There are many fun traditions and celebrations around the world at Christmas. Here are some of the most exciting and fun traditions, celebrations, and trivia, both old and new, to share and wow your family this holiday season.

– The English also have a fun tradition at Christmas each year where they take a smooth-leafed holly which they refer to as ‘she holly’ and mix it with a prickly-leafed holly which they call ‘he holly’. Once shuffled in a pile and without looking, a piece is chosen that determines who will rule the house the following year.

– In England, until today, they have in force the “Law of Holy Days and Fasting Days of 1551”, which establishes that all citizens must attend a Christian religious service on Christmas Day, but not use any vehicle for get to the service This law has not yet been repealed! So it certainly is a fun trivia!

– In Australia – 40,000 people visit Bondi Beach in Sydney to celebrate Christmas barbecue lunches and await the arrival of Santa Claus on a motorboat, wearing thongs, shorts and a silk shirt with barbecue thongs in hand!

– Bulgarian children practice “sooroovachka”, which is basically a Christmas stick that children make and pet family, friends and visitors while declaring wishes for health, wealth and happiness for the pet. Kids love this tradition because they often get money after patting!

– Austrians hold an “Advent Concert Series” in Innsbruck. It features groups of familiar singers and instrumentalists similar to the famous “Trapp Family” of the sound of music. Also in Austria they have a tradition of “Krampus Day”. It is celebrated on December 5 of each year and is a medieval event. Krampus is now believed to be an evil spirit! Yes, and he wears scary fur, deer antlers, a mask with a long red tongue, bulging red eyes, and carries a birch wood staff. He has been seen storming the main street with cowbells making a loud bang with sudden changes as he yells menacingly at onlookers. Thousands fill the streets to watch the event and you will often see children throw snowballs at Krampus with much laughter and joy. The purpose of Krampus is to remind children to be good!

– In Poland they don’t start their Christmas Eve meal until the first star is seen in the night sky and there is a lot of excitement around this time as everyone wants to be the first to shout ‘the star’ and only then can the festivities begin! When the sky is cloudy, there is a lot of parental fun outside the windows with a star on a stick.

– In Germany they have a ‘Twelfth Night Cake’ at Christmas. A pea is baked inside and whoever finds it in their slice is declared king or queen and if queen you choose your king and if king you choose your queen, it’s a very fun tradition!

Let me share with you that this fun tradition of baking something into a cake or bread is believed to have originally come from a Christian bishop later known as Saint Basil who was born around AD 330. He was a great man, in fact he was the first man. in human history to establish an orphanage. When he was a bishop, he had loaves of sweet bread made and baked a gold coin in each loaf and distributed it to the poor. You can imagine what a wonderful surprise and gift he gave me. So since the 4th century, backing of coins on bread and then on cakes has been practiced, and is usually practiced on January 1 in Greece and continues to this day.