With the twinkle of lights in homes and on the streets,
heartwarming stories, festive treats, and wonderful presents,
Christmas seems like something straight out of a child's imagination.
No wonder it’s celebrated all over the world.
But not everywhere the same way.
Let's explore three unique Christmas traditions from all over.
While Christmas in Germany stands for Christmas trees, meals and presents,
other countries have their own special customs.
From unique culinary delights and extraordinary decorations
to fascinating legends,
Christmas traditions around the world are diverse and quite surprising.
Let’s start our journey in Norway.
Cleaning up and sweeping the floors after Christmas is impossible.
You won’t find a single broom or mop in the house.
And there’s a good explanation.
In Norway, there is an old superstition
that witches come out of hiding on Christmas Eve
in order to wreak havoc.
Legend has it that they search houses for brooms
to fly through the night and spread chaos.
To avoid it, people hide their brooms before Christmas Eve.
Let’s hop on our broomsticks and head for Italy.
Here, too, there's a tradition involving witches
but is far from being scary.
On January 6th, Italians celebrate the Befana.
Legend has it that the witch Befana was searching for Baby Jesus
to bring him gifts in celebration of his birth.
But missed the Star of Bethlehem and set out too late.
To this day, the Befana is celebrated on the night of January 5th.
The friendly witch flies from house to house,
bringing presents to nice children and cinder or coal to naughty ones.
After two enchanting traditions, let’s now go over to Spain.
On December 22, nearly all Spaniards are glued to their TVs.
But not to watch Christmas movies, they’re waiting for El Gordo.
which literally means “the Fat One”,
not to be associated with Santa Claus or the like.
El Gordo is Spain’s traditional Christmas lottery,
in which any participants can win big.
About 75% of all Spaniards take part every year.
The Lotería de Navidad is one of the most popular lotteries.
Close to two billion euros are up for grabs.
The grand prize awaits one lucky person.
Two billion euros, wow.
Now that’s what I’d call a Christmas present!
Do you know of any other Christmas traditions?
Share them in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching!
Merry Christmas and until next time!