Christmas is celebrated all over the world, but every community has developed its own unique holiday traditions.
Some are sweet, but others strike us as downright strange.
We've gathered up some of our favorite Christmas traditions from around the globe. Did we leave yours out? Let us know in the comments.
Meredith Galante contributed to this post.
In Australia, Santa Claus pulls up on a surfboard.
It's summer down under on Christmas Day. Temperatures in December are between 68 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
So Santa often pulls up on the beach on his surfboard. Carolers also gather in masse in major cities to sing by candlelight, and people decorate their homes with "Christmas Bush," a native plant.
In Austria, young men dress up as the Krampus and roam the streets to frighten children.
In Austria, December is a time for festive events and frights.
Young men walk around dressed up as the Krampus, a devil-demon creature equipped with cowbells and rods, scaring adults and children.
The country is also known for its famed Christmas markets.
In the Czech Republic, women submerge a branch of a cherry tree under water. If it blooms they will marry the next year.
On Dec. 4, women in the Czech Republic place a cherry twig under water. If it blooms before Christmas Eve it means she will marry in the next year.
Another marriage-related superstition in the Czech Republic is that if a woman throws a show over her shoulder on Christmas day and it points to the door, she will soon be wed.
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