Turns out, Santa Claus doesn’t visit the entire world for Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GoodHousekeeping.com<\/a> | BY\u00a0LIZZ SCHUMER<\/a> | Dec 11, 2020 | Christmas | Shield Insurance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every culture that celebrates\u00a0Christmas<\/a>\u00a0also has its own festive ways to make the holiday special. Some of those involve dishes or treats that only appear once a year. Others give gifts that carry a particular meaning, and still, others decorate in a particular way, and hold festivals, parades or parties to ring in the season. Growing up, I know my family’s holiday season just wouldn’t have been the same if we didn’t hang the\u00a0Christmas pickle\u00a0on the tree, if dad didn’t read\u00a0A Visit From St. Nicholas\u00a0to my brother and I before we went to sleep on Christmas eve \u2014 or didn’t enjoy the\u00a0Feast of Seven Fishes. In some countries, people can say the same about a visit from the Krampus, eating KFC, or pulling a Christmas cracker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, the holiday might look different for a lot of us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep many of our most treasured traditions. Maybe you’ll even want to try out some of the most beloved\u00a0Christmas traditions<\/a>\u00a0from around the world in your own home. You might just find a new cherished activity that your children and grandchildren (and their grandchildren!) won’t be able to do without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Japan,\u00a0celebrating Christmas<\/a>\u00a0is still relatively new. It’s only been widely recognized for the past couple of decades and is typically seen as a time to spread joy and cheer, or even a romantic couple’s day, instead of a religious holiday. Many order KFC for Christmas dinner, or make a reservation at a restaurant instead of cooking a big feast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Poland and many Polish communities worldwide, Christmas Eve dinner or (Wigilia) begins with\u00a0sharing the Oplatek. The paper-thin square wafer is made of flour and water and has an image of the Nativity on it. Everyone at the table breaks off a piece and shares a holiday greeting before passing it along. Sometimes, even pets get in on the fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All over Central Europe, people enjoy carp for Christmas Eve Dinner, according to NPR<\/a>. But rather than picking it up from the supermarket, traditionalists let the fish live in the bathtub for a couple of days before preparing and eating it. Legend has it, the scales bring luck and good fortune for the coming year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click for the full story…<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you will even want to try out some of the most beloved\u00a0Christmas traditions\u00a0from around the world in your own home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[342,1,2,139],"tags":[1871,2251,586,62,2250],"class_list":["post-12350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-insurance","category-insurance","category-shield-blog","category-things-to-do-at-home","tag-christmas","tag-festivities","tag-holiday","tag-shield-insurance-agency","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t1Japan: KFC for Christmas Dinner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2 Poland: People Share a Pre-Dinner Christmas Wafer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3 Slovakia: Carp for Dinner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMore great blogs from Shield Insurance Agency<\/h2>\n\n\n