8 Global Christmas Customs

Have you ever wondered who first thought to bring trees indoors for Christmas? Or the origins of Advent calendars? Read on...

We've traced both popular and obscure festive customs back to their origins.

1. Advent Calendar Customs in Germany

Advent, from the Latin word adventus, meaning 'coming,' begins four Sundays before Christmas. In the 19th century, German Protestants counted down the days to Christmas by marking 24 chalk lines on a door, erasing one each day in December. By the early 20th century, paper Advent calendars gained popularity in Germany.

Gerhard Lang is believed to be the first to mass-produce Advent calendars, inspired by a calendar his mother crafted for him in childhood. He later innovated cardboard calendars with doors that opened. These became commercially successful, but it wasn’t until the late 1950s that they included chocolate. Today, many European towns feature giant Advent calendars on building facades, with notable examples in Hattingen and Bernkastel-Kues, Germany, as well as Innsbruck, Austria.

2. Adorning Fir Trees in Europe

During the winter solstice, pagan Europeans would bring a fir tree into their homes. Tree worship was prevalent, and they adorned living trees outdoors with candles and ornaments representing the sun, moon, and stars on the tree of life. In Scandinavia, greenery was used to decorate homes and barns for New Year to fend off evil spirits. Evergreens, symbolizing eternal life, helped Europeans envision the coming spring.

The exact time when Christians began using fir trees as Christmas trees remains unclear, but the cities of Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in Latvia both claim to be the first to document a public tree during Christmas and New Year festivities.

3. Noche de las Velitas in Colombia

On December 7, Colombia celebrates Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with Noche de las Velitas (Night of the Little Candles), a magical event that marks the beginning of the holiday season. Colombians illuminate their homes and streets with millions of white and colored velas (candles) placed in decorative paper lanterns. Initially a family-focused celebration, the event has evolved into a more elaborate display, often incorporating electric lights. Public festivities have also increased, featuring music, fireworks, and food markets.

A similar celebration can be found in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during the beloved Christmas Eve Farolito Walk along Canyon Road, where the tradition involves simple paper bags filled with sand and a tealight candle.

4. Celebrating Christmas on January 7 in Ethiopia

The Christmas narrative tells us that three wise men, also known as magi or kings, journeyed from the East, guided by a miraculous star, to Bethlehem to honor the newborn Jesus. It is commonly believed that the magi originated from Asia, Europe, and Ethiopia. Many Ethiopians hold the belief that all three wise men (some claim there were twelve) were Ethiopian.

Ethiopians adhere to the Julian calendar, celebrating Christmas, referred to as Ganna or Genna, on January 7. People don white garments, with many wearing the traditional netela—a lightweight white cotton scarf featuring colorful stripes at the ends. Draped elegantly, it gives wearers a regal appearance.

5. Presenting Poinsettias in Mexico

Poinsettias, which bloom during the winter, are native to Central America, particularly southern Mexico around Taxco del Alarcon and the state of Oaxaca. A Mexican tale tells of a girl who, with nothing but a handful of weeds, approached the baby Jesus at a Christmas Eve service. As she knelt to place the weeds by the nativity scene, the bouquet transformed into vibrant red flowers. Since then, these flowers, whose leaves are said to resemble the star of Bethlehem, have been called Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, and have become a Christmas symbol.

6. La Quema del Diablo in Guatemala

Guatemalans engage in a Christmas season ritual that is truly one-of-a-kind. On the evening of December 7, the night before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, people gather in towns and villages throughout Guatemala for La Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil). Since the 17th century, it has been believed that setting an effigy of the devil ablaze will purify their homes from the evils and misfortunes of the past year.

Today, communities assemble in plazas to ignite bonfires and burn the devil, often represented by a piñata, at 6 PM. Vendors sell devil horns and fireworks, while many participants dress in devil costumes. Afterward, families come together to enjoy buñuelos (traditional donuts) and warm fruit punch.

7. Midnight Mass in Rome

Many theologians believe that the tradition of midnight mass originated with pilgrims to what is now Israel. In the late 4th century, a Roman pilgrim joined a group of Christians in a vigil in Bethlehem on the night of January 5, which is Christmas Eve in the Eastern tradition. This vigil was followed by a torchlight procession to Jerusalem, culminating in a dawn gathering. When the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was constructed in the 5th century, Pope Sixtus III established midnight mass on Christmas Eve in the chapel, a custom that has since spread to many Christian nations worldwide.

8. Réveillon de Noël in Québec

In Québec, French-speaking families celebrate Christmas on the night of December 24. This late-night to early-morning event is known as réveillon, derived from the French word réveil, meaning 'awakening.' The tradition began in France and is similarly observed in New Orleans.

Traditionally, families would attend midnight mass before returning home, where Santa Claus would magically appear to distribute gifts. Once the presents were opened, everyone gathered at the table for a lavish meal featuring tourtière (minced meat pie), mashed potatoes, turkey with stuffing, and coquilles Saint-Jacques (scallops in the shell), followed by bûche de Noël (Yule log cake) and sucre à la crème (sweet tablet made from sugar and cream). For those still standing, the celebrations could last until dawn.