Christmas is a special time for many people around the world. This is essentially the celebration of Christ’s birth. 

No matter where, this celebration is something so amazing that sometimes causes strange reactions in people. Of course, these people think it’s normal but for foreigners watching from their cultural perspective, these actions might look crazy.

From  a strange Santa to do unusual things, this is the top 4 of the most bizarre world Christmas customs.

AustriaIf you though that Santa was the icon in the Christmas celebration, you were wrong.Here is Krampus, it is Santa’s evil twin whose job is to beat and punish all the children who have misbehaved. On December 6th men dress up in some of the scariest devil-like costumes you can imagine and drunkenly run around towns hitting people with sticks and switches. 

Czech Republic

On Christmas Day, unmarried Czech women practice a traditional fortune telling method to predict their relationship status for the upcoming year. If you’d like to give this a try, here’s how to do it: Stand with your back to your door and toss one of your shoes over your shoulder. If it lands with the toe facing the door it means that you will get married within the year. If it lands with the heel facing the door, you’re in for another year of unmarried status.

CaracasIn Caracas, Venezuela, church-goers attend an early morning mass between December 16th and December 24th. Not so strange for a mostly Catholic population. What is unusual about this practice is how everyone gets to church: on roller skates. The streets are blocked off to vehicular traffic until 8 am and children, the night before, tie one end of a piece of string to their big toes and hang the other end out the window. As roller skaters go by the next morning, they give a tug to all the strings hanging out the windows.

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Japan

For many Japanese, traditional Christmas dinner is Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is so popular and well marketed that reservations may have to be made to eat at a KFC on Christmas in Japan.

Daniel CalleUniversidad Militar Nueva Granada

Educación para el uso de la tecnología