“Unwrap the Unexpected: Discover the Strangest Christmas Traditions from Around the Globe!”
Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, people like to decorate their houses with beautiful tropical flowers. A model of the nativity scene, called the Pasito or Portal, is usually at the center of the display. Christmas wreaths are made of cypress branches and are decorated with red coffee berries and ribbons.
The Costa Rican version of Santa Claus is called’Niño dios’ (Child God, meaning Jesus) or ‘Colacho’ (another name for St. Nicholas).
Kosovo
90% of the population in Kosovo is Muslim, but there is still Christians of Serbian ethnicity living in Kosovo. Like other countries who follow the orthodox church, the Christians of Kosovo celebrate Christmas on January 7th.
At the Gracanica Monastery, you can watch a Christmas play and participate in Christmas services. Even the Muslims in Kosovo join in the Christmas festivities. Who doesn’t love a Christmas tree? In Kosovo, Christmas is for everybody,
Greece
On Christmas Eve, Greek children sing carols in the streets. Sometimes they carry model boats with them decorated with nuts that are painted gold. If they sing well, they’ll be given small gifts like money and nuts and dried figs.
A traditional Greek Christmas decoration is a shallow wooden bowl with a piece of wire suspended across the rim. A sprig of basil is wrapped around a wooden cross and hangs from the wire. A bit of water is poured into the bowl to keep the basil alive and fresh. Once a day, someone, usually the mother of the family, dips the cross and basil into some holy water and uses it to sprinkle water in each room of the house. This is done to keep away bad spirits.
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