!

Get the latest events, stories and special offers sent to your inbox
Get the latest events, stories and special offers sent to your inbox

Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Christmas Christmas Eve Christmas Singapore

Expat Living

Expat Living has everything to help you make the most of living in Singapore! We've got information on neighbourhoods, things to do and see, dining, entertainment, schools, travel, fashion, furniture, finance, health and beauty. And more!

Primary Sidebar

  • Competitions
  • Noticeboard
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy

© 2023 Expat Living Singapore, All Rights Reserved.