“The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences”

– Into the wild

Season’s greetings, travellers. Looking to zhoosh up your Christmas this year? Well, you’ve landed at the right place. Welcome aboard our sleigh – Let’s ditch the ordinary and jingle all the way to witness the world’s most fun and unique Christmas traditions! Fasten your seatbelts. 

Giant Lantern Festival – San Fernando, Philippines

The Giant Lantern Festival is an annual event that takes place in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. This year, it will be held between 16 December and 1 January. The city has been named the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines” due to the festival’s popularity. Here, eleven barangays (villages) participate in a Christmas Lantern Contest, where they create larger-than-life lanterns. These giant lanterns, locally called “parols”, are star-shaped lanterns with dancing lights. The festival aims to exhibit local craftsmanship of the barangays and Filipino traditions and culture.

Kentucky for Christmas – Japan

Christmas in Japan is closely associated with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Although Christmas isn’t a public holiday in the country, 24 December is typically the busiest day for KFC Japan, with sales reaching 5 to 10 times higher than on regular days. Boxes are ordered months in advance by some people while others stand in long queues for more than 2 hours at the store. To understand this association, let’s rewind in time. 

Christmas was and remains a secular holiday in the country; less than one percent of people identify as Christians. Formal customs were not followed by families in the ‘70s. Enter KFC at this point. Drumroll, please! It launched the “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” or the “Kentucky for Christmas” marketing campaign in 1974 and introduced the party barrel meal; commercials were played on TV. Many different stories are told about how the tradition came into the picture. Among these conflicting stories, the global KFC website in 2020 said the idea originated when a foreign customer visited Tokyo’s KFC on a Christmas day and remarked, “I can’t get turkey in Japan, so I have no choice but to celebrate Christmas with Kentucky Fried Chicken”. According to the website’s report, a member of the Japan sales team for the brand overheard the comment and drew inspiration from it to launch the first Christmas campaign. Several decades later, KFC continues to be a national phenomenon in Japan on Christmas. Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Roller Skating to Mass – Caracas, Venezuela

Do you enjoy rollerblading? If so, you have to visit Caracas, Venezuela for Christmas. Let me tell you why. It is common to use a car, a bus, a bike, or walk to attend the mass at the church. But Caracas has a fun way to reach the church for the Christmas mass. Between 16 and 24 December, the city goes to the church for special holiday masses on roller skates. The roads across the city are closed to vehicles at 8:00 am so that the locals skate to the church safely. Cool right? Rumor has it that kids will tie one lace from their rollerblades around their toes before sleeping, leaving the other skate hanging outside the window for their friends to wake them up with a pull on the lace.

Hiding Brooms – Norway

Norway has an age-old tradition of hiding brooms on Christmas Eve. This unconventional tradition originated from Norwegian folklore. It is a belief that on Christmas Eve, evil spirits and witches come in search of brooms to ride on. Even today, many Norwegians ensure their brooms are hidden in the safest places of their homes. Visit Norway to witness this wacky custom!

The Yule Lads – Iceland

A group of mischievous creatures in Icelandic folklore known as the Yule Lads or the “Jólasveinar” are said to visit children in the 13 days leading up to Christmas. Each Yule Lad has his own distinct personality – Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod); Giljagaur (Gully Gawk); Stúfur (Stubby), Þvörusleikir (Spoon-Licker), Pottaskefill (Pot-Scraper), Askasleikir (Bowl-Licker), Hurðaskellir (Door-Slammer), Skyrgámur (Skyr-Gobbler), Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage-Swiper), Gluggagægir (Window-Peeper), Gáttaþefur (Doorway-Sniffer), Ketkrókur (Meat-Hook) and Kertasníkir (Candle-Stealer). These Yule Lads offer presents to well-behaved children and rotting potatoes for the naughty ones. Consider planning a trip to Iceland. Let’s go catch ’em all!

Santa Claus Holiday Village – Rovaniemi, Finland

Want to keep your kids entertained this Christmas? Visit Santa Claus Village in Finland! It is situated eight km from the center of Rovaniemi and around 2 km from the Rovaniemi Airport. In 1985, Rovaniemi was officially declared as the hometown of Santa Claus. This is a perfect destination to celebrate the season. You can enjoy these attractions when you visit the park – Arctic Circle, Santa’s House of Snowmobiles, Santa Claus’s Office, Santa Claus’ Main Post Office, Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. The good news is, it is open all year round!

Stay connected with Sitata and download our app if you’re travelling to get instant updates on your surroundings to avoid any travel mishaps. Our travel insurance can assist you proactively in case of any travel emergencies – An offer you can’t refuse 🙂

Please follow and like us: