Santa’s terrifying\u00a0counterpart<\/h3>\n![\"Krampuslauf\"](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Krampuslauf.jpg\")
Krampuslauf | Flickr CC: tribp<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nArguably, the creepiest\u00a0trait of the otherwise Jolly Old Elf known as Santa Claus is that whole\u00a0“He sees you when you’re sleeping \/ He knows where you’re awake” thing.\u00a0We get that he’s supposed to be monitoring kids’ behavior so he can figure out who’s naughty\/nice, but it’s still unsettling. And yet…that’s nothing compared to Krampus, legendary figure of Austro<\/a>-Bavarian alpine folklore, a “half-goat, half-demon” who is said to punish misbehaving children by swatting at them with sticks. While Santa supposedly travels with a sack full of presents and a reindeer entourage, Krampus rolls with chains and a wicker basket for carting wicked kids to Hell. In certain Alpine towns in early December, adults dress up like the horned Christmas devil for a booze-fueled “Krampus run.” A quick Google image search of “Krampuslauf” will haunt your nightmares from now ’til New Year’s.<\/p>\nKentucky Fried Christmas<\/h3>\n![\"KFC](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/KFC-Japan.jpg\")
KFC in Japan | Flickr CC: Robert Sanzalone<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nKFC is the go-to meal for Christmas in Japan<\/a>. It’s not\u00a0because Colonel Sanders looks like Santa’s distant cousin from the American South (and\u00a0he definitely does) or even that many Japanese people celebrate Christmas in the\u00a0religious\u00a0sense. (The country has only a small percentage of Christians.) Rather, it’s the result of good old-fashioned advertising.\u00a0A\u00a01974 marketing campaign declaring\u00a0\u201cKurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!\u201d\u2014”Kentucky for Christmas!”\u2014promoted a bucket of fried chicken\u00a0as the all-American\u00a0meal of choice for the\u00a0holiday. Now lines snake out the door of the franchise around Christmastime, and many Japanese families will order special KFC meals\u2014a party barrel might\u00a0come with cake and ice cream\u2014as early as October.<\/p>\nSkating to Christmas mass<\/h3>\n
![\"roller-skates\"](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/roller-skates.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
In Venezuela, an early-morning, music-centric Christmas mass called Misa de Aguinaldo is\u00a0held every day starting on\u00a0December\u00a016, culminating in a midnight mass on December 24 called Misa de Gallo.\u00a0Many\u00a0Venezuelans attend at least one of the nine carol services, if not all. Fireworks go\u00a0off and bells are rung to call\u00a0congregants to church\u00a0in the wee hours of the morning. The capital city of Caracas<\/a> provides an\u00a0extra incentive to get up\u00a0before dawn\u00a0(and simultaneously\u00a0Starlight Express-<\/em>yourself): The streets are closed until 8am during the Christmas season so that residents can safely roller skate\u00a0to mass.<\/p>\nALSO:<\/strong> Ho, ho holy cow! Save big by joining Orbitz Rewards!<\/a><\/p>\nFind\u00a0the pickle<\/h3>\n![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/christmas-pickle.jpg\")
Christmas Pickle | Flickr CC: Tricia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nWhat seems to have started due to fake history\u00a0has become a big dill (groan<\/em>)\u00a0in certain American homes: the Christmas pickle.\u00a0In the late 19th century, Woolworth stores began selling\u00a0glass ornaments imported from Germany, many of them\u00a0fruit and vegetable shaped. Among the selection? Pickles. Seeing an opportunity, someone\u2014a pickle-ornament peddler perhaps?\u2014invented a story about\u00a0how it was\u00a0German<\/a> tradition to hang the\u00a0pickle ornament last on the Christmas tree, and whichever child found it hidden among the boughs received an extra present. (So maybe an enterprising\u00a0kid invented it.)\u00a0Germany\u00a0doesn’t actually observe this custom. But that doesn’t stop\u00a0Berrien Springs, Michigan,\u00a0from celebrating\u00a0its annual Christmas Pickle Festival every December, replete with\u00a0a\u00a0pickle parade led by the Grand Dillmeister.<\/p>\nA log that “poos” presents<\/h3>\n
Krampuslauf | Flickr CC: tribp<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Arguably, the creepiest\u00a0trait of the otherwise Jolly Old Elf known as Santa Claus is that whole\u00a0“He sees you when you’re sleeping \/ He knows where you’re awake” thing.\u00a0We get that he’s supposed to be monitoring kids’ behavior so he can figure out who’s naughty\/nice, but it’s still unsettling. And yet…that’s nothing compared to Krampus, legendary figure of Austro<\/a>-Bavarian alpine folklore, a “half-goat, half-demon” who is said to punish misbehaving children by swatting at them with sticks. While Santa supposedly travels with a sack full of presents and a reindeer entourage, Krampus rolls with chains and a wicker basket for carting wicked kids to Hell. In certain Alpine towns in early December, adults dress up like the horned Christmas devil for a booze-fueled “Krampus run.” A quick Google image search of “Krampuslauf” will haunt your nightmares from now ’til New Year’s.<\/p>\n KFC in Japan | Flickr CC: Robert Sanzalone<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n KFC is the go-to meal for Christmas in Japan<\/a>. It’s not\u00a0because Colonel Sanders looks like Santa’s distant cousin from the American South (and\u00a0he definitely does) or even that many Japanese people celebrate Christmas in the\u00a0religious\u00a0sense. (The country has only a small percentage of Christians.) Rather, it’s the result of good old-fashioned advertising.\u00a0A\u00a01974 marketing campaign declaring\u00a0\u201cKurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!\u201d\u2014”Kentucky for Christmas!”\u2014promoted a bucket of fried chicken\u00a0as the all-American\u00a0meal of choice for the\u00a0holiday. Now lines snake out the door of the franchise around Christmastime, and many Japanese families will order special KFC meals\u2014a party barrel might\u00a0come with cake and ice cream\u2014as early as October.<\/p>\n In Venezuela, an early-morning, music-centric Christmas mass called Misa de Aguinaldo is\u00a0held every day starting on\u00a0December\u00a016, culminating in a midnight mass on December 24 called Misa de Gallo.\u00a0Many\u00a0Venezuelans attend at least one of the nine carol services, if not all. Fireworks go\u00a0off and bells are rung to call\u00a0congregants to church\u00a0in the wee hours of the morning. The capital city of Caracas<\/a> provides an\u00a0extra incentive to get up\u00a0before dawn\u00a0(and simultaneously\u00a0Starlight Express-<\/em>yourself): The streets are closed until 8am during the Christmas season so that residents can safely roller skate\u00a0to mass.<\/p>\n ALSO:<\/strong> Ho, ho holy cow! Save big by joining Orbitz Rewards!<\/a><\/p>\n Christmas Pickle | Flickr CC: Tricia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n What seems to have started due to fake history\u00a0has become a big dill (groan<\/em>)\u00a0in certain American homes: the Christmas pickle.\u00a0In the late 19th century, Woolworth stores began selling\u00a0glass ornaments imported from Germany, many of them\u00a0fruit and vegetable shaped. Among the selection? Pickles. Seeing an opportunity, someone\u2014a pickle-ornament peddler perhaps?\u2014invented a story about\u00a0how it was\u00a0German<\/a> tradition to hang the\u00a0pickle ornament last on the Christmas tree, and whichever child found it hidden among the boughs received an extra present. (So maybe an enterprising\u00a0kid invented it.)\u00a0Germany\u00a0doesn’t actually observe this custom. But that doesn’t stop\u00a0Berrien Springs, Michigan,\u00a0from celebrating\u00a0its annual Christmas Pickle Festival every December, replete with\u00a0a\u00a0pickle parade led by the Grand Dillmeister.<\/p>\nKentucky Fried Christmas<\/h3>\n
Skating to Christmas mass<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nFind\u00a0the pickle<\/h3>\n
A log that “poos” presents<\/h3>\n
![\"Tio](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tio-de-Nadal.jpg\")
![\"Orbitz,](\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/OrbitzApp.jpeg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pixel.newscred.com\/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT1jYzZjNzZjMGQxNzE2MDIwNzM4NTFlYTNjZDIyZDdjOA==\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"