Holiday Traditions Around the World

By Kim Moreau

Clubbin' With Claus

With all the pressure on his head -- checking up on boys and girls the world over, jettisoning around the globe in one night, and supervising an army of toy-making elves -- you can't blame Santa Claus for needing a drink. But what about the rest of us? Well if you're one of the hundreds of public pranksters participating in SantaCon, you probably deserve a cold one too.

Started in 1994 by a group of artists and internet worker in San Francisco calling themselves the Cacophony Society, SantaCon was an excuse for the group to parade around town dolled up as Kris Kringle. But the Christmas-themed bar crawl has caught on with Cacophony chapters sprouting up worldwide from Portland to Tokyo over the last 15 years. All participants need is a festive frock and a desire to cause some "santarchy." Check Santarchy to find the event happening near you.

Guy Mason

Clothing Optional

Even if you live in one of the warmer parts of the world, you probably won't be frolicking naked in January -- unless you are one of the male participants of Japan's Hadaka Matsuri, or Naked Festival. For Japanese men, the month is a time of purification, and stripping down to nothing but their skivvies (or traditional loincloths called fundoshi) proves their manhood.

The events are held throughout Japan, with different cities hosting their own takes on the nudie tradition. Each event culminates in a mass fight for a holy object or shingi (occasionally a piece of wood or a jewel), with the winner receiving good luck for the rest of the year.

Getty Images

Santa on the Barbie

While the hope for a White Christmas is likely for most of us in the U.S., Australians won't see much snow since the holiday takes place in summer down in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the holiday still features a twist on the traditional candlelight. Carols by Candlelight has taken place since 1937, where Australians have had carol service lit by candlelight in all forms. Radio announcer Norman Banks spurned the tradition, and now each year Aussies gather outdoors on blankets to sing for Carols by Candlelight celebrations. Participants sing a mix of traditional tunes and Aussie originals, "Six White Boomers" and "Aussie Jingle Bells." Each community and city has their own event, but the major celebrations like Sydney's Carols in the Domain are televised live.

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It's a Woman's World

For the Irish, Nollaig na mBan marks the official end of the holiday season. And the date, January 6, is lovingly called Women's Christmas. On that day, the men are responsible for the duties of the house (like cooking and cleaning), allowing the women to have the day off. Ladies head out on the town, flooding bars and restaurants with a clientele of mothers, sisters and other gal pals.

Besides the basic household chores, men are to take down the various decorations and ornaments and put them in storage for the coming year. Children and hubbies also occasionally give their beloved ladies gifts, similar to Mother's Day.

Jupiter Images

Lovers in Japan

Introduced by the Christian missionaries, Christmas in Japan includes recognizable elements of our modern tradition, like trees and the exchanging of presents. But while you might be concerned about what to get your significant other this holiday, the Japanese are far more intense. For them, Christmas Eve is considered a "night for romance" on par with Valentine's Day. Couples exchange gifts and spend a romantic evening out on the town, dining in glamorous restaurants and staying at fancy hotels.

Besides all that mushy stuff, Christmas is celebrated with foods more traditional of our western side. Kurisumasu keeki, or Christmas cake, is an American-looking sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberry topping. The other food of choice for holiday celebrations-Kentucky Fried Chicken. The chicken chain is associated with Western family values, and makes a perfect feast for their celebrations.

Jupiter Images

Who's The Jolliest of Them All?

The Swiss might be neutral in most manners of conflict, but when it comes to finding the best Santa Claus, competition is tight. Since 2001, the Clau Wau or Santa Claus World Championship in Samnaun, Switzerland pits teams of St. Nicks against each other in events like chimney climbing, gingerbread house decorating and delivering gifts via donkey. The tests of various holiday skills result in the crowning of a team of four ultimate Father Christmases, who receive 5000-worth of prizes. Spectators can watch the yuletide throwdown, or partake in some adventuring themselves, with skiing, parties and various surprise guests. This year's competition takes place on November 29.

Andy Mettler, swiss-image.ch

Pancakes and Punches

Who wouldn't want to be part of a celebration called "Pancake Week"? For the Russians, Maslenitsa has both pagan and Christian origins, but the main aspect is pancakes. The flapjacks, or bliny as they are called in Russia, mark the end of winter as their round golden attributes symbolize the sun.

But the pancakes are the tamest part of the celebration. Besides the typical masquerades and parties, towns participate in snowball fights, storming of "snow fortresses" and straight fist fighting -- all reminiscent of ancient Russian martial traditions. The week culminates with the burning of the celebration's mascot, a scarecrow called Lady Maslenitsa. Her ashes are said to fertilize the snow and prepare the ground for the crops and such to come in the spring.

Jupiter Images

Night of the Radishes

In Oaxaca, Mexico, the Christmas season is punctuated by a celebration filled with unique (and delicious) decorations. On December 23, Noche de Rabanos, or Night of the Radishes, fills the zocalo with scenes and figures sculpted from radishes. From religious tableaux to painstakingly accurate recreations of historical events, the vegetables look a bit above your regular salad.

Of course these aren't your mother's radishes. Artisans use specially harvested root radishes as large as two feet to carve scenes of dancing women and the nativity. Origins of the tradition are cloudy, but researchers believe vendors in the area began carving vegetables to distinguish their stands. The mayor of Oaxaca declared the first major exhibition in 1897, and the tradition continues today.

Go-Oaxaca.com

Viking Party

Vikings strike fear in the hearts of most folks, but for the Shetlands, the Vikings are just part of their heritage. And each January, the Vikings are celebrated with the biggest fire festival in Europe, Up Helly Aa.

The Vikings arrived in Shetland roughly a thousand years ago, and each year their arrival is remembered with a procession of over 850 lit torches carried by "guizers" through the streets of Lerwick. At the end of their walk, a replica Viking longship (which takes four months to construct) is burned. A massive evening of partying follows, with groups of thematically-dressed guizers dressed visiting bars in a rotation, often performing skits along the way. This year's event is on January 29.

Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images

Bird's The Word

For hard-core bird lovers, the turkey on the table just won't do. Instead, avian aficionados participate in a massive holiday bird watch organized by the Audubon Society. From December 14, 2008 to January 5, 2009, tens of thousands of bird lovers in the U.S. and Canada traipse out in snow, wind and rain to get a look at their favorite fowls. The tradition began before the days of preservation, when in the late 1800s, a yearly "Side Hunt" involved opposing teams stalking out into the wilderness and shooting whatever feathered (and fur-covered) friends they could fine. The team with the most carcasses in tow won.

The fine folks at the Audubon Society saw that this might not be a great long-term tradition, due to the declining bird population. And on Christmas Day 1900, they organized a "Christmas Bird Census" that had novice bird-watchers counting animals instead of killing them. The original count had birders in twenty-five locations from Canada to Cambridge tallying up 18,500 individual fowls like the White-breasted Nuthatch and the common loon. The tradition carries on today. Check the Audobon Society to find the one nearest to you.

The Audubon Society