From Christmas pickle to eating grapes: 10 holiday traditions you’ve likely never heard before

These unique Christmas and New Year’s Eve traditions are celebrated in different areas of the world

It’s officially a new year and the holiday season has come to a close. However, it’s never too early to start thinking about new traditions for next year’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations. If you’re looking for some extra luck to come your way in 2024, here are some traditions that people - including my own family - have participated in.

My grandmother grew up with parents who were immigrants from Poland. In addition to making and eating pierogies for the holidays, we also have some wacky traditions that my friends had no idea existed. On Christmas Eve, we begin with a piece of Oplatek, which is what Catholic areas of Poland call a Christmas wafer. In my family, the oldest person gets the biggest piece and it’s devoured with honey drizzled on top - to signify a “sweet” new year. Before eating, the person is supposed to recite a wish for the new year. Then, family and friends eat their own piece based on age order.

To solidify our luck for the upcoming year, my grandmother would also prepare pickled herring. Herring is abundant in Poland and parts of Scandinavia, and because of its silver colouring, many people in those areas eat pickled herring at the stroke of midnight to bring about a year of prosperity and bounty. Some people even eat pickled herring in cream sauce, while others serve it with onions. Unfortunately for me, pickled herring reminds me of anchovies and sardines - which aren’t known to be the most appetising. Every year when my grandmother offers the dish to the whole family, I’m usually the only person who eats only a spoonful.

If you’d rather get your good luck with methods that are less fishy, try this one New Year’s Eve tradition from the Philippines. Open all the doors and windows in your home at midnight to clear out the bad vibes and allow good luck to come on in. Sure, letting a bunch of cold air into your home in the middle of winter may not sound super fun, but it’ll only take a minute for the magic to work.

If you want to go the food route, there’s one New Year’s Eve tradition that comes from Spain. At the stroke of midnight, sit under a table and eat 12 grapes. Each grape is meant to represent one month of the year to bring forth prosperity and good luck. Some people even make 12 wishes with each grape.

There are many traditions to try for next year’s Christmas too, starting with one of my personal favourites: the Christmas pickle. When I was in my early teens, I was gifted a Christmas ornament that was shaped like a pickle. At first, I thought it was a gag gift to hang a pickle on my tree, until I looked at the packaging and learned about the tradition that comes with it.

A Christmas pickle is a German-American tradition in which a pickle (usually a real one) is hidden in your tree. The first person to find the pickle is allowed to open the first present on Christmas morning. Some other versions of the tradition mention that the pickle finder will receive good fortune for the next year. In my house, the winner gets their pick of cash or opening the first present. It may not be the most complicated holiday tradition, but because most people are unfamiliar with the practice, there’s always an opportunity to educate others about the bizarre tradition.

Another tradition that my family has tried over the years comes mostly from Europe. Even the British royal family participates in this trend, which dates back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - opening all of our presents on Christmas Eve. However, there’s a reason why we only participated in this tradition once and never again.

With younger children running around, opening presents on Christmas Eve isn’t as much of a disruption because they’ll still be occupied with their new toys on Christmas Day. But as children grow older - and enter their “asking for socks as a gift” era - opening presents on Christmas Eve makes the entire act of Christmas Day pretty boring and less special.

While my family has participated in some unique trends over the years, there are some other holiday traditions across the world that are worth trying out, and could be an opportunity to branch out from normal traditions.

In Japan, people eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner instead of ham or turkey, like those in the United States may eat. The tradition has become so popular that lines for the fast food chicken restaurant are either extremely long, or people pre-order their buckets months in advance. KFC chains get a holiday-themed makeover in the run up to Christmas, decked out in red and green. Even its mascot, Colonel Sanders, gets dressed up as Santa Claus, with life-size models seen around Japanese cities. The KFC Christmas bucket, commonly called a barrel, comes with a limited edition Christmas-themed collectable plate. Unsurprisingly, the week leading up to Christmas Eve is the most profitable time of the year for the franchise, scooping up £38,000,000 (6.1 billion Japanese yen) in 2018, and reaching record sales of £44,000,000 (7.1 billion yen) in 2019.

For people in Poland, this trend may count less as a tradition and more of a legend or urban myth. During Christmas Eve dinner, all animals are supposedly given the ability to speak for the night. According to legend, it’s thanks to the animals who helped receive baby Jesus during his birth. If you’ve ever wondered what your pets would say if they could talk, this is the opportunity to listen in.

In Germany, it’s tradition for children to polish their shoes and leave them on the street or near the fireplace on the evening of 5 December, the day before Saint Nicholas Day. When they wake up, their shoes are meant to be filled with chocolates and sweets from Nikolaus (St Nicholas) as a reward for good behaviour. Tangerines and small gifts are also commonly included in the shoes, similar to the concept of a Christmas stocking. Some reports even say that naughty children will find a rotten potato in their footwear, rather than treats.

Although some families spend Christmas Eve cuddled up on the couch in matching pyjamas, while watching a Christmas movie and drinking hot chocolate, people in Venezuela tend to celebrate the day before Christmas by going roller skating. It’s common for specifically residents of the country’s capital city, Caracas, to be seen roller blading over to mass on Christmas Eve. Skating is such a popular tradition that the streets are closed to cars, allowing skaters to travel safely and enjoy this fun Christmas activity.

No matter how you celebrate the holidays, these unique traditions are fun activities for the whole family, and can make this wonderful time of year even more special.