Holiday Traditions from Ancestors Around the World

Holiday traditions can be simple or intricate, but when passed down through generations they become sweeter and help shed light on the way our ancestors lived and celebrated. 

It is the stories and traditions of our ancestors that turn our hearts to them and help us feel we are part of something greater than our individual selves. For many families the most enduring traditions have been made and kept around the holiday season — especially Christmas.

Out of my eight great-grandparents, seven of them had parents or grandparents who came to the United States after 1850—from England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. However, very few of their distinctive cultural traditions have been handed down to my generation, perhaps because they were eager to blend in to American culture.

Integrating Holiday Traditions

In an attempt to bring some of their cultures back into our family holiday traditions, we now choose an ancestral country to celebrate for our Christmas Eve dinner. We eat their traditional food, dress like them as much as possible, and tell their stories to our children. This adds to the wonderful festive spirit of the evening and has made for some great memories.

Where are your ancestors from? Does your family still carry on some of their distinctive cultural holiday traditions? Perhaps this year is the time to begin. Below are traditional holiday practices from around the world that give you a glimpse into your family history.

Netherlands Traditions

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives on the evening of December 5^th. Children leave a shoe out by the fireplace or windowsill and sing Sinterklaas songs in the hope that he will fill them with presents. They also leave some hay and carrots in their shoes for Sinterklaas' horse. They're told that, during the night, Sinterklaas rides on the roofs on his horse and that a ‘Zwarte Piet' (“Black Peter,” like an elf) will then climb down the chimney (or through a window) and put the treats in their shoes.

Icelandic Traditions

In Iceland, In the 13 days leading up to Christmas, 13 mischievous trolls called Yule Lads (jólasveinar in Icelandic) come out to play. For each night of Yuletide, children place their best shoes by the window and a different Yule Lad visits, leaving gifts for nice girls and boys and rotten potatoes for the naughty ones. Clad in traditional Icelandic costume, their names reflect the trouble they like to cause: Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod), Giljagaur (Gully Gawk), Stúfur (Stubby), Þvörusleikir (Spoon-Licker), Pottaskefill (Pot-Scraper), Askasleikir (Bowl-Licker), Hurðaskellir (Door-Slammer), Skyrgámur (Skyr-Gobbler), Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage-Swiper), Gluggagægir (Window-Peeper), Gáttaþefur (Doorway-Sniffer), Ketkrókur (Meat-Hook), and Kertasníkir (Candle-Stealer).

Venezuelan Traditions

In Caracas, Venezuela, every Christmas Eve, the city’s residents head to church in the early morning — on roller-skates! This unique holiday tradition is so popular that roads across the city are closed to cars so that people can skate to church in safety before heading home for a traditional Christmas dinner of hot tamales.

Colombian Traditions

Little Candles’ Day (Día de las Velitas) marks the start of the Christmas season across Colombia. In honor of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception, people place candles and paper lanterns in their windows, balconies, and front yards. Entire towns and cities across the country are lit up with elaborate displays, and neighborhoods compete to see who can create the most impressive arrangement.

Italian Traditions

In Italy, children sing carols while playing shepherds’ pipes and wearing shepherds’ sandals and hats. On Epiphany night, children believe that an old lady called ‘Befana' brings presents for them. Children put stockings up by the fireplace for Befana to fill. For many Italian-American families a big Christmas Eve meal of different fish dishes is now a very popular holiday tradition. This meal is known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes (‘Esta dei Sette Pesci'). The feast originated in southern Italy and was brought over to the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1800s.

French Traditions

In France, triangular Nativity scenes called “cribs” are very popular. French cribs have clay figures depicting the traditional Holy Family, shepherds, and wise men, but they also have whimsical figures such as a Butcher, a Baker, a Policeman, and a Priest. Yule Logs made out of Cherry Wood are often burned in French homes. The log is carried into the home on Christmas Eve and sprinkled with red wine to make the log smell nice when it is burning. The log and candles are often left burning all night with refreshments left out in case Mary and the baby Jesus come to visit during the night.

German Traditions

St. Nicholas’ Day in Germany is celebrated on December 6^th. Not to be confused with Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas), Nikolaus travels by donkey in the middle of the night and leaves little treats like coins, chocolate, oranges, and toys in the shoes of good children all over Germany, particularly in Bavaria. In exchange for the gifts, each child must recite a poem, sing a song, or draw a picture. St. Nick also brings along Knecht Ruprecht, a devil-like character dressed in dark clothes covered with bells and a dirty beard. He carries a stick or a small whip in hand to punish any children who misbehave.

Norwegian Traditions

In Norway, people hide their brooms on Christmas Eve. It’s a holiday tradition that dates back centuries to when people believed that witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on. To this day many people still hide their brooms in the safest place in the house to stop them from being ‘stolen’.

Ghanaian Traditions

Christmas Eve in Ghana starts with Church services that have drumming and dancing. Children often put on a Nativity play and then come out in front of the priests to dance. Choirs sing in many of the 66 languages of Ghana. Singing in their own unique language makes them feel that God speaks their language. Sometimes these services and dancing go on all night long.

Australian Traditions

Since it is the middle of summer in Australia at Christmastime, the lyrics to carols about snow and cold weather are usually replaced by words about sunshine and hot weather. There are also some original Australian Carols. Many Australians hold “Carols by Candlelight” services with local bands and choirs. When Santa Claus gets to Australia, he gives his reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos or ‘six white boomers' (a popular Australian Christmas song). He also wears clothes more suited to the hot weather. A typical Australian Christmas feast is a seafood barbecue at the beach.

Indian Traditions

Christians in India celebrate Christmas Eve by walking to Midnight Mass as a family. The churches are decorated with poinsettias and candles. Afterwards, they return home to a massive feast of different curry delicacies and the giving and receiving of presents. Instead of decorating traditional fir Christmas trees, Indians use banana or mango trees. Christians also put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to show their neighbors that Jesus is the light of the world.

Swedish Traditions

One of the biggest holiday traditions in Sweden is St. Lucia's Day on December 13th. The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden. St. Lucia was a young girl in ancient Rome who would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. St. Lucia is depicted by a girl in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a lingonberry crown of candles on her head. St. Lucia leads a procession of children singing carols in churches, schools, hospitals, and rest homes, handing out ‘Pepparkakor', or ginger snap biscuits.

In a sense, we are all the result of the legacy that has been passed down to us. Carrying on family holiday traditions and passing them on to our children is part of our legacy, and a way of celebrating the traditions of our ancestors.

What tradition will you implement in our family this year to bring you closer to your roots?

No matter how much you already know about your heritage, there is always more you can learn. Let us at Legacy Tree Genealogists help you make these discoveries and perhaps create some new family traditions that reflect your collective past. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you.