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!