When I first spent a December crossing Europe by train, I expected one Christmas. Instead I found dozens, layered on top of each other like the paper of an old Advent calendar. The bishop, the witch, the kings and the candle-crowned girl all belong to the same weeks, yet each country gives them a different weight. Some of the oldest customs began as ways to brighten the darkest stretch of the year; others came from church feasts that have been kept for a millennium.
Advent: counting down the dark
- Fourth Sunday before Christmas · Germany
The Advent wreath
The wreath is younger than many assume. In 1839 the Lutheran pastor Johann Hinrich Wichern, who ran a home for poor boys in Hamburg, mounted candles on an old cartwheel so the children could count the days: small candles for weekdays, large ones for Sundays. Over time the design shrank to the four candles on evergreen familiar today.
- From late November · Germany, Austria, France
Christmas markets
Dresden's Striezelmarkt traces its first record to 1434, and Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt is opened each year by a young woman playing the Christkind. Strasbourg calls itself the "capital of Christmas" for its market by the cathedral. Mulled wine, roasted almonds and carved wooden ornaments are the common thread.
Early December visitors
- 5–6 Dec · Netherlands, Belgium
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in mid-November, officially "from Spain", and rides rooftops on his white horse. On pakjesavond, the evening of 5 December, Dutch families exchange gifts accompanied by surprise poems that gently tease the recipient. Chocolate initials and spiced speculaas biscuits fill the shops for weeks beforehand.
- 5 Dec · Austria, Bavaria, Slovenia
Krampusnacht
The night before St Nicholas Day, young men in carved wooden masks and shaggy fur costumes run through Alpine towns as Krampus, the saint's frightening companion who is said to deal with misbehaving children. Today these Krampusläufe are noisy, theatrical parades; visitors are advised to keep a respectful distance from the switches.
- 13 Dec · Sweden, Finland, Norway
St Lucia's Day
Under the old Julian calendar, 13 December fell close to the longest night, which helps explain why a feast of light settled here. A girl chosen as Lucia leads a procession wearing a white gown, a red sash and a crown of candles, followed by attendants and "star boys" in tall pointed hats. Saffron buns called lussekatter and ginger biscuits are passed around, and the song "Sankta Lucia" is sung in schools, churches and offices.
The heart of the season
- 12 Dec – 6 Jan · Iceland
The Yule Lads and the Christmas book flood
Thirteen mischievous Yule Lads come down from the mountains one at a time from 12 December, leaving small gifts in shoes on windowsills. Icelanders also keep Jólabókaflóð, the "Christmas book flood": new books are given on Christmas Eve and read late into the night.
- 8–25 Dec · Catalonia
Caga Tió
A small log with a painted face and a red hat is "fed" and covered with a blanket from early December. At Christmas children tap it with sticks while singing, and sweets appear from under the blanket. It is cheerful, a little rude and loved by every Catalan child.
- 24 Dec · Poland
Wigilia
Christmas Eve supper begins when the first star appears. Before eating, family members break the opłatek, a thin wafer, and wish each other well. Traditionally the meal is meatless, often twelve dishes, with carp and beetroot soup, and an empty place is laid for a stranger or the absent.
- Christmas Eve · Ukraine
Didukh and kutia
A sheaf of wheat called the didukh stands in the corner as a symbol of ancestors and harvest, and the evening opens with kutia, a dish of wheat berries, poppy seeds and honey. After a 2023 calendar change, many Ukrainian families now keep Christmas on 25 December.
- Since 1966 · Sweden
The Gävle Goat
The straw Yule goat is an old Nordic symbol. In Gävle a giant version has been built each Advent since 1966, and its survival until New Year has become a national talking point.
From Boxing Day to Twelfth Night
- 26 Dec – 5 Jan · United Kingdom
Crackers, Boxing Day and Twelfth Night
The Christmas cracker is credited to London confectioner Tom Smith in the 1840s, and paper crowns are still worn at the table. Boxing Day on 26 December has older links to gifts for servants and tradespeople. Twelfth Night, 5 January, is when many households take down their decorations.
- 5–6 Jan · Spain, Italy
Kings and a kindly witch
Spanish towns hold the Cabalgata de Reyes on the evening of 5 January, with the Three Kings throwing sweets from floats; gifts appear the next morning beside a roscón de reyes. In Italy La Befana, an old woman on a broomstick, fills stockings on the night before Epiphany, leaving coal for the naughty.
Bringing Europe home
The easiest custom to borrow is the Lucia breakfast: saffron buns and candles on a dark morning need no special equipment. A Dutch-style gift poem works for any family that exchanges presents, and the Polish empty place is a quiet, meaningful habit for any table. When you borrow, tell children where the custom comes from; that is what keeps it from becoming mere decoration.