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The holiday season is a magical time for kids across the globe. From cozy family gatherings to grand public celebrations, and everything in between, each culture has its own unique way of embracing the season.
It can be fun to teach your kids how other cultures celebrate and maybe even incorporate a few of these Christmas tradition ideas into your own festivities. So let’s do just that!
While themes of family and togetherness hold true across many cultures, each country puts its own spin on food, music, kids traditions, and more. Let’s take a journey to explore some favorite holiday customs around the world:
Germany is famous for its Christmas markets, which sell mulled wine, gingerbread, handmade ornaments, and other trinkets and goodies. The Advent season is marked by Advent calendars and wreaths with candles, which families light each Sunday. On December 6th, St. Nicholas fills children’s boots with treats, while Christmas Eve is for exchanging gifts under festively decorated trees.
In Mexico, the holiday season includes Las Posadas, a nine-day reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter. Each evening features a procession, caroling, and prayer. At the end of the journey, families enjoy festive parties with tamales, atole (a warm drink made from corn), and piñatas filled with Christmas snacks and candy. The celebrations end with a vibrant Christmas Eve feast and midnight mass.
Italian Christmas traditions typically blend sacred and festive customs, including a seafood extravaganza on Christmas Eve known as the Feast of Seven Fishes. On January 5th, children eagerly await La Befana, a friendly witch who delivers gifts to well-behaved kids. Nativity scenes, or presepi, are the main attraction for Italian decorations and often feature intricate craftsmanship.
In the Philippines, Christmas is more than a day—it’s a season that begins in September and lasts until January. Known as the “Ber months,” this long celebration features Simbang Gabi, a series of nine dawn masses leading up to Christmas Eve. Hanging parols (star-shaped lanterns symbolizing the star of Bethlehem) around neighborhoods is one of the most beloved holiday customs, meaning that Noche Buena is soon to take place. This festive midnight feast brings families together with dishes like lechon (roast pig) and bibingka (rice cake).
Christmas in Iceland is perhaps one of the quirkiest winter holidays around the world. Each day of the 13 days leading up to Christmas, a different “Yule Lad” visits to leave small gifts or treats in children’s shoes—or potatoes for those who misbehave. Each of these mischievous characters has a unique name and personality, including Spoon-Licker and Sheep-Cote Clod. Icelanders also celebrate Jólabókaflóð, or the “Christmas Book Flood,” by exchanging books on Christmas Eve and spending the night reading.
What is the best holiday tradition for beach lovers? You’ll probably find it in Australia, where Christmas falls during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. Instead of snowmen, Australians build sandcastles and enjoy barbecues, seafood, and pavlova for their holiday feasts. Carols by Candlelight events take place outdoors, with families gathering to sing under the starry sky. Santa often arrives on a surfboard or in a boat. Talk about fun holiday traditions!
Although Christmas isn’t a traditional holiday in Japan, it has become a popular celebration filled with some of the most unique holiday traditions around the world. Families flock to the fast-food chain for their Christmas fried chicken dinner—a custom so popular that orders must be placed weeks in advance. Couples also treat the holiday as a time for special romantic dates and gift exchanges.
In Finland, Santa Claus, or Joulupukki, officially lives in Rovaniemi, a charming town in the Arctic Circle. Families visit Santa’s village to meet him and see his reindeer. Finnish Christmas traditions include a sauna session on Christmas Eve to relax and cleanse before the holiday meal. Traditional holiday dishes include ham, casseroles, and joulutorttu (a star-shaped pastry filled with plum jam).
In Ethiopia, Christmas, known as Ganna, is celebrated on January 7th according to the Julian calendar. The day begins with a church service where worshippers dress in white and hold candles. Festivities include traditional games and traditional holiday dishes like wat (a spicy stew) and injera (flatbread). Twelve days later, Timkat marks Epiphany with colorful processions and the blessing of water.
In Norway, Christmas Eve brings a unique tradition of hiding brooms to ward off evil spirits and witches, a superstition dating back centuries. Norwegians also celebrate with Julebord, lavish feasts with friends and coworkers, and enjoy risgrøt (rice porridge), sometimes hiding an almond in the dish. The lucky finder of the almond wins a prize!
Unlike most international winter holidays, Christmas falls during the summer in South Africa. Families celebrate with outdoor braais (barbecues) featuring grilled meats and festive desserts like trifle. Instead of pine trees, South Africans decorate the Christmas bush, a native plant with bright red flowers. Carols are sung by candlelight, adding a warm glow to the summer nights.
In the UK, Christmas dinner includes classics like roast turkey, stuffing, and Christmas pudding. Christmas crackers, paper tubes filled with small toys, jokes, and party hats, are pulled at the table. Families also enjoy pantomimes, humorous theatrical productions of fairy tales, which are a staple of the season.
It’s no secret that some of the most popular holiday traditions in America include caroling, baking cookies, decking the halls, and unwrapping presents under the tree. It can also be fun to come up with new Christmas tradition ideas to add flair to your celebrations and make new memories with your kids.
Wondering how to start new holiday traditions? There are no rules! Think about things you love to do as a family and add a holiday spin.
We find that everything is more fun when you wear holiday PJs. Put on your most festive pair and have an indoor picnic, make up a holiday dance, or drive around to look at holiday lights with a mug of hot cocoa. One of our new favorite activities is to have a Christmas scavenger hunt where kids hunt for their elf, a special gift, or stockings full of treats.
Speaking of stockings, be sure to include Welch’s® Fruit Snacks Holiday! These festive snacks to buy come shaped like snowmen, snowflakes, and ornaments. Featuring a Good Source of Vitamins A, C, & E, they’re gluten-free and are made with Whole Fruit. Perfect for stocking stuffers, classroom exchanges, holiday parties, and more—no matter how you celebrate! Available Nationwide this holiday season.
