While Americans gather around the Christmas tree to open presents,
in Catalonia, families gather around the “caga tio,” a log that’s decorated
with a cartoon face and plied with treats in the weeks before Christmas. On
Christmas day, the children sing a song and beat the log with sticks until it
“poops” out presents (caga is the Catalonian equivalent of “caca,” and
literally means “pooping log”). The log’s backside is covered with a blanket,
and when the song is done and the presents have all been pooped out, parents
pull back the covers to reveal the log’s scatological bounty. It’s a Christmas
miracle!
Nothing says
Christmas like mortal terror, right? In Austria, the Christmas season kicks off
on Dec. 5 with Krampusnacht Krampus, St. Nick’s demonic polar opposite, is a
goat-horned devil that shakes fistfuls of rusty chains and sticks at passing
children. While American children fear little more than a lump of coal in the
stocking, Austrian youth are kept in line by a legion of masked men, many of
whom have taken a little inspiration from a bottle of schnapps to help them get
into character. According to legend, naughty kids are snatched by Krampus and
dragged to his mountain lair. In more recent years, the custom has morphed into
a sort of Halloween in December, giving people a chance to dress up and parade
around in their ghoulish costumes.
The Netherlands
The Austrians aren’t the only ones that see Christmas as a time to
celebrate the dark side. In the Netherlands, the Dutch add a little fear to
their holiday celebrations with Zwarte Piet. In a rather racist custom that has
persisted to this day, Zwarte Piet,
or Black Peter, is Santa’s slave who abducts Dutch children that misbehave,
taking them back to Spain,
where it is said that Santa and Peter spend their off-season. In a scene many
Americans would find shocking, the Dutch dress up as Black Peter, donning black
face and Afro wigs, in order to accompany Santa. In response to protests
against the racist symbol in recent years, Peter’s backstory has changed, with
some saying his blackface is merely the result of chimney soot.
Christmas in Japan means one thing: Fried chicken from KFC. Poultry
is a rarity in Japan, and the custom of ordering from the fast food chain
likely started when Americans on the prowl for a traditional Christmas bird had
to settle for the Colonel’s golden-fried alternative. In the 1970s, noticing an
uptick in sales around the holidays, KFC saw an opportunity to start a new
Christmas tradition and began to advertise its chicken as an integral part of
the holiday season in Japan. Now, several decades later, the Japanese have
embraced fried chicken at Christmas with an almost maniacal devotion. Customers
reserve their buckets months in advance, and those foolish enough to wait until
Christmas Eve have to wait in lines that snake for blocks to get a taste of the
Colonel’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. But I’m sure the wait is worth
it, because there’s nothing more magical at this time of year than gathering
the family around the chicken bucket.
BY: Rajeswary, Kuganesh, Anita Raj, Nageswarie
BY: Rajeswary, Kuganesh, Anita Raj, Nageswarie
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