There’s not a lot of Christmas travel cheer around this year admittedly. Boris Johnson and his government seem intent on watering down our celebrations (if not always their own). But in a typical year the run-up to Christmas can be one of the most rewarding times to get away — a chance to escape the UK and realise that not everywhere is obsessed with the tropes of Father Christmas, turkey and a weapons-grade retail onslaught. Arguably nothing says more about a country than how it tackles the festive and new year period. In that spirit we’ve unearthed some of the most endearing (and downright bonkers) traditions from other countries. Here’s how you can experience them.
1. Lump of coal for the bambini?
On Christmas Day Italians traditionally enjoy an animated game of tombola similar to bingo, along with fish for starters, a primo, or first course, of ravioli, and roast lamb or beef for the main. On January 5, the eve of Epiphany, Italian families might also expect to be visited by Befana, a witch who comes down the chimney to deliver sweets to good children and lumps of coal to bad ones. If you’re lucky Befana will sweep your floor, which is symbolic of sweeping away the problems of the year. For a warm Christmas break head to the Italian Riviera — the weather should be mild and there are fewer tourists than in the busy summer months.
Details Fourteen nights’ room only from £1,659pp, including coach transport, departing on December 22 (leger.co.uk)
2. Onsen and KFC in Japan
After a wildly successful advertising campaign in the 1970s, KFC has come to sit at the heart of the Japanese festive season, with fried chicken now commonly considered an unlikely but typical Christmas meal. Just make sure you have a reservation, as tables at the fast-food restaurant are in high demand. For a snowy Christmas go skiing at the Niseko resort on the northern island of Hokkaido, where steaming-hot onsen baths provide the perfect après-ski activity. If you’re more of a fan of Christmas on the beach, you’ll find temperatures of up to 20C in the south, particularly on the subtropical island of Okinawa.
Details Twelve nights’ room only from £6,240pp (insidejapantours.com). Fly to Tokyo
3. Beat the neighbours in Austria
On Christmas Eve the Christkind, an ephemeral embodiment of Jesus, enters people’s homes and dishes out presents. In some towns groups of children also march round people’s houses and ceremonially beat them with canes, in revenge for the massacre of baby boys under King Herod. Christmas dinner in Austria isn’t turkey but fried carp — a tradition that’s also enjoyed in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Traditionally families would buy the fish alive and keep it swimming around in the bathtub in the run-up to the feast day. Given Covid restrictions in Austria at present it might be best to target 2022. You can tick off the Christmas markets of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest with this six-day cruise along the Danube.
Details Six nights’ full board from £819pp, departing December 11, 2022, including flights (rivieratravel.co.uk)
4. The Great Wall on Christmas Day
Christmas is a relatively new phenomenon in China as Christianity continues to grow there, although for many Chinese it serves as little more than a giant shopping holiday. Having said that, starting on Christmas Day and running through to mid-January, the city of Harbin hosts its renowned ice festival, transforming into a magical kingdom of ice-sculpted palaces, statues, dragons and castles. Wendy Wu has a tour that takes in a number of big-hitters, including the Forbidden City in Beijing, a walk along the Great Wall on Christmas Day and searching for pandas in Chengdu.
Details Eleven nights’ full board from £3,090pp, including flights, departing on December 23, 2022 (wendywutours.co.uk)
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5. Beware of the Sausage-Snatcher
With elves and dancing green aurora, Iceland really ramps up the festive stakes. There are no fewer than 13 manifestations of Santa Claus, and — a bit like the seven dwarves — all are named after a defining characteristic: there’s Door-Slammer, Candle-Snatcher and Sausage-Snatcher, who steals sausages (as you do). They visit on Christmas Eve to dole out presents to the country’s 300,000-odd residents. If you’ve been bad, though, you might get a potato or, even worse, a visit from the Yule Cat. See the country’s highlights on this wintry whistle-stop tour, which includes a stay in the countryside (for prime aurora viewing) and a trip around the Golden Circle.
Details Three nights’ half-board from £861pp (discover-the-world.com). Fly to Reykjavik
6. Meet Grandfather Frost in Russia
Russians are visited on New Year’s Day by Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, and his blonde-haired granddaughter Snegurochka. Ded Moroz is usually shown wearing a long blue coat and carrying a magic staff as he does the rounds to bring presents to well-behaved children. The Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate Christmas on January 7 in 2022, with fortune-telling and a meal including sauerkraut and gherkins, followed by an excruciatingly cold outdoor swim. Russian winters are bitter, and visitors should expect temperatures well below zero. On the plus side everywhere looks better with a dusting of snow, right? Try Intrepid Travel’s twin-centre trip taking in the magnificent cities of St Petersburg and Moscow.
Details Seven nights’ room only from £1,990pp, departing on December 23, 2022 (intrepidtravel.com). Fly to Moscow
7. Running hot and cold in Finland
Christmas celebrations in the “home of Santa”, as Finns would have it, take place on December 24, kicking off with a breakfast of rice porridge and plum juice. Typically families will gather around their Christmas tree drinking glögi, or mulled wine, with walks through the snowy darkness to light candles on the graves of the deceased. The best way to warm up afterwards is to bask in the sauna (birch-twig self-flagellation optional), then race outside and plunge into the snow to cool off. Santa visits in the evening bearing gifts, his sleigh towed by reindeer. The day ends with carols at midnight Mass. Enjoy your own Finnish Christmas on a family break to Saariselka, deep inside the Arctic Circle, with opportunities for tobogganing, husky-driving and ice-fishing.
Details Four nights’ half-board from £1,639pp, including flights from Bristol, departing on December 23, 2022 (santaslapland.com)
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