These photos show the many ways Christmas is celebrated around the world

For many, Christmas is simply a clip of acquisition exchanges, log cakes and turkey dinners.

But that's not the lawsuit everywhere.

In a yearly series, CNBC Travel highlights divers Christmas celebrations astir the world.

Christmas comes with a spooky twist successful Austria, Germany and different Alpine countries that observe St. Nicholas Day during the archetypal week of December.

"Krampuslauf," which translates to "Krampus run" successful German, is an yearly parade typically held connected Dec. 5 oregon 6 wherever participants formal up arsenic the half-goat, half-demon Krampus to frighten onlookers.

As fable has it, Krampus accompanies St. Nick connected his travel to springiness well-behaved children gifts, according to Helen Bitschnau, a typical of the Austrian National Tourist Office.

Children who person been bad, however, look Krampus' wrath. "The relation of the Krampus is to punish everything atrocious by means of a rod oregon a horse's tail," Bitschnau said.

A premix of anticipation, excitement and immoderate nervousness fills the aerial connected Krampuslauf, Bitschnau said.

"If you person been bully passim the twelvemonth — determination is truly thing to beryllium disquieted about," she said.

Bitschnau added that she has "always been terrified of Krampus."

"Now I similar to spell to the Krampuslauf successful my hometown, due to the fact that I cognize each the radical down the Krampus costumes [which] makes it a small little scary for me."

Every twelvemonth connected Dec. 23, participants gather successful Oaxaca's main square to participate delicately carved radishes into the "Night of the Radishes" competition.

These are nary bite-sized radishes — they tin beryllium as ample arsenic a child's leg.

"Artists walk full days carving the radishes for the competition, soaking them perpetually truthful they won't adust out," said Ileana Jimenez, who was calved and raised successful Oaxaca.

"There are queues of radical patiently waiting for their crook to spell successful and respect the splendid occupation [of] the Oaxacan artisans," she said.

The ambiance astatine the Zocalo, Oaxaca's municipality square, is jubilant with unrecorded music, fireworks and swarms of locals and tourists, said Jimenez.

"It's a enactment that keeps people's spirits up."

Standing 42 feet gangly and weighing much than 7,000 pounds, a monolithic handmade straw goat is an yearly Christmas spectacle successful the Swedish metropolis of Gavle.

This year's goat took much than 1,000 hours to build, said Anna-Karin Niemann, a spokesperson for the peculiar committee that protects the goat.

Though it's a transgression to pain oregon destruct it, the goat of Gavle has been subjected to numerous arson attacks since the archetypal 1 was built successful 1966.

The arsonist who broke the past goat's four-year endurance streak was sentenced to six months successful situation and ordered to wage 109,000 Swedish kronor ($10,450) successful damages, according to a Swedish quality outlet.

Sweden's treasured goat fig is built with straw contempt its flammability, due to the fact that "it's tradition," Niemann said.

"He means a batch for america successful Gavle, and he's a large portion of the Christmas spirit," she said.

Miniature versions of the goat marque for amusive souvenirs oregon Christmas ornaments for travelers, said Mark Wolters, the creator of the fashionable question YouTube transmission Wolters World.

Those funny successful however this year's goat is doing tin observe it done a live webcam.

Sales from the Christmas marketplace provided the refugees, astir of whom were female, with income to marque ends meet, said Tarik Argaz, a typical of the U.N. Refugee Agency.

The marketplace was attended by locals, tourists, and the Ukrainian community, helium said.

It was an accidental to showcase the "great endowment wrong the exile community," Argaz said, adding that the thought for the lawsuit was calved erstwhile U.N. unit members were fixed an "intricately painted" stone by 1 of the residents astatine a corporate center, which is an accommodation that houses ample numbers of refugees.

During the festive season, houses successful the Philippines are decorated with star-shaped lanterns called "parol," said question blogger Kach Umandap, who was calved and raised successful the Philippines.

Parols were primitively utilized to airy the mode for the contented of Simbang Gabi, a nine-day play of pre-dawn masses held from Dec. 16 to 24 — arsenic good arsenic midnight wide connected Christmas Eve, called Misa de Gallo, Umandap said.

"Now, the lanterns are utilized arsenic decorations," Umandap said. "Parol symbolizes the triumph of airy implicit acheronian and hope."

Some 90% of radical surviving successful the Philippines place arsenic Christians — mostly Catholic — according to Harvard Divinity School. The Philippines remains the lone Asian state wherever Christianity is the nationalist religion.

Many Filipinos usage materials similar shells, solid and LED lights to marque parols brighter and much colorful, she said.

Umandap, who present lives successful Europe, said the lanterns punctual her of home.

"When I spot them, they [give] maine anticipation that immoderate struggles I encounter, they tin beryllium conquered," she said.

Brazilians emotion their parties, said Bruna Venturinelli, writer of the Brazilian blog I Heart Brazil. That's wherefore their Christmas parades are "contagiously fun" with "lots of laughter and joy," she said.

Dressed-up characters creation alongside Santa and his elves, portion interacting with children successful the crowds, she said.

"There are aggregate Christmas parades passim the districts, which are organized by the metropolis assembly oregon a backstage instauration to beforehand the opening of their festive season, similar the buying promenade parade depicted successful the picture," she said.

"If I'm successful Brazil during Christmas, I instrumentality my nephew and niece to a Christmas parade, and we person a blast! ... They besides instrumentality the accidental to accidental they wrote Santa a missive and behaved good done the year, though the past portion is not 100% true."

Many radical successful Brazil volition observe Christmas Eve with their household by sharing a Chester chicken, she said.

On Christmas Day, radical stitchery again to person leftovers for luncheon portion listening to Brazilian music, she said.

The modern contented of penning letters to Santa whitethorn person been started by American Fanny Longfellow, woman of writer Henry Wadsworth, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

But successful the beginning, it was Santa who wrote to the children, alternatively than the different mode around.

Longfellow wrote letters to her 3 children astir their behaviour during the past year, according to the magazine.

In 1 of Longfellow's letters, dating to 1853, "Santa" said: "[Y]ou person picked up immoderate naughty words which I anticipation you volition propulsion distant arsenic you would sour oregon bitter fruit," according to the article.

As the signifier caught on, parents began leaving letters from Santa by the fireplace oregon successful a stocking, wherever their children would pen replies successful return, it said.

Today, the contented of penning to Santa has expanded beyond the home.

In the United States, the U.S Postal Service runs an yearly programme called Operation Santa wherever children and families successful request tin constitute anonymous letters to Santa astir what they would similar for Christmas. These letters are "adopted" by radical astir the country, who bargain and vessel the requested gifts to the families, according to the USPS.

The United Kingdom's postal service, Royal Mail, provides personalized replies to children who constitute to "Father Christmas."

But immoderate parents are utilizing different avenues to interaction Santa, including apps and adjacent balloons.

In 2021, a brace of four-year-old twins successful Kansas, United States, released balloons that contained letters to Santa. A mates surviving successful Louisiana recovered one, and done the assistance of donations, fulfilled the twin's Christmas privation lists, which included giving them a puppy.