A world of festive fun

From fast-food Christmas dinners and joyriding witches to Santa Claus gnomes and roller-skating churchgoers, here are some of the ways the festive season is celebrated in other countries around the globe. By Marjorie Yue

ICELAND

In the land of fire and ice, Christmas is the time when children can expect not one, but 13 Santas to pay them a visit.

Known as the Yule Lads or Christmas trolls, every night, starting 13 days before December 25, one by one the lads saunter down from their mountain home to the towns below to steal from or pull pranks on the hapless residents.

Folklore attributes their lack of seasonal goodwill to their mum, the child-gobbling giantess Gryla who lives with hen-pecked hubby Leppalúði in a cave, along with the scary Christmas Cat.

The big black feline’s favourite pastime is to catch and devour those unfortunate children who didn’t get new clothes to wear for Christmas.

The tales of the mischievous Yule Lads first appeared in the 17th century, but by the early 20th century, the lads were reformed characters, visiting homes to fill shoes left out on windowsills by the kids, with gifts of candy if they’d been well-behaved, or rotten potatoes if they’d been naughty.

PHILIPPINES

Think November is too early to put up the Christmas decs? The Philippines start to get into the festive spirit from September, the first of the four months ending in “ber”.

Filipinos love any excuse for a celebration (the country has 18 public holidays every year) and can’t wait to get the party started as soon as they reach the “Ber” months. And keen to keep the festivities going, celebrations have been known to carry on until January 6 and even beyond, up to Valentine’s Day. No wonder the nation lays claim to having the world’s longest Christmas season.

Spectacular light displays of parols (Christmas lanterns) pop up across the country. The nation’s iconic festive decoration is a symbol of the star that led the Three Kings to the town of Bethlehem.

Originally made of bamboo and paper, they were used to light the way to the nine dawn masses held up to Christmas Eve. It’s believed that if you make a wish after attending all nine of them, it will come true.

itsmorefuninthephilippines. co.uk