Japan
日本
While most Japanese residents are not Christian， the majority of people still celebrate Christmas just for the fun of it. Unsurprisingly， the rituals are slightly different than those we are used to. Because KFC has marketed the idea that fried chicken is the traditional meal for the holidays， the restaurants are so busy on Christmas Day that reservations are required.
尽管大多数日本人都不是基督徒，但绝大多数人都图个好玩儿来庆祝圣诞节。仪式跟我们所熟知的稍有不同，这不足为奇。由于肯德基已经推广了“炸鸡是圣诞传统小吃”这一概念，节日当天肯德基餐馆业务太繁忙，顾客需要预订才能买到炸鸡。
Most of the holiday celebrations revolve around romantic love more than family relationships and bakeries even sell cakes for sweethearts.
节日庆祝活动大多以浪漫爱情为主题，而非家庭亲情。面包店甚至会给甜食控们提供蛋糕。
Children still have a Santa figure though， only in this case， he is a traditional Japanese god who is known for his generosity. Hoteiosho is a heavy-set Buddhist priest who carries a large sack of presents. Children know they have to be good because Hoteiosho has eyes in the back of his head.
但是孩子们还是有一个圣诞老人形象（Hoteiosho）的。他是传统的日本神，以慷慨著称。他的形象是一个身材魁梧的佛教徒，背着一大麻袋礼物。孩子们都知道自己得好好表现，因为圣诞老人后脑勺上长了眼睛。
Ukraine
乌克兰
While the story about German families hiding a pickle ornament on their tree is false， Ukrainians actually do hide a spider web ornament on their tree and it is supposed to be good luck for the person who finds it. The story behind the tradition is that an old widow had no money to decorate her tree and went to bed upset that her children would have an undecorated tree the next day. While she was asleep， a spider decorated the tree with a beautiful web. When the first light of day hit the webs， they turned to silver and gold and the widow and her children never went longing again.
尽管德国家庭在树上藏泡菜装饰物的故事是假的，但乌克兰人事实上的确会在树上藏一个蜘蛛网装饰物，据说这可以为找到它的人带来好运。这个传统背后的故事是，有一个老寡妇没有钱来装饰圣诞树，她沮丧地上床睡觉，因为她的孩子第二天只能得到一颗没有任何装饰的树。然而，当她醒来时，一只蜘蛛用一张漂亮的网装饰了圣诞树。当第一缕晨光照到网上时，网变成了银子和金子，老妇人和她的孩子从此再也不愁钱花了。
Norway
挪威
Norwegian folklore says that Christmas Eve is kind of like Halloween and brings about a number of evil spirits and witches. The brooms of the houses are hidden to keep them away from witches and men will often go outside and shoot their guns to ward off evil spirits.
挪威的民间故事说平安夜类似于万圣节，会招进一些邪恶的精灵和女巫。屋里的扫把都被藏起来了，来防止女巫们作恶。男士通常会出门放几枪，来祛除邪恶的精灵。
Pagan winter celebrations used to revolve around Thor’s pet goat and a person would arrive at the parties wearing a goatskin and carrying a goat head. He would eventually fake his death and then return to life. As Christianity started to take over the area， the goat was recast as a form of the devil and he was eventually banned.
无神论者的圣诞庆祝过去都是以托尔（Thor）的宠物羊和一位穿着羊皮、拿着羊头出现在聚会上的人为主题。这个人会诈死，然后复生。随着基督教在挪威的盛行，山羊被重新定义为一种邪恶的化身，这个人最终也被禁止在故事中流传。
Since then， the goat character was morphed into Julebukk， a “yule goat.” The new story of the goat involved him traveling from door to door where he would get gifts for keeping the evil spirits away. Nowadays， kids dress up and play the role of the Julebukk， where they get treats as they visit the houses.
自那以后，“山羊人”演变为“圣诞羊”（Julebukk）。在新故事中，他挨家挨户的拜访，并且会因祛除邪恶精灵而得到礼物。如今，孩子们会打扮得像“圣诞羊”，也会像他那样在拜访每家每户得到奖赏。
Spain
西班牙
Spain’s celebrations vary greatly depending on the region. In the Basque regions， the Santa role is filled by Olentzero， a fat man in a beret who smokes a pipe. He used to be an enforcer against naughty children who was said to throw a sickle down the chimney to cut the throats of kids who didn’t sleep. Nowadays though， he is a positive character like Santa that only brings good presents.
西班牙的庆祝风俗不同地区大不相同。在斯巴达地区，圣诞老人名叫奥林泽罗（Olentzero），是一个戴着四角帽、抽着大烟斗的胖老人。他过去的职责是惩罚淘气包，据说他会从烟囱里扔下镰刀，切断不睡觉的小孩的喉咙。但如今，他是像圣诞老人那样只带来好礼物的正面形象。
In the Catalan region， families “feed” a little log called a “Caga tio” every night from the 8th to the 23rd. On Christmas Eve， the family hits the log with a stick to release sweet treats that have been hidden in his hollow center. If you hadn’t guessed yet， “Caga tio” translates to “pooping log.”
在加泰罗尼亚地区，人们会从12月8号到23号一直“喂食”一块叫“察加蒂奥”（Caga tio）的原木。在平安夜，他们会用棍子敲这块原木，让藏在中空的木头中的糖果掉出来。如果你还未猜出“察加蒂奥”什么意思，它字面翻译就是“排便原木”。
The celebration ends when the log poops out something decidedly not sweet， usually a dried herring， an onion or a head of garlic. Catalans must enjoy poop jokes because aside from their pooping log， they also celebrate with a “Caganer，” a nativity scene character that is seen to be pooping in the corner of the scene.
庆祝活动的结尾就是“原木‘排’出不甜的东西，往往是干鲱鱼、洋葱或蒜头”。加泰罗尼亚人一定很享受“大便”笑话，因为除了“排便原木”，他们还庆祝一个基督诞生场景中的人物（Caganer），据说他被看到在场景的一角拉大便。
Finland
芬兰
Finnish people honor their departed loved ones on Christmas Eve by visiting the cemeteries and leaving candles on the graves of their family members. If they live too far away to visit their loved one’s graves， most graveyards have an area you can light a candle to remember those buried in other cemeteries. The soft snow and gentle glow of the candles make graveyards a very beautiful place to visit on Christmas Eve.
芬兰人会在圣诞节去墓地，并在他们家人的墓地上留下点燃的蜡烛，以此来怀念他们过世的亲人。如果他们住的太远，没办法去亲人的墓地，大多数墓地上都会有一个区域供他们怀念在其他墓地上安息的亲人们。柔软的积雪和轻柔的烛光让墓地成了一个的漂亮的平安夜拜访地。
Venezuela
委内瑞拉
Venezuelans celebrate Christmas similar to many other cultures， in that they generally go to mass early on Christmas Day. The difference is that Venezuelans go to church in roller skates. In the capital， Caracas， streets are even closed off to traffic in order to keep the skaters safe. On Christmas Eve， children tie strings to their toes and let them dangle into the street， where they are tugged on by skaters as they go by. It’s certainly a different way to wake up on Christmas morning.
委内瑞拉人庆祝圣诞的方式与很多国家都相似，他们一般都在圣诞那天一早就去做弥撒。不同的是，委内瑞拉人穿着滑冰鞋去教堂。在首都加拉加斯（Caracas），街道上甚至禁止行车，以确保滑冰者的安全。在平安夜，孩子们会在脚趾上系上绳子，并且把绳子悬到窗外。滑冰者路过时就会拽一拽。这无疑是一种独特的在圣诞节早晨醒过来的方式。
