Which Christmas traditions from around the world have you incorporated into your family's customs?

MSE_James

Many families have their own Christmas traditions whose origins are lost in the mists of time - for example, in my family we exchange 'tree presents' - small presents attached to the Christmas tree - on Boxing Day. 

During one of the lockdown Christmases my wife's sister-in-law - who is half Danish - got the whole extended family together on Zoom, with instructions to have a glass of mulled wine ready - and we all just chatted about the different festive traditions we'd all brought from our various upbringings. In Denmark, the big festive meal is on Christmas Eve.  So that part of the family now does it all twice - once Danish-style on the 24th, then British-style on the 25th.

We all agreed that time spent sharing our family customs and memories was one of the most enjoyable hours we'd all shared together during that difficult time when we couldn't gather in person.

What customs from different parts of the world have you made an unmissable part of your Christmas? (Bonus points if there's a MoneySaving twist, of course.)

Rosa_Damascena

One I will rule out is the Japanese tradition of KFC. (I'm vegetarian so its fundamentally incompatible).

DullGreyGuy

Like many catholic countries, Xmas eve evening is the main celebration point for the Mrs' country of origin so ultimately we can do both fully as they dont clash.

It's somewhat thankful that we didnt have kids else we would have a dispute over if Santa or Baby Jesus delivered the presents. That said, Santa has been partially adopted over there, but he turns up and gives token presents to kids and Baby Jesus still does the main ones.   

Dizzycap

We have adopted Hanukkah as we have a new member of the family now xxx

It begins on the Eve of Christmas Day & continues through until the evening of the 2nd of January.

This way we cover both the Christian Traditional Christmas with the birth of Jesus at the centre & then in the evening we extend the celebration into Hanikkah. Although I have remained adamant that our Nativity display remains as the central focal point of the house

It's worked very well for the past 2 years, so we've decided to stick with it xxx

Yorkie1

We have Dutch family members, so there is Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) on 6 December, which is a key focus for present giving

MSE_James

My wife is from Belgium and she and her family are very keen on celebrating St Nicholas Day too 

LizzieFlorence

We've taken on board the Icelandic Tradition of giving books early on Christmas Eve and spend the day reading.