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Christmas customs are shaped by local history, religion, and community—not shared uniformly across an entire country. These eleven examples range from a December lantern festival in Saint Lucia to a Christmas Eve meal in Japan and a radish-carving contest in Oaxaca. Some are widespread seasonal practices; others belong to one city or region, and a description of a tradition does not mean it is observed by everyone who lives there.
Japan: Christmas chicken and cake
A seasonal meal, not the main holiday
Fried chicken, including a visit to KFC, has become a prominent Christmas meal for many celebrants in Japan. Christmas cake is another familiar seasonal treat. Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) describes couples exchanging presents and friends gathering for dinner on December 24 or 25, while noting that New Year—not Christmas—is the more important annual holiday. These are common customs, not a description of every household. JNTO’s Christmas guide and its guide to Christmas in Japan provide the context.
JNTO’s 2021 article also says Christmas is not an official national holiday and describes decorations and trees appearing as early as October. That is the tourism organization’s account in that article, rather than a guarantee of the retail calendar in every year or location.
Saint Lucia: Festival of Light
Lanterns, carols, and seasonal celebrations
In Saint Lucia, the Festival of Light traditionally marks the start of the Christmas season on December 13, the day associated with Saint Lucy. The Cultural Development Foundation describes lantern-making, a lantern parade in Castries, lights in Derek Walcott Square, and a Festival of Carols in the first weeks of December. The foundation’s account of the Festival of Light grounds these customs in Saint Lucia; they should not be treated as a template for Christmas across the Caribbean.
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A 2020 feature from the Saint Lucia Ministry of Tourism also lists bamboo bursting, masquerade, Christmas folk chants, house-to-house customs, black cake, and carols among the island’s seasonal practices. Bamboo bursting uses large bamboo canes to make a cannon-like boom. The feature describes seasonal customs, not a current-year event schedule. Read the ministry’s feature.
Gävle, Sweden: A giant straw Yule Goat
A city’s Advent landmark
Each Advent, the Swedish city of Gävle erects a large straw Yule Goat, drawing on a broader Scandinavian Yule-goat tradition. The city custom began in 1966, according to Condé Nast Traveler’s roundup of Christmas traditions. The large public display is specifically associated with Gävle; it is not a claim that every Swedish town puts up a goat of the same size or in the same way.
Caracas, Venezuela: Christmas skating
Las Patinatas Navideñas
A Christmas skating custom known as Las Patinatas Navideñas is associated with Caracas. Condé Nast Traveler describes skating from December 16 to 24 and ending with morning Mass. This is a local or historic practice, not confirmation that skating events take place on that schedule in Caracas every year. The travel-magazine account gives the reported dates and setting.
Philippines: Parols light the season
Star-shaped lantern decorations
Illuminated, star-shaped paper lanterns called parols are a prominent Christmas decoration in the Philippines. They come in varied forms, so the name does not mean every parol is made from the same materials or lit in the same way. Condé Nast Traveler’s overview identifies the lanterns as a Philippine Christmas tradition.
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Parts of Central Europe: Krampus and St. Nicholas
A companion in some local traditions
In parts of Germany, Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, and Hungary, Krampus appears alongside St. Nicholas in traditions around the days before December 6. Travel + Leisure describes Krampus as a figure associated with punishing misbehaving children. The custom and its details vary by place; it is not a uniform practice across these countries. Travel + Leisure’s account of holiday traditions outlines the regional examples.
Italy: La Befana at Epiphany
Gifts around January 5
In the Italian tradition described by Condé Nast Traveler, La Befana is a gift-giving figure who visits children around Epiphany on January 5, near the close of the Christmas season. That timing extends seasonal gift-giving beyond December 25. The publication’s international roundup describes the custom.
Oaxaca, Mexico: Night of the Radishes
A December 23 carving contest
In Oaxaca, the Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rábanos) is a December 23 event in which people carve radishes into figures and scenes. Condé Nast Traveler reports that the competition began in 1897. It is a distinctive Oaxaca tradition, not a national Mexican Christmas custom. See the roundup’s description.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Wales: Mari Lwyd
A horse-skull figure in winter festivities
Mari Lwyd, a horse-skull figure, appears among Welsh seasonal festivities. The available travel coverage supports that broad identification, but does not establish a detailed origin story, a single ritual sequence, or how widely it is practiced across Wales. Travel + Leisure includes Mari Lwyd in its seasonal overview.
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These examples are not a contest in novelty, nor do they represent every person in the places named. A useful comparison starts with the location and date: a festival in Castries, a city display in Gävle, or a December 23 event in Oaxaca says something specific about that community. It does not establish a national rule. Some customs are seasonal habits, while others are tied to a particular event or calendar moment. Keeping those distinctions in view makes the traditions more interesting—and more accurate—than treating them as a list of curiosities.
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