Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. And not just because of all the cool Things under the tree. Sappy as it sounds, I love our family traditions. We do the usual stuff like stringing popcorn garland for the tree, watching
It's A Wonderful Life, hanging stockings and eating an enormous feast with the extended family.
We also have a few non-traditional traditions. On Christmas Eve night we take all the kids out go-carting and then stop for fast food, but not for us, for Santa. My oldest nephew dreamed up the idea. He said Santa probably gets tired of cookies and milk. Wouldn't he like a juicy hamburger and frosty cold Coke instead?
It might seem odd to you, but as non-traditional traditions go, ours aren't so weird. Check out these strange traditions from other parts of the world:
- Catalonians include the Caganer, a small figure of a pooping man, in their nativity scenes.
- In Ukraine, they don' t decorate trees with fancy lights and tinsel. Instead, they decorate with an artificial spider and webbing. (I like this one - put your old Halloween decorations to work!)
- In the U.S., kids get coal in their stockings when they don't behave. In Austria, a Christmas devil called Krampus is said to beat naughty kids with branches.
Of course, all Things poop being sort of my Thing, I like the Caganer from Catalonia. I also like the idea of the spider tree - what a great way to recycle and re-use your Halloween decorations. I think I'll pass on meeting up with the Krampus. I've been good this year, but why take chances?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. See you next week,
Bobby
