Culture clash
Church, nativity scene, Christmas wreath and goose – for many Germans, these are the key components of Christmas. People in Japan, Venezuela and Catalonia have their own unique customs:
Fast and Festive
No Christmas goose for the Japanese, they prefer to head to the local KFC for fried chicken on Christmas Eve. The tradition dates back to the 1970s and a successful campaign by the U.S. fast-food giant.
Priority for the pious
In Caracas, churchgoers like to rollerblade to early mass at Christmastime, which is why many of the streets in the Venezuelan capital are closed to traffic until 8 a.m.
Pants down!
Catalonia’s nativity scenes have all the traditional figures, plus a caganer, a little man squatting down to defecate. Particularly popular: caganers resembling politicians and celebrities.
