10 photos of Christmas traditions from around the world

christmas traditions from around the world
(Image credit: Annie Spratt from Unsplash)

All over the world, Christmas is celebrated a little differently. While some countries are blessed with greetings-card-perfect white Christmases, other countries take advantage of the hotter climate by enjoying a barbie on the beach over a traditional roast dinner with all the trimmings. Japan famously has one of the most obscure Christmas traditions, though, as its Christmas dinner can consist of a sharing bucket from KFC!

With such a variety of celebrations going on over the festive period, we thought we would round up some of our favorites. From the mischievous Icelandic tradition of leaving shoes in the window for Yule Lads to fill with something nice (usually sweets) or something nasty (like rotten potatoes), to the hardcore bake-a-thons that Norwegians have in the lead-up to Christmas Eve (the day where all the celebrations and present unwrapping takes place) we've picked traditions that include food to eat, things to make and things to do.

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Hannah Rooke
Staff Writer

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.