Weird Christmas Traditions That Will Leave You Baffled

We could go on and on about the psychology of Christmas and its significance. Let’s just agree that it is a crucial time in our life for the time being, both spiritually and chronologically. As a result, Christmas has a lot of superstitions associated with it, just like many other important occasions throughout the year. Let’s look at a few of them today that can make you raise an eyebrow in utter shock.

Seeing spirits

Being the day with the longest night, the Winter Solstice was seen as a pivotal point in each year. As a result, it was a night when ghosts were prowling the countryside at night. The idea that people born on Christmas Eve can see spirits, or more accurately, are better at seeing spirits than people born on any other day, presumably has its roots in this. The same folklore claims that people born on Christmas Eve are immune to any damage caused by spirits and ghosts and are shielded from death caused by drowning.

Christmas and wood

Even the Christmas Tree itself is associated with superstitions surrounding the holiday. The mythology mentions green branches that are supposed to assure the plants’ return at the end of winter. For this reason, green branches (and a green Christmas tree) are typically placed throughout the house.

The Yule Log is a unique log that is burned on a hearth (an antique open fireplace) at Christmas. It’s an old Germanic custom that made its way into Nordic Christmas customs; it represents the triumph of virtue over evil (in a fashion similar to how fire consumes wood), and it ultimately survived in the shape of the sponge cake roulade that bears its name.

Then there is “Luca’s chair,” which is a staple of Hungarian Christmas customs. According to legend, the chair, which is about pentagonal in design, must be created between December 13 and Christmas Eve’s midnight mass. It must be constructed out of 13 pieces of wood (each of a different variety), without the use of any metal components, over the course of 13 days, with just one step of construction being completed each day. The kids can use the chair to determine which members of the congregation are witches if they successfully construct it and sneak it into the church during Midnight Mass.

Christmas and luck

Like New Year’s Day, Christmas is a day associated with many superstitions and beliefs about good fortune. The legend states that the first person to open a door on Christmas morning should shout, “Welcome Father Christmas.” According to legend, doing so will let any evil spirits trapped inside the home escape and usher in good fortune. Additionally, it is thought that kissing beneath the mistletoe will bring good luck, and those who choose not to do so would likely have some unfavourable surprises in the upcoming year. The same is true for individuals who send carolers off without providing them with food, drink, or some cash as payment; doing so will bring bad luck for the upcoming year. But the potentially smelliest good luck charm related to Christmas is fish scales —which must be placed under each person’s plate at the dinner table to bring good fortune—are the potentially smelliest Christmas good luck charm.