In America, Christmas usually consists of decorating a Christmas tree, making Christmas cookies, wearing ugly sweaters, etc. Typically, families also come together and celebrate the holidays and enjoy a family meal. Although, some places have a more unique form of traditions.

Sweden is a good example of something you don’t see everyday when it comes to Christmas traditions. In Sweden, a 13 meter tall Yule goat is built in Gävle’s Castle Square. This tradition dates back to 1966.

But wait, It gets better. People also attempt to burn the goat down. It’s been successfully burnt down 29 times since the tradition started. The last time it was burnt down was in 2016.

Austria has a more spooky approach come Christmas time. It’s said good little girls and boys get rewarded by St. Nicholas but Austria doesn’t forget about the bad children.

They say Krampus, a demon creature lurks around city streets and punishes children for being bad. He captures the worst children and drags them away in a sack.

Because of this old folk tail, on the first week of December, younger men dress up as the creature and scare little children using chains and bells.

You can find another, possibly spookier tradition in Norway. People have been hiding their broomsticks every Christmas Eve for centuries. It’s said that evil spirits, such as witches, come out on Christmas Eve and try to steal people’s brooms to ride on.

 Although this isn’t the same as a bloodthirsty demon creature torturing and kidnapping little children it still has its uniqueness.

Many people still hide their broomsticks because they are worried  they may be stolen by the witches. When they hide their broomsticks, they make sure to put them in some of the safest/ most confined places of their houses. They often hide the brooms in closets or locked rooms.

Venezuela takes their unique traditions to the streets. In Caracas, Venezuela, on every Christmas Eve the residents of the city rollerskate to church. The roads have to be closed off because the tradition is so popular.

In Japan, Christmas is widely celebrated. It’s a very popular tradition that the Japanese eat Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas.

Due to the lack of whole chickens and turkeys, it’s more accessible for them. The fast food chain even allows customers to order their meals ahead of time.  

Japan also avoids using red as a Christmas card color. Red is associated with death in Japanese culture. They are more prone to using white Christmas card. White is known to be a more pure welcoming color.

If you aren’t a fan of spiders, you probably won’t like this one. In the Ukraine, they decorate their trees traditionally, but they add a spider and a spiderweb. The spider supposedly brings good luck.

The spider comes from a old tale about a widow who couldn’t afford to decorate her childrens Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, their tree was covered in cobwebs.

The webs were said to turn gold and silver and the family never lived in poverty again.

This last one might seem a bit extra, but, in Britain, the people of London often go swimming on Christmas day. They aren’t actually sure how this tradition came about but it continues to get more popular.

Although, some of the following traditions were a bit strange, it’s a good thing Christmas is about believing.