Twas the Night Before Christmas...(and we made radish people?)

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

(and we made radish people?)

As Erik, my partner in crime, and I sat around the Christmas tree counting our gifts I couldn't help but look at my plastic tree and wonder: why is this fabricated bush giving me the holiday spirit? Is it not a little strange to hang lights on a forest friend, removing it from it's native land for me to put ornaments on and stick packages underneath (well, mine actually came from some kind of assembly plant in China, but still). I was going to research the origin of the Christmas tree, but that's so been there done that. In lieu of keeping with a Christmas theme, I decided to look at a few other culture's traditions.

Nativity Scene

It didn't take me long to stumble across the story of the radish people in Oaxaca, Mexico. Apparently every December 23rd the people get together and create elaborate scenes using very large radishes. The history of it relates back to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors were not only trying to convert the native people to Christianity, but also the growing of certain hometown crops. Since the people had great wood working skills they decided to have them carve radishes. These carvings soon began to furnish vegetable stalls in hopes of gathering more customers to their produce. Now, The Night of the Radishes, becomes a huge contest where the winner can walk away with over a thousand dollars. Not bad for a radish! (see NPR radish people for a more detailed account).

This next Christmas tradition is short and sweet, just the way I like them. In Japan it is customary to eat a bucket of fried KFC chicken on the big day. In fact, I read that the Japanese need to order their buckets weeks in advance to obtain them. In my town eating KFC happens only when you forgot to go to the grocery store, or you're just really wanting a digestive issue in the morning. Apparently, KFC has a major marketing campaign there and I must say that is quite a feat of commercial magic. (Watch this commercial, it's amazing: Japan KFC commercial)

I'm going to end this post with a pretty scary creature and he's called the Krampus. In Austria (or the larger Alpine region) the Krampus monster is seen as the helper to St. Nicholas; where the jolly Santa rewards good children, the "Krampus" punishes them. Now we're not talking about a slap on the wrist kinda discipline, certainly nothing like getting a lump of coal that American kids receive, we're talking about a monster who will grab you and take you to his lair if you are naughty. The Krampus, usually young men dressed up in elaborate demonic costumes, are seen roaming the streets on December fifth, scaring young children with rust chains and bells (or at least that is what I have read so far). These creatures sure do evoke that holiday spirit. I was going to write about the icelandic yule tide cat who attacks naughty children, but this creature would be enough to create some 'very' well-behaved kids. I'm pretty sure if I lived in Austria December 25th would not be worth having to go through December 5th! (I just have to share the song of Krampus, wow: The Krampus Song)