Have you heard of these festive traditions from around the world?

Christmas is just four sleeps away… Can you believe it? We feel like it’s come round really quickly this year and we couldn’t be more excited!

Everyone has their own way of celebrating Christmas and that’s what makes is so special. From inviting the whole family around for turkey, stuffing and all of the trimmings, to heading away for a winter break, you really can create your own memorable traditions.

But did you know that people elsewhere in the world have their way of celebrating Christmas?

Here are some of our favourites from across the globe.

Japan

Hang up your cooking apron because when it’s Christmas in Japan, you don’t need it! In Japan, although it isn’t an official holiday, they still celebrate it in a very special way. Instead of slaving behind the oven for hours, they head to popular fried chicken restaurant… KFC! This comes after an extremely successful marketing campaign back in 1974, called "Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!" which in english translates to "Kentucky for Christmas!".
Many people spend hours queuing up for their festive fast food, or even order months in advance, to make sure they don’t miss out. It really must be finger lickin’ good!

Sweden

We’re sure you have all seen huge Santa decorations and displays, but have you ever seen a 13-meter-tall festive goat? The Gävle Goat has been a tradition in Sweden since 1966, and now people travel from all round the world travel to see (or watch on livestream) the straw goat in the centre of Gävle’s Castle Square. It measures in at an impressive 42 feet high, 23 feet wide, weighs 3.6 tons, and can be found the first Sunday of Advent until after the New Year.

Austria

Everyone has obviously heard of Santa, but have you heard of his evil accomplice Krampus? This demon-like creature wanders the streets of Austria during the first week of December looking for the most well-behaved children to reward, and the naughtiest ones to take away in his sack! If his scary mask and costume isn’t enough, Krampus also rings his eery bells and chains (which is enough to scare us nevermind the children!)

The Philippines

One tradition that we came across which we really love is the Giant Lantern Festival, which is held every year in the Philippines. Known as Ligligan Parul Sampernandu, this incredible event is held the Saturday before Christmas Eve in the beautiful city of San Fernando. Visitors come from far and wide to see the incredible display of lanterns, which vary in size, shape and colour. You can also see parols, which are used to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem, that feature beautiful spinning lights that illuminate the sky. If you think your Christmas lights are eye-catching this year, you really should see the lanterns at this festival!

These are just some examples of the cool Christmas traditions from around the world, but there are definitely a lot more out there. We’d love to see what special traditions you have in your house, whether they’re typical celebrations or something a little unusual!