The 7th Blog Of CLICmas
From Monday 13 to Friday 24 December, CLIC will feature a different guest blog each day - The 12 Blogs Of CLICmas, in fact! Here is the seventh...
Hi! I’m Georgiana and I’m one of the newest members of the Shouttawe editorial team here in Swansea.
In my attempt to bring the Christmas spirit upon you, I’ll talk about my favourite amusing and unusual seasonal customs from all over the world.
A traditional British Christmas involves tons of gifts, big holiday feasts (let’s not forget the pudding), huge trees and, ultimately, Boxing Day.
But is this the norm everywhere in the world? Maybe we see glimpses of international traditions in city markets, but they are usually the tip of the iceberg in Christmas folklore, by boasting only the most commercial aspects of national customs.
Roller skating to mass
In Caracas, Venezuela, people celebrate Christmas in a more pious way: from December 16 until December 24 chimes call people to church for the traditional religious services. Nothing unusual until now apart from the fact that every morning most streets are closed to cars so that young people can roller skate to mass.
Broom hiding
In another corner of the world, Christmas Eve is the time when the skies open for evil spirits and witches to come down to Earth and create havoc. So the wisest thing to do if you live in Norway is hide all brooms, so that the evil doers don’t steal them to travel on
Burning the clocks
Even though most customs came a long way through time and usually give out elements of both pagan and Christian inbreeding, this particular one only appeared in 1993 in Brighton and celebrates togetherness, joy and catharsis. Families get together to build paper and willow lanterns, which are then invested with their wishes, hopes and fears. After carrying them through the city, the lanterns are burnt in a great fire on the beach.
Spider and web decorations
Spiders and webs in your Christmas tree? It’s not something that you would eagerly pup, is it? In Ukraine however, the story has it that spiders trimmed a poor woman’s Christmas tree with their webs, which then turned into silver and gold when the sun shone on them. Also, you’ll have plenty of luck in the year to come if you find spider webs on Christmas morning.
I hope you all enjoy your holidays!
Burning The Clocks photo by same sky
