The Atlas Obscura Guide to the World's Strangest Christmas Traditions

Every European Christmas market sells the same mulled wine out of the same wooden hut. This is not a criticism — it is a very good hut, and the wine is warm. But it is not a reason to choose one country over another, and the "best Christmas markets" lists that dominate December travel writing are, functionally, lists of interchangeable huts. The traditions are the opposite. They are wildly, specifically local, they happen on fixed dates, and most of them are considerably darker than the season's reputation suggests. Several involve being eaten. What follows is organized by what you actually wa

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