Unusual Christmas Decorations from Around the World

 Unusual Christmas Decorations from Around the World

C. A. Asbrey

Christmas is something that has travelled around the globe, and every country, or culture, has made it their own. That has resulted in many unique and beautiful decorations that may seem strange to outsiders, but which tell us a bit more about their history and folklore.

Some of it may seem familiar to you, but to the rest of us, they're novel and delightful items. The first will probably seem commonplace to our American readers, but to my Scottish eyes looks very new.

The Weihnachtsgurke or Christmas Pickle

The Weihnachtsgurke, or Christmas Pickle, is popular in certain areas of the USA, and although it's rumoured to be a German tradition, but there's no evidence to support that it's anything other North American. No historic examples can be found anywhere in Germany, but it does seem to be something that's particular to German Americans.

One suggested origin relates to the Civil War in 1864, and a Bavarian-born Private John C. Lower was a starving prisoner of war. He begged the guard for food on Christmas Eve, and was given a pickle which he later credited for saving his life. The story goes that every year Lower hung a pickle on his Christmas tree and brought the family in to find it for luck. The tradition spread, and people started asking for them when Woolworths began carrying glass ornaments from Lauscha. Another suggestion is that the first ornaments were based on fruit and vegetables that could be blown in glass, but that the pickles weren't selling well. The theory is that a marketing decision was made to invent a history to move the merchandise, and as the German Americans were the second largest immigrant group in America, they had a decent demographic to appeal to.

They became so popular that they have actually started selling in Germany.

In a similar vein, many Scots place a robin on their tree—just one, and usually hidden in the undergrowth. The tradition is that children should find the robin without help from the adults and kiss it. The origins of this tradition are obscure, but likely are tied up with the Celtic superstition that robins are an intermediary with the other world. The saying, "When robins appear, loved ones are near" brings the comfort of a visit from dead loved ones for the holiday season.

I hide a robin in my tree every year, and always have done.

Ukraine is high in everyone's consciousness at the moment, and they also have a unique spin, quite literally, on Christmas decorations. They decorate with beautiful golden spider webs.

These are based on the old folk tale of a woman who had no Christmas decorations, and the spiders answered her prayers, and decorated her tree for her. The frost bejewelled the webs, and then a touch of magic turned them to gold and silver when the sun rose. They had the most beautiful Christmas tree, and were able to sell the webs afterwards, lifting them out of poverty. Some Ukrainians also add jewelled spiders, which are seen as lucky.

El Caganer

The Catalonians decorate with a figure called El Caganer. It translates as The Pooper, and has been found in Nativity scenes since the seventeenth century. Similar characters can be found throughout southwestern Europe, particularly in Murcia, Valencia, and Naples. The origins are unclear, but as there is a pooping figure carved in the cathedral of Cuidad Rodrigo which was built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. There also seem to be cultural links with the Tió de Nadal Cachafuòc or Soc de Nadal which is a log that is presented to the children on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec 8th. The children are given the job of caring for, and feeding, the log until Christmas eve when it is placed on the fireplace and beaten with sticks until it defecates sweets.

The ancient links to these figures may come from the fact that they are also areas where ancient Celtic tribes had strongholds that were overtaken by Christianity. And in most such places, traditional elements have always persevered, although in a changed and evolved way. Some have conjectured that it relates to fertility, and is definitely associated with luck. There are many European superstitions connected to animal mess, be it being hit with bird poop, to standing in animal faeces - all considered counterintuitively lucky.

The rise of the use of the figure in the Baroque period might have been part of a culture clash between locals and the Council of Trent's counter-reformation pushing a doctrine that art "should be easily understood and strongly felt by common people with the effect of encouraging piety and an awe for the church." The fact that these figures appear in religious scenes, and undermine the awe to the point of inspiring laughter can't be just a coincidence. Couple this with the Catalonian saying, "Menja bé, caga fort i no tinguis por a la mort! ("Eat well, shit heartily, and don't be afraid of death!")". It shows a grab-life-by-the-throat kind of spirit, and one that doesn't take itself too seriously 

It was always traditionally a male peasant figure, but in recent years both male and female versions have become available, with a popular line in famous figures being sold to tourists. 

In Greece, they often don't have a tree at all. They have the Christmas boat or “karavaki”, beautiful boats covered in lights. When trees are put up, the children make pretty little boats to hang from the branches. The boats are then used like little baskets to hold sweets and treats. Where there are real boats, they are often festooned in coloured lights in harbours and on beaches.   

 

In Norway they weave little paper baskets to hang on the tree called Julekurver. These baskets are then filled with sweets. It is rumoured that Hans Christian Andersen started this tradition, but this can't be verified. These beautiful little containers can be made in a variety of shapes and colours, and increasingly the heart version has been taken up by crafters in the USA to be used on Valentine's Day. They are fairly easy to make (so I'm told. I've never tried, but they are so pretty I may have to start). If you are keen to have a go, there are numerous videos and instructions online.

Whatever you do for the holidays, however you worship, and whoever you spend them with, I wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year. Happy everything to everyone!

Excerpt

She sighed, turning to him. “Oh, Nat. What a mess. What can we do?” “Do?” 

He leaned in inches from her face, his hot breath hitting her flesh. “We have another chance. We grab it with both hands.” 

“And do what?” Her eyes glittered with inquiring intensely. 

“I still won’t be involved with a criminal. I won’t live life on the run.”

He reached out and stroked her cheek, his smile slipping so easily into the feral. “But you’d be so good at it.” 

“I’m not joking, Nat. We both know there’s something deep here, but it’s not a relationship until we move things on. Falling in love is a big enough gamble as it is without making things more dangerous.” 

He arched his brows, his face lighting. “Love? You love me?” 

“One of us had to say it, and I’m no coward.” She tilted her head proactively. “You have all the missing pieces of my soul. The question is, do I complete the puzzle and accept them?” 

“Oh, neither of us have a choice in that. It’s whether we learn to live with it or fight it.” He rolled a hand into her hair, threading it between between his fingers as he grasped the back of her head and pulled her to him. His kiss was fierce, flooding her senses and causing the world to fall away beneath her. He pulled back staring straight into her with an honesty more frightening than his lies. “Which is it?” 

Her brows met in consternation. “I just told you I love you. Is that all you have to say?” 

The lights in his eyes danced, the way only his devilment could. “Abi…of course I love you. Haven’t I told you so in every breath since we met? Love isn’t only a word. It’s what we do.” His fingers trailed lazily over her cheeks and down to her neck. He brushed her earlobe with velvet lips, moving to her neck. Her head rolled back and her lips parted involuntarily as he toyed with sweet spot on her neck. He was playing with her, making her wait for the crashing crescendo to flood her senses. His mellifluous baritone floated in her ear. “Come with me, Abi. Let me show you more.” His fingers interlaced with hers and he stood, pulling her to her feet, embracing her like a dancing partner. “Let me show how much I love you.” 

She reached out and drew him into a sensual kiss, running her hands through his thick hair. His hand dropped to her hip, moving her inexorably toward the door. It settled there and pulled her close to his hard chest. She groaned, anticipating his next move. 

She slipped one foot behind his and pushed hard. Surprise crowded his face as he tumbled backward onto the floor. “What the hell—"

Her generous lips tugged into her lopsided smile. “You think I’m going to fall into your bed? Think again, Mr. Quinn. If you want to show me love, you can think of a way out of this mess first. Do something to show you deserve me."