#christmas-traditions

#christmas-traditions

She'd recently turned 11, and in my heart, I knew she no longer believed in Santa. "Mom! Don't forget, I want Monopoly," she casually called back. I scrunched my eyelids together, holding back hot tears. Santa, the only arbiter of Christmas gifts in our household, was also the magic link to my Italian Catholic childhood for me and for my Jewish children, whom I'm raising in my husband's faith.

Whether you're driving home for the holidays, travelling to far-flung places or staying cosy at home, one of the great joys of Christmas is making memories and indulging in nostalgic traditions. All over the globe, different countries and cultures celebrate the season in different ways, marking the holiday with long-established rites and rituals or merging heritage to create beautiful new traditions. Below, we run through some of our favourite Christmas traditions around the world, and ask the Traveller editors about their own personal festive rituals. From seafood feasts on Christmas day in Australia to surfing Santa's taking to the waves in SoCal, these are the most wholesome traditions for some festive joy this season.