How Christmas is celebrated across the world: Traditions that will surprise you

Key Highlights

• Germany: Kids leave their shoes outsideOne of the most iconic features of a German Christmas is the Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas market.
• These open-air markets transform town squares into festive spaces filled with lights, handmade crafts, and seasonal foods such as roasted chestnuts and gingerbread. German families observe Advent, counting down the weeks before Christmas with Advent calendars and wreaths. On the evening of December 5th, German children clean and polish a shoe or boot and place it outside their bedroom door or by the front doorway before they go to bed.
• This isn’t for Santa Claus - but for Sankt Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas), a kind, gift-giving figure honored across Europe. More from Lifestyle Graduation trip turns tragic as bus plunges into ravine in Colombia, killing 16 students PM Modi condemns Bondi Beach terror attack, expresses solidarity with AustraliaAccording to tradition, Saint Nicholas visits during the night and fills the shoe with treats and small gifts if a child has been good - things like chocolates, nuts, mandarins, gingerbread, or little toys. Well-behaved children find sweets and small surprises in their shoes in the morning.
• Children who haven’t been so good might find a bunch of twigs or a stick  instead - a playful reminder to be kind and helpful. In some families and regions, children also leave a carrot or some hay in the shoe for Saint Nicholas’s horse as a token of thanks.2.
• Japan: People eat KFC as a traditionSpeaking of Christmas celebrations around the world, in Japan, it is celebrated in a completely different way.