The happiest time of the year is here! Why not spend some time finding out more about the many Christmas and New Year's Eve customs around the world, wherever you are in the world right now? We've compiled a list of fascinating Christmas customs from many nations, ranging from amusing, quirky rituals to more bizarre ones. Investigate how other civilizations celebrate the New Year and discover how they stack up to your own customs.

Spain

Spanish people celebrate the Three Wise Men's visitation on January 6th in addition to Santa Claus' arrival to deliver gifts on December 25. For gifts, the wise men will leave food for the youngsters to leave for the men and water for their camels. There is a special cake called El Roscon de Reyes (the cake of the Wise Men) that is eaten on January 5th, the day before the Wise Men arrive. The cake has little presents hidden inside of it, but there is also one terrible present, and whoever finds it must pay for the cake.
 

Spanish people believe that wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve will bring them luck, but they must be gifts from others in order to be considered. To symbolize luck for the upcoming 12 months, the Spanish take 12 grapes and eat one every second for the first 12 seconds of the New Year.

United States Of America

Christmas in the United States is just like a movie.

Christmas is a significant holiday in the United States, filled with festivities, outrageous decorations, gingerbread houses, and delectable seasonal fare. The American Christmas light display is so extravagant that it has inspired a yearly television competition called The Great Christmas Light Fight, in which families compete to have the best-decorated home. They make some exhibits that are unbelievable... Traffic can actually be stopped by them.

Australia

Australia has a beach, a sea, and a sun-filled Christmas.

The traditional Australian Christmas Day ritual involves drinking by the beach and relaxing by the pool. Santa frequently visits the beach, arriving in style on a boat and distributing candy to the children. On Christmas, in addition to eating cold meats and drinking stubbies, they barbecue shrimp and other shellfish. A common Christmas pastime to play during the day is backyard cricket.

United Kingdom

On Christmas Day, it's a tradition in the UK to open Christmas crackers at the dinner table before you dig in.

Christmas crackers include a colored paper hat that everyone wears to dinner along with jokes, miniature toys, or goofy gifts. It’s not a British Christmas without watching the Royal Family’s Christmas Day speech on TV, which is generally scheduled just after lunchtime.

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Some households enjoy making "Bubble & Squeak" on Boxing Day, which is a dish made entirely of the leftovers from Christmas Dinner the night before. It is made using Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, parsnips, and other ingredients that are mashed together in a pan.

Catalonia

If you ever have the chance to travel to Catalonia in Spain during the holiday season, you'll certainly notice hundreds of weird logs being sold at markets with tiny legs, drawn-on faces, and Santa hats.

Portugal

Portuguese are celebrating Christmas with baked items.

A delightful Christmas custom in Portugal is the consumption of a unique holiday dessert known as "Bolo Rei." One trinket is hidden inside the cake, and the one who discovers it "wins." Some Portuguese households hide a fava bean inside the cake, and whoever eats the piece that has the bean must make or purchase the cake for the next year.
 

Poland 

In order for the following year to be happy, it is customary for Polish families to serve 12 different dishes at their Christmas dinner tables. The number 12 is related to both the number of biblical apostles and the number of months in a year.

Sweden

Christmas in Sweden is observed on Christmas Eve when a neighbor dressed as Santa Claus will visit in the evening to offer gifts and a festive song. Rice pudding is the traditional breakfast food for Swedes, who then enjoy a great lunch buffet of ham, stockfish, pickled herring, and meatballs, as well as plenty of gingerbread and mulled wine, in the afternoon.

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