Christmas season is supposed to be a joyous occasion, coming together with family to celebrate the baby Jesus and enjoy each other’s company, share gifts and get festively plump on all the lovely food treats available.

That’s how it largely is these days anyway, but over the centuries, Christmas has grown in many different ways depending on the location you’re celebrating in. Many of the Christmas traditions we have today are deeply rooted in ancient beliefs, many of which are based on superstition.

Nowadays, we’re less likely to let our superstitions dictate what we do, but that’s not to say some of these Christmas superstitions haven’t carried on through the ages.Here, we take a look at 12 of our favourite weird and creepy

Christmas superstitions from around the world, contemplating how they’ve manifested themselves in today’s celebrations.

More info: doorsonlineuk.co.uk

Czechia/Czech Republic

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While many in western Europe favour meat or poultry as the traditional centrepiece of their Christmas dinner, in Eastern Europe, carp is more commonly served.

America

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There are a few Christmas superstitions that relate to marriage and finding the love of your life, but this one wins out for us.

Greece

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It seems that Greek people might have a thing for shoes at Christmas. They also believe that it’s a bad idea to give shoes as a gift during the festive period, otherwise you risk that person walking out of your life in the future.

Guatemala

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It’s always nice to have a clean and tidy house in preparation for the festive period, but in Guatemala, cleanliness really is next to Godliness. Locals believe that the devil and other evil spirits live in the dark, dirty corners of your home.

The ritual is called ‘La Quema del Diablo’ (or the ‘Burning of the Devil’), an effigy of the devil is placed on top of the rubbish pile and set alight.

England

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At one point in time, if you join an English family on the last Sunday before Advent, you’d probably be expected to help prepare the Christmas pudding. However, superstition dictates that there’s a very particular way of doing it though.

Philippines

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Christmas in the Philippines isn’t as big a deal as it is in other parts of the world, but there is still a sizable Christian population, and with that comes many traditions and superstitions that have been passed down through the generations.

Poland

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This superstition isn’t completely unique to Poland though. A number of European countries believe that babies born will turn into werewolves it seems. One has to wonder what happened on continental Europe for this superstition to take such a hold…

Latvia

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Fun Fact: The word Yule itself means wheel, the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun.

Portugal

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Family is a big deal in Portuguese tradition and even more so over the festive period.

Serbia

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This one might just be our favourite. In Serbian Christmas traditions, the twelve days of Christmas were previously called the “unbaptized days” and they were considered a time when demonic forces of all kinds were believed to be more active and dangerous than usual.

Ukraine

Ever wondered where tinsel came from? Why do we decorate our Christmas trees in this glittery, fluffy-looking stuff? Turns out it might be Ukraine.

Spain

If you’re buying a gift for someone you don’t really like, then this Christmas superstition might work in your favour. However, if you’re buying for someone you love, it’s probably best to avoid anything with sharp edges.

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