Our Top 5 Christmas Traditions Around the World

We know our own Christmas traditions and each family have their own too but how about the rest of the World. Here are our favourite 5 ….

Number 5 – 

Japan In Japan Christmas is seen more as a time to spread happiness than a religious celebration and Christmas Day is not a national holiday. Christmas Eve is often celebrated by couples who exchange romantic presents. However to us the most bizzare thing about Christmas day in Japan is that the most popular meal is KFC! An estimated 3.6 million families go to KFC for their Christmas lunch, in fact it is so busy people order their meals up to 6 weeks in advance and wait in line on Christmas Day for hours. Give me Turkey in my dining room any day!

Number 4 – Venezuela

What could be more fun than roller skating to mass through the streets on Christmas Day like the locals of the capital Caracas who take to the streets and glide to Mass. As legend has it, children go to bed with a piece of string tied round their toe and the other end dangling out of the window. As skaters roll past, they give the string a tug and children know that it’s time to, well, get their skates on. Venezuelans are known for their love of fireworks and Christmas is no exception – residents awake to the sound of firecrackers exploding in the street, adding to the peel of church bells and get on their way. When mass is finished, families convene in the street and each others’ houses to share food, play music and dance. Sounds fabulous doesn’t it.

Number 3 – Spain

Although some Spanish families exchange gifts on Christmas Day the main day for giving gifts is January 6th and Spanish children will tell you that the 3 Kings give gifts not Santa Claus. On 26th December the children write notes to tell the Kings what they want and then on January 5th they leave food for the Kings and water for the camels or donkeys they ride on.

Before they go to bed they leave their shoes either under the tree or on the window sill – if they have been good their presents will be in their party shoes and if not it will be coal!! I don’t think much coal will be found do you?

Number 2 – Austria 

We don’t particularly like this Christmas tradition but it is certainly one to talk about! On December 5th in Austria is it the Krampus. Legend says Krampus is the evil twin of Santa and when good children get presents from Santa those who have been naughty will be scared by Krampus. Krampus’s appearance includes a goats beard, horns an oxen tail and the devils face. 

On 5th December young men dress as Krampus and look for naughty children, there are processions called Percehntenlaufe and very scary but quite spectacular. Can’t image many children are naughty at Christmas in Austria! 

Number 1 – Iceland 

Our favourite tradition of all – the Icelanders have a beautiful tradition of giving books to each other on Christmas Eve. Imagine wrapping up warm and cosy getting your books out and drinking hot chocolate what a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve as a family.

This tradition is known as Jolabokaflod translated roughly as ‘Christmas Book Flood’. It started in World War 2 when one of the few things not rationed was paper, people gave books as other commodities were scarce and so it continues. We are definitely taking this tradition on in our house. 

Please share any Christmas Traditions you like with us.

Selecting shoes for your little girl

Just like grownups, even little girls love to look good when they are looking to be a part of a special occasion. Therefore if you are looking to plan on taking your little girl into a wedding, then it is important that you get her the best shoes which you in turn help her to be herself. Girls dress up shoes comes in many variations these days and you will get numerous exciting looks and designs when you are looking to buy such products. When you get beautiful shoes for your little girl, they can certainly appeal to her in a great way. 

If you are new to buying shoes for a little girl, you will be surprised by the surplus options that are available these days. One of the best ways to start shopping for shoes for your little girl is to take note of the feet size of your girl. It is very important that you get shoes that just fit her perfectly and keep her feet perfectly comfortable for long hours. Children often tend to run around and it is therefore important that you get shoes that would enable her to do so without any pain or discomfort. 

However, just because you intend to buy shoes that would be comfortable for your girl does not mean that you will have to give up on aesthetics. In fact, there are plenty of brands that can offer you diversely styled shoes for your girl. These shoe designing and manufacturing brands specializes on making children’s shoes and they can also provide you with an extensive collection of flower girl shoes. You should also consider the types of dresses that your girl will be wearing so that you can find a pair of shoes that brings out her beauty and unique persona. 

Special Gifts for Bridesmaid

Lot of people participates in the marriage of a couple may be they are actively involved but their presence play an important role to make the marriage function goes successful. The couple is normally busy in the preparation of the grand celebration of their lives however other people such as bridesmaid is also busy with the same. Bridesmaid as we know plays a supportive role in the whole event. She is the one who assist her in almost every kind of activity related to marriage celebration. Generally bride’s close friend plays this important role but nowadays people prefer to hire professional bridesmaid for the marriage function. 

When it comes to the actual roles and responsibilities then these bridesmaids are not different from the groomsmen. Bridesmaid gives her 100% assistance to the bride and takes effort to help maid of the honor. This additional help for marriage ceremony should be appreciated and admired. Well the best way to show deep appreciation to bridesmaid is to honor here with special gifts. The gift which you are going to give her can plain or common however sometimes people love to customize it so that she feel special. You will find large range of the items available for the bridesmaid. These days’ bridesmaid bags are too much in demand as they are so unique and stylish. Apart from that they can be easily customized. You can also engrave the bridesmaid name. When you choose such gifts for the bridesmaids then don’t go for common choice.