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Who knew Christmas could be so freaky creepy?

December 19, 2022 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Yep, it’s marketing, but it’s interesting! Doors Online (who sell real doors) have put together a list of unusual Christmas traditions worldwide.

Weird Christmas in Poland

Weird Christmas in Poland

According to Polish folklore, any kid born over the twelve days of Christmas could be a werewolf or other half-human, half-demon hybrid. If this occurs, the only available treatment is to collect blood from the infant’s brow.

Weird Christmas in America

Weird Christmas in America

According to an old Appalachian belief, an unwed lady who goes to a hog enclosure at midnight on Christmas Eve and hears an elderly hog grunting will marry an older man. But if a young hog grunts first, she might expect a young and gorgeous husband.

Weird Christmas in Greece

Weird Christmas in Greece

You probably don’t picture burning shoes when you think of the aromas associated with Christmas. However, in Greece, it is a Christmastime tradition to burn one’s old shoes, and locals believe the terrible odour will scare away Christmas ghosts called Kallikantzaroi.

Evidently, footwear is a big deal in Greece during the holiday season. They also think it’s unwise to give someone a pair of shoes for the holidays for fear that they might one day abandon you.

Weird Christmas in Latvia

Weird Christmas in Latvia

Traditional Latvian Christmas celebrations include carrying the Yule log around the home, an act thought to ward off evil spirits.

In honour of Mithras, the sun god, a Yule log is cut down, dragged through the woods to your house, and finally burned inside your home. Hopefully, the sun will have returned the following year, and the dark days will have vanished thanks to this.

Weird Christmas in Czechia

Weird Christmas in Czechia

Whereas many people in Western Europe like to have beef or poultry as the main course at Christmas dinner, carp is more typically served in Eastern Europe.

It is common practise in the Czech Republic for hosts to lay a single fish scale under their guests’ plates as a symbol of good fortune and a reminder of the season’s plenty.

Weird Christmas in the Philippines

Weird Christmas in the Philippines

There is a significant Christian community in the Philippines, and celebrations start on September 1st for many people. As a result, many age-old customs and beliefs about the holiday season have been passed down.

One such belief among Filipinos is that bathing on Christmas Day is bad luck. Some say that if you do, the gifts of Jesus’ birthday will be lost, and you may develop a mysterious illness.

Weird Christmas in Serbia

Weird Christmas in Serbia

The twelve days leading up to Christmas in Serbia are known as the “unbaptized days,” They were traditionally viewed as a time when demonic forces of all kinds would be more active and dangerous than usual.

These demons, known as karakondula, are most active between midnight and dawn, and if they come across an unsuspecting human, they will hop on their back and demand to be carried wherever they choose.

As a result, the victim wouldn’t be freed until the devil heard a cockerel crowing at sunrise.

Weird Christmas in England

Weird Christmas in England

You might have been expected to help make the Christmas pudding if you dropped in on an English family on the last Sunday of Advent in the past.

But superstition demands a specific procedure. You need to get up and move from east to west like the Magi did on their way to see Jesus. By doing so, you’ll be granted a wish for the future year and bestowed with good fortune.

Weird Christmas in Portugal

Weird Christmas in Portugal

In Portuguese culture, family is extremely important year-round, especially during the holiday season. That’s why it’s common practise in Portugal to arrange an extra seat at the table during the traditional Christmas feast for loved ones who have passed on.

It is a way to honour ancestors who have passed away while bringing good fortune and financial success to the home in the following year.

Weird Christmas in Ukraine

Weird Christmas in Ukraine

Have you ever been curious about tinsel’s genesis? We may ask, but why do we use this sparkly, fluffy-looking substance to adorn our Christmas trees? It seems this weird Ukrainian ritual could be to blame.

If a spider’s web is discovered in the Christmas tree on the morning of the 25th, it is said to bring prosperity to the home and its inhabitants. Small spider tree ornaments, complete with webs, have become a tradition in Ukraine, where they are said to bring prosperity.

Weird Christmas in Guatemala

Weird Christmas in Guatemala

It’s lovely to have a spotless home before the holidays anywhere, but in Guatemala, cleanliness truly is next to Godliness. The locals have a superstitious fear of the dark and think evil spirits reside there.

One of the most labour-intensive Christmas traditions occurs on December 7th, when Guatemalans go on a massive cleaning frenzy, piling up trash and undesired goods they’ve collected over the year outside the front door.

An effigy of the devil is burned at the end of the year in a ritual known as La Quema del Diablo (or “Burning of the Devil”) to clear away any negativity from the previous year and make way for a fresh start that the new year brings.

Weird Christmas in Spain

Weird Christmas in Spain

This Christmas superstition could help you if you’re buying a present for someone you don’t particularly care about. If you’re shopping for a loved one, it’s advisable to steer clear of anything pointy.

A superstition in Spain says if you give your friends and family sharp objects like blades or scissors for the holidays, your bond with them will inevitably become strained. Please don’t give them anything wrapped in yellow, as that will bring them nothing but misfortune forever.

In Pure Spirit

Are there any odd Christmas traditions that you, friends or family have?

Totally strange local traditions

January 3, 2015 by Andrew Leave a Comment

John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, and host of Mental Floss takes us through some 27 unbelievable local traditions.

Are you ready?

He begins with Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling, describing how the cheese wheel can hit speeds on 70 mph, and then moves on to really weird stuff.

How weird? We’ve got monkey buffet (for monkeys) in Thailand, the Pamplona running of the bulls, baby jumping, Japan’s Namahage Festival in which demons knock on doors and Le Tomatina.

In Pure Spirit

Which weird local traditions do you know about? Any you’d recommend?

If you’re interested in reading more about strange festivals and holidays then Car Rentals.co.uk has more on the Pamplona Bull Run and Low Cost Holidays has some insight on cheap holidays in Japan.

Beautiful time-lapse video from El Teide

April 17, 2011 by Andrew 1 Comment

El Teide is Spain’s highest mountain and home to the Teide Observatories – which many people consider to be one of the very best observatories on Earth.

Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd suffered an exhausting trip, hardly any sleep and a heavyweight of equipment in order to put this time-lapse video together.

In Pure Spirit

What do you make of the video? Was it worth all the effort Terje went through in order to produce it?

Catalonia’s Castells – Human Towers

November 12, 2010 by Andrew 1 Comment

A castell is a human tower. The tradition of building human towers started in the 19th century in Valls, near Tarragona and thenspread through Spain. The word “castell”, as you might have guessed, is the Catalan word for castle.

Continue Reading

The rain god Chaac and the 10 most important archaeology discoveries of 2008

December 29, 2008 by Andrew Leave a Comment

The Archaeological Institute of America has published their top 10 list of the most important archaeological discoveries of 2008 via the Archaeology Magazine. Here’s the list;

Image by jimg944.
  1. Sacred Maya Blue – Chichén Itzá, Mexico
  2. Wari Masked Mummy – Lima, Peru
  3. Kuttamuwa’s Soul – Zincirli, Turkey
  4. American Genes – North America
  5. Oldest Oil Paintings – Bamiyan, Afghanistan
  6. First European – Atapuerca, Spain
  7. Earliest Shoes – Tianyuan Cave, China
  8. Portuguese Indiaman – Namibia
  9. Imperial Colossi – Sagalassos, Turkey
  10. Origins of Whaling – Chukotka Peninsula, Russia

In Pure Spirit is pleased that the Maya Blue pigment made the list. Blue was a sacred colour to the ancient Mayans and associated with sacrifice and deities. In particular, blue was the colour of Chaac the rain god.

Unlike Chinese blue and Egyptian blue, Mayan blue is stable and retains its colour even after hundreds of years and weather conditions.

In 1904 the archaelogist Edward Thompson dredged the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá   he found a 14 foot thick layer of blue silt. This is now believed to be the gathered remains of Maya Blue washed off thousands of sacrificial objects. It is thought that sacrifical objects would have been heated by the ancient Mayans, then painted or brushed with blue dye before being thrown into green water.

Chaac

Chaac represented each of the four cardinal directions and each of the four cardinals had their own Chaac – a synchronicity common with Maya deities.

He was the patron of agriculture and carried a lightening axe. He was also associated with maize.

The rain is Chaac’s tears of regret.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Which is the most important of the ten discoveries above or would you suggest an alternative discovery?

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