No-one celebrates Christmas the same, whether you live next door to someone or on the opposite side of the world. We all have our unique traditions but some of them are arguably weirder than others. Here are five of the strangest Christmas traditions from around the globe.
Krampus and Perchta
Father Christmas and his trusty elves are a classic yuletide image that brings warmth to the hearts of millions. However, if you’re from the Alpine countries, the thought of meeting one of Santa’s little helpers is a scary one. In this region St Nick is accompanied on his rounds by two demonic figures known as Krampus and Perchta. If Children are bad, legend has it that Krampus would put them in a sack and drag them to hell. Yet, believe it or not, this is the best of the two options as when Perchta gets involved, she rips open the abdomen of naughty whippersnappers, pulls out their guts and fills them with straw.
Skating in Caracas
Roller blading and Christmas are two things you probably don’t think have much in common but in Caracas, Venezuela, you can’t have one without the other. Early on a Xmas morn, people take to the streets on their roller blades to skate to mass.
This isn’t the only slightly odd tradition going on in Caracas: children will often tie a rope to their toe before they go to sleep, hang it out of the window and when people skate by in the morning, they will tug on the rope to wake the children up.
Christmas meets Mother’s Day
In the former Yugoslavian republics, Christmas can be slightly more stressful for mothers than normal. In the two weeks before the big day, they essentially live in fear of their children sneaking up on them, tying their feet to a chair and demanding presents by singing “Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day, what will you pay to get away?”. If she wants to be free, she has to give them presents. Not to leave out Dad, the following week the kids do the same to him to get even more presents.
Throwing shoes
If you’re single in the Czech Republic, Christmas Eve is when you can find out what your love life has in store for the next 12 months. A woman would simply stand at her front door, turn around and simply throw a shoe over her shoulder. If the toe points towards the door then it’s time to celebrate as she’ll be married within the year. However, if it’s pointing away from the door it’s another year in singledom.
Tio de Nadal
December 8th in Catalonia marks the day when children bring a log into the house, start to feed it and cover it up to keep away the cold. Why? Because on Christmas Eve if you beat it hard enough it will ‘poop’ out presents. Aah, festive.
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Chuk
I had never heard of eshores till I decided to plan a multi-stop holiday in Turkey some weeks ago. The decision to use eshores was based on a quick internet search for any help I could get with this. So, i wasnt really expecting much. As the planning was at relatively short notice...and we had never travelled to Turkey, I was pleasantly surprised at the support I had from Rachel at eshores who listened to what I wanted and was patient to go back and forth with me till I had the exact holiday I wanted (Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya). I always had a response with every query(and I had quite a few!!). The travel itself worked like a dream...both international and domestic flights were straightforward, but even more surprising was how reliable the multiple taxis to and fro airports were, even when picking up at 0330!! Overall, the experience has been very positive and I would be very happy to use the service again
Posted 1 day ago -
carol
We have just booked a two centre holiday in the Caribbean through eshores. This was the first time we've used this company them and found them to be GREAT. Lynette helped us find the perfect holiday, she was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and efficient. Thank you.
Posted 3 days ago -
Stephen
To be honest, I had not used eShores before, however, after arranging our holiday plans with Michelle, I will certainly be back. Very helpful and knowledgeable and we are delighted with the advice received and all the travel arrangements, choice of hotels and flight times. Thank you so much.
Posted 3 days ago -
Michaela
Booking was great and easy with Rachael. She was polite and listened to our requirements. I am positive the experience will be a fantastic holiday in October !
Posted 4 days ago -
Carole
Just booked a two centre Caribbean holiday through eShores and Rachel was extremely helpful. She listened to our needs and nothing was too much trouble for her. Her pleasant and friendly manner made it easy to discuss our requirements and made the whole process so easy.
Posted 4 days ago -
John
I found eShores efficient and helpful. Dave Felton found me good times, prices and hotels for a twin trip to Krakow & Warsaw and dealt effectively with any concerns I had. Definitely recommended.
Posted 5 days ago -
Debbie& Mick
Nick arranged a 2 week trip to Argentina & Brazil for us in March. We were happy with the itinerary he put together and his choice of hotels. We had a good level of contact from taxi companies for collections at airports & hotels. On our return he checked everything had gone smoothly which was a nice touch. I mentioned that I was looking for a beach holiday in a couple of months and he put together some hotels at a good price so I’ve booked again with him. I would definitely use Nick, EShores, again and recommend them to friends.
Posted 5 days ago -
Claire
Travel consultant Laura was very friendly and helpful and found us the itinerary we were looking for and made slight changes for us very happily and was always contactable to discuss any queries, thank you Laura.
Posted 6 days ago -
AmandaVictoria
Our second holiday booked with eshores and also recommended to friends and family who have also booked their holidays. Always a great service and lots of patience ensuring right choices made for a perfect holiday. Definitely recommend and thanks again Michelle for helping organise another amazing trip for next year 😊
Posted 1 week ago -
Sheelagh
Nick Chadwick has arranged 2 far east hilidays for us in the past 6 months.. The first involved 5 stops throughout Malaysia and Singapore and on a recent second holiday we returned to Borneo as we love the island so much. Everything went to plan and I have no hesitation in recommending this company. We will definitely use again.
Posted 1 week ago