follows the Julian calendar, meaning that Christmas day for the Ukrainians and Russians is on January 7 for the rest of the world. Their Christmas traditions are quite intriguing too, as they are said to fast during a 39 day period before Christmas Eve, and when the first evening star shines, a twelve-course supper is prepared in honor of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
While certain foods are strictly iconic to the Christmas tradition, cultures shall vary, and while cookies and milk may be associated with the Christmas of one culture, KFC is linked with the Christmas of another. Indeed, Japan’s traditional Christmas dinner is Kentucky Fried Chicken, with a popularity so large that reservations must be made in order to dine at the said restaurant.
I think the greatest of all Christmas folktales is that of my dear old friend Krampus. He’s one of Santa’s little helpers, but instead of making toys for all the good boys and girls, he punishes all the bad ones. But hey, Krampus only dwells in Germany and Austria, so you might have squeezed by this time. However, this loyal servant of Santa finally got his moment when a movie was made about him just this year –I guess he’s been a good boy.
So how about this Christmas, we all gather around the fire with our friend Krampus, feed a log a bunch of fruits, and then beat it up with some sticks together? Let’s not forget to hide those brooms from the witches so we can enjoy a family KFC dinner safely and skate to church services the next morning.
The relevance of this information is greater than one might think. Knowing all this allows us to realize the diversity of cultures in the world we live in. All these traditions are genuine and should be respected, because we probably have some unorthodox traditions that we think are regular in our own culture.