10 the most terrifying Christmas traditions
Spiders, cemetery, costumes and Ghost stories typical of Halloween, not Christmas, right? Stop: think again. There is a special Christmas traditions that make the two holidays are strikingly similar.
In Mexico there is an ancient tradition to celebrate the night of the radishes. It started in the main square of the city of Oaxaca in 1897 and since then has gained strength.
In the tradition includes parades, festivals and dances. But the main event, as the name implies, the radish. Out of radishes cut amazing men, skits and demonstrations. Radishes are grown specifically for this: it is not collected at the usual time, and leave in the ground until the radishes are not gonna raise till the improbable sizes. Surprisingly, radishes can grow to 50 cm long and weigh as much as 3 kg.
The official Day of radish — 23 Dec. However, like any good party, celebration lasts for a couple of days until December 25.
According to Greek folklore, underground goblins called karakecili come to the surface to be evil during the 12 days of Christmas. Most legends agree that it's black hairy creature, similar to human but with horns and tails.
To get rid of karandzhulov away, some Greeks burn incense, or even burn in the fireplace smelly old shoes. And the other on Christmas eve hung on the door of the black cross.
If you think that without the web as a decoration Christmas wasn't the same, then it's time to move to Poland. In Polish culture spiders symbolize the prosperity and kindness. In one of the Polish legend says that when the baby Jesus was born, he was cold, and the spider wove a blanket for him from his web. So in Poland, are often decorated with Christmas trees artificial cobwebs or spiders.
Such tradition is also in Germany and Ukraine. They come from legends. In the Ukrainian legend of the poor mother could not buy Christmas decorations — she didn't have any money. In the morning the children woke up and found a Christmas tree, covered in cobwebs. Surely it wasn't too festive spectacle, but with the first rays of the sun web has turned into gold and silver.
The candy in the form of terrible creatures, gummy worms or beetles appropriate for Halloween, but Christmas as it is not associated. However on Christmas eve in parts of South Africa eat these insects: not one Christmas holiday can not be considered valid without a good large portion of the tracks in deep fat. M-mmm, delicious! Many caterpillars in Africa are considered a delicacy, so families believe them the perfect Christmas treat.
Generally the caterpillars are quite nutritious: they contain more protein than fish or beef. A little more than half a hundred grams of the tracks — pure protein, 17% carbohydrates, and energy value they have 430 kcal. The exact number of all this depends on the type. Even the caterpillar is an excellent source of iron, calcium, potassium and vitamins.
In the Austrian and Bavarian folklore, is a witch Perchta (Berchta). She knows exactly what children lazy, and which had been hardworking all last year. Perchta roams the earth and secretly enters the house for 12 days of Christmas to punish or to reward children. For those who worked hard, she leaves the Shoe silver coin. And those who are lazy, it cuts the stomach, pull out the entrails, and instead puts the straw, rocks, or any debris.
In the folklore of Iceland has ogress named the Grill. Like Santa Claus and the aforementioned Perchta, the Grill has magical powers and knows whether the kids all year, obedient or naughty. But unlike Santa Claus, or the same of perchta, she doesn't care about the reward for good children. Her only concern is to punish the naughty.
On Christmas eve she comes out of his mountain lair and preys on the children of the surrounding villages, to find a satisfying meal. Her favorite dish — braised stew of girls and boys who do not obey their parents. They say that she's always hungry and she never eats his fill.
The grill was not always Christmas character, but in the 17th century, it became associated with Christmas cat and jolasveinar: it was declared their mother.
More recently, a spooky Ghost stories in Europe was an integral part of Christmas. Even Andy Williams classic Yule sang that "this is the best time of the year," and promised that "there will be horror stories about ghosts and tales of glories of Christmas, and all this happened a long time ago".
In Victorian England Christmas and the ghosts were inextricably linked as tea and crumpets. Perhaps the best example is "Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. It is no coincidence that the hero of the tale come four otherworldly spirit. In past centuries, Christmas has always been associated with the spirit world. It was believed that on Christmas eve the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead grows thinner, which allows the ghosts to infiltrate back into the world of the living, at least for one night.
In Newfoundland there is an interesting tradition — a combination of jokes or having fun with Christmas caroling.
People called mummers, dressed in homemade costumes and go from house to house. They knock on doors, play musical instruments and dancing in front of the porch, and the owners at this time trying to guess who it is. For this, the owners can ask their unusual guests questions.
In the old days these carols were common in small towns, almost all the inhabitants knew each other. Nowadays people are less willing to open doors for strangers in masks. Sometimes costumed even calling friends before coming into the house, so they opened the door.
In Finland people on Christmas eve come to the graves of loved ones and friends and leave a lit candle. If the same family are buried somewhere far away, people come to the nearest graveyard and is also light candles in memory of the dead. All Finnish cemeteries on Christmas eve burn tens of thousands of candles.
Even those who have no one died, often we walk through the cemeteries to see the holiday splendor. On the graves come so many people that the government should also regulate the amount of traffic to avoid traffic jams.
To commemorate the dead for Christmas made in other countries. For example, in Portugal, there is Canada is both a celebration and mourning. Families sit down at the table and commemorate those who were lost.
Yes, there is a country that in the Christmas season says about the Devil. Guatemala 7 Dec celebrates "La Quema del Diablo," or the burning of the Devil.
Guatemalans are collected in the homes of all accumulated per year, rubbish: old clothes, broken furniture, and more. Then each family makes an effigy of the Devil and hoisting it to the top of the trash heap. And then it all burn: the fires symbolize the expulsion of the Devil and greeting the baby Jesus. And Guatemalans believe that such cleaning frees people have accumulated over the year of troubles and difficulties.
In recent years, many people burn small piñatas and old checks, and not the garbage in the house. In addition, many companies are cashing in by selling the effigies of the Devil. Here it is, a global tradition: Christmas just would not be Christmas if someone can find a way to extract from the feast of the profit.