I'm the most Kkkrackkkers of Amerikkkans so my tradition is just getting drunk off mulled wine and re-watching bad holiday movies with relatives I only kinda like.

I'm sometimes a little jealous of people who have weirder shit going on, like gremlins who slam doors and steal sausages or shitting Christmas logs. We need to bring back weird ass half-pagan shit.

    • Great_Leader_Is_Dead
      hexagon
      ·
      1 year ago

      Me and my ex discussed the Yule Lads, and she had the theory they were just a bunch of weird Hobos in Iceland, but because you're supposed to be kind and generous on Christmas the townsfolk just made up cute little personas for them at Christmas to teach the kids to be kind to the less fortunate. "Oh honey, the weird man who smells like beer is actually a Yule Lad! That's sausage swiper, that's why he's eating all our sausage at 3am after peeing in the corner of the kitchen."

    • Rom [he/him]
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      edit-2
      1 year ago

      These guys are like reverse Santas, instead of leaving presents they steal your smoked meats and lick all your dinnerware. I dig their energy.

  • Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida [he/him]
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    edit-2
    1 year ago

    My father said that when he was a kid in Sicily, they would have a witch deliver presents around this time of year. We don't really practice it here but, many Americans can't believe it when you first tell them.

    Other than that, pannatone, which has become Americanized with the addition of chocolate chips.

      • Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida [he/him]
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        edit-2
        1 year ago

        It's connected to Catholic feast days. More connected to the feast of the Epiphany on January 5th, which my mother's Irish-American family referred to as "Little Christmas." According to my grandaunt, that would mark the time when the family would take down the Christmas tree.

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana

        • Mardoniush [she/her]
          ·
          1 year ago

          Removing the decorations on twelfth night is customary in a lot of places.

          • Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida [he/him]
            ·
            1 year ago

            I did not know that until one year when we took down the tree in a hurry the day after Christmas and my grandaunt was upset because it was contrary to established custom.

            • Mardoniush [she/her]
              ·
              1 year ago

              The other option is candlemas, but thats usually when you put the tree up on Christmas eve, Advent being technically not Christmas.

    • theposterformerlyknownasgood
      ·
      1 year ago

      La befana. Supposedly she was a woman who was offered to go see jesus when he was born hut was too busy, and has spent all eternity making up for it since by handing out presents and candy and sweeping people's floors.

    • joaomarrom [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Oh man, we have panetone here all year round, I love that shit, and not the one with chocolate, give me the one with candied fruit and I'll be happy

    • thirtymilliondeadfish [she/her]
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      1 year ago

      Aunty Donna milking Mark's Italian heritage on a surprising twist to their Christmas classic, "There's Always Room For Pud": There's Always Room For Pannetone

      Pannetone

      Pud

      truly a Christmas miracle

        • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          1 year ago

          Alright, old uncle and auntie can have some chocolate chip pannetone as a treat, but if anyone else snags some it's on sight

          • Red_Sunshine_Over_Florida [he/him]
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            edit-2
            1 year ago

            I was looking forward to sharing some at the nursing home's Christmas party for the seniors last week but, it was called off because Covid came back. I still got to share it with a few people today, which was good. I think that's the best part of this holiday, the idea of sharing and giving to others.

  • AernaLingus [any]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Nothing particularly weird comes to mind--only thing notable is that it's common in Latin America to stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve to open presents.

    Not my culture, but it tickles me that where Christmas is associated with family in most of the world, in Japan (where only ~1% of the population is Christian) it's associated with couples. More pointedly, there's a common pun on the word for Christmas Eve (聖夜 seiya, lit. "holy night") which swaps the character for "holy" with the homophonous 性 (sei, "sex") because it's the #1 night for couples to bang--even more so than Valentine's Day.

  • Beaver [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    You gotta leave grass and water out for the three king's camels.

    • GinAndJuche
      ·
      1 year ago

      Other mentions of faeces and defecation are common in Catalan folklore: indeed, a popular Catalan saying for use before a meal is menja bé, caga fort i no tinguis por a la mort! ("Eat well, shit heartily, and don't be afraid of death!")

      Amazing lol

  • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Summer Christmas and Dezemba (slang for December holidays, it's the longest holiday break) parties everywhere. Pool parties, lots of braais/grilling/BBQ, party music and atmosphere everywhere. Lots of drinking.

  • kristina [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Big fish in bathtubs, you are supposed to pamper them, give them daily massages, and then eat them (some people just release them now). The water must be super clean, our rivers are kinda muddy so the idea is to make the fish feel clean for the first time.

  • Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Associating the patron saint of pirates who once beat a political and religious rival so badly that the man shit out his guts and died with being jolly and giving kids presents.

  • Mardoniush [she/her]
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    edit-2
    1 year ago

    We're Australian, so most of them, but goon (cask wine) of fortune comes to mind.

    Otherwise fairly standard, go to a beach away from the tourist ones, bbq, pressies, zooper dooper ice blocks. General states of drunkeness.

    • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      South Africa has similar in general, when we're done with the cask wine you blow up the empty silver bladder into a balloon lol.

    • PointAndClique [they/them]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Pav for the adults table, choc ripple for the kids. If the kids are lucky they can scrape the pav plate.

      • Mardoniush [she/her]
        ·
        1 year ago

        Some sangas maybe with hundreds and thousands. Bit average really but someone will whine like a pom if you leave em out.

        • PointAndClique [they/them]
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Bowl of cheezles that one of your cousins stuck their fingers in, licked them, and then put back in the bowl. That you end up eating anyway by the end of the day

          That cousin is 29 now, I swear he still probably does it. Its tradition after all

    • keepcarrot [she/her]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Goon of fortune seems more like a birthday or end of semester party thing to me

  • Satanic_Mills [comrade/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Mari Lwyd

    People don horse skulls and white sheets and go door to door to engage in musical combat with the occupants - if the occupants relent the horse comes in for food and drink.

  • SoyViking [he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Having the main Christmas celebrations the night before Christmas and spending Christmas day relaxing while constipated and slightly hungover.

    Making offerings of porridge with butter on top to minor pagan household spirits that lives in the attic. These pagan spirits are far more popular as Christmas ornaments than Christian symbols.

    Dancing around the Christmas tree while singing a mixture of hymns and secular Christmas songs, then dancing through every room in the house while singing a nonsensical song about Christmas lasting until Easter.

    Drinking mulled wine with raisins and chopped almonds. Often spherical pancakes are served with this.

      • Egon
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        deleted by creator

    • Egon
      ·
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      deleted by creator

    • Jorgelino@lemmy.ml
      ·
      1 year ago

      Can confirm the first one is true for Brazil (At least northeastern Brazil) as well. We all celebrate on the 24th at night and the 25th is largely ignored.