Glittering pine bushes, Santa Claus and stockings are a part of many individuals’s concepts of Christmas, however the vacation can look vastly completely different around the globe.

From Europe to Asia to the depths of Antarctica, here is how Christmas is widely known in 9 places around the world — and one place orbiting around the world.

Like different Europeans, Croatians additionally rejoice St. Nicholas Day in early December, whereby kids depart their sneakers out, anticipating St. Nick to go away them candies and small presents, according to the Christmas resource website St. Nicholas Center.

“As a child I used to leave out a shoe on the window,” mentioned Antonio Zdunich, who was born in Croatia. “Someone would fill it up with gifts and candy during the night, and I would wake up and be all happy,”

Many households in Croatia plant wheat on Dec. 13 with the perception that if it grows nicely, the subsequent 12 months can be affluent for them, he mentioned.

They rejoice with Donald Duck too. Last 12 months, greater than 4.5 million individuals — almost half of Sweden’s population — watched the 1958 Disney particular “From All of Us to All of You,” in line with the English-language European information community, The Local. The present has aired there yearly since 1959.

Popular meals throughout this time of the 12 months are meatballs, ham, smoked or marinated salmon, pickled herring and a potato and anchovy casserole known as Jansson’s temptation, mentioned Kerttu.

Many Japanese individuals celebrate the holiday much like Valentine’s Day, with {couples} spending the day collectively, in line with JR Pass, a Japanese rail journey firm. It is frequent for individuals to go on dinner dates and stroll around taking a look at Christmas lights with their companions.

One of the most mentioned traditions — a minimum of outdoors of Japan — is the tradition’s fascination with having fried rooster for Christmas, usually from the U.S. quick meals chain KFC.

A 1974 vacation advertising marketing campaign known as “Kentucky Christmas” launched a apply that’s now celebrated by hundreds of thousands of Japanese individuals, mentioned Tatsuya Noguchi, a KFC Japan consultant.

According to Noguchi, pre-orders for meals like the “Party Barrel” or “Christmas Pack” start around seven weeks in advance. The restaurant chain additionally sees its highest gross sales of the 12 months between Dec. 23 and 25, he mentioned.

“Every year, the busiest day is Dec. 24 — which is about five to 10 times busier than the annual average,” mentioned Noguchi.

Some 92% of the Philippines’ 110 million people are Christian. Christmas is the most necessary time of the 12 months in the Philippines, and the nation is alleged to rejoice the vacation longer than anyplace else — from September to January.

“Like many Latin cultures, my family in the Philippines celebrates Nochebuena, which is a big celebration on the night of Christmas Eve,” mentioned Siena Klinzing, who’s half-Filipino. “It involves getting together with family, having a big feast and sharing gifts.”

She mentioned her household stays up, a lot like New Year’s Eve, to want everybody “Merry Christmas” as quickly as the clock strikes midnight, she added.

Another necessary custom is Simbang Gabi, which implies “mass at night,” the place individuals get up earlier than daybreak to attend mass for 9 days from Dec. 16 to 24. It is believed that those that full all 9 days can ask for a blessing, Klinzing mentioned.

Malls and hotels are often heavily decorated with Christmas bushes that span a number of flooring, in line with Visit Dubai, the emirate’s official tourism web site.

Christmas markets, performances and particular vacation menus at eating places are additionally frequent throughout December.

“Every night, people form a singing procession that is meant to represent Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem,” mentioned Mexican food blogger Mely Martinez.

Those processions usually culminate at somebody’s home, the place everybody gathers for a celebration with meals resembling tamales, Christmas punch and candies, she mentioned. Other common Christmas meals embody pozole, candy fried dough fritters known as bunuelos, and a scorching chocolate drink known as champurrado, Martinez mentioned.

Currently, the South Pole is dwelling to 70 everlasting analysis stations representing 29 completely different nations, according to Oceanwide Expeditions, an Arctic and Antarctic tour firm.

Since the ordinary commotion of Christmas is lacking, stations discover inventive methods to rejoice amongst colleagues.

“Each of our five Antarctic research stations celebrates Christmas in their own way, dependent on the weather,” mentioned Kathleen Maclean, a consultant of the British Antarctic Survey. Some could roast a turkey and eat tinned and frozen greens, whereas others sing carols, watch Christmas movies and play board video games, she mentioned.

Despite the festivities, analysis continues since “long-term monitoring data still needs to be collected,” mentioned Maclean.

According to NASA’s web site, astronauts aboard the International Space Center have celebrated Christmas, Hanukah and New Years for the previous 21 years and have developed a number of traditions alongside the manner.

Celebrations on the ISS embody adorning the station, having fun with plastic pouch variations of conventional meals like turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and cookies, and filming movies of vacation greetings that are despatched again to earth.

Christmas additionally comes twice on the Space Station because it falls on Jan. 7 on the Russian Orthodox calendar, which many Russian astronauts comply with.