Top 10 Bizarre Christmas Traditions
十大怪异的圣诞传统
Christmastime is here. We all have our own holiday traditions – in my family we watch a Christmas movie on Christmas Eve and stuff our faces. Your family might do something different. Shoot, you might even be from another country, where there are what seem (to us) like some pretty wacky traditions. Some you might like to try…some you might want to skip.
马上就到圣诞节了。我们都有自己的节日传统——我家喜欢在平安夜看个关于圣诞的电影和吃东西。你们家的传统或许不尽相同。例如，你可能来自别的国家，你那或许会有些怪异的传统，有些你会想尝试下，有些你或许看都不想看。
10. Kiviak – Dig Up the Dead Bird
For instance, you might want to skip Kiviak. What’s that, you ask? Well.
Kiviak
is a whole auk (don’t worry, I had to look it up too – it’s a bird) that is wrapped in seal skin and buried under a rock in the frost several months before Christmas. The Christmas tradition is to dig up the kiviak, squeeze out the rotted guts, and then eat the auk. No, I’m not kidding. According to the few reports we could find, it smells a lot like Stilton cheese and tastes really tangy. We’ll take your word for it, Greenland.
10 Kiviak——从死鸟身上提取的
例如，你或许想跳过Kiviak这一段。那是什么，你或许会问？嗯，Kiviak是一种海燕（别急，我也不了解，得查字典——总之它是种鸟），圣诞的前几个月人们就用一块海豹皮裹着把它埋在森林的某块石头下。当地的圣诞传统就是在圣诞节挖出事先埋好的海燕，取出腐臭的内脏再吃掉只它。没，我没开玩笑！根据我们能找到的少量资源，它闻起来有点像新提尔顿干酪，尝起来很香浓。这一圣诞传统源于格陵兰。
9. Hiding Your Brooms
Bad witches and evil spirits could exist here as well as Norway. Norway takes preventative measures on Christmas Eve, when evil baddies and baddie witches might try to make off with your brooms. Hide all your brooms! Apparently, Christmas Eve is a prime broom-joyriding time in Norway. It could be here, too!
9 藏好你的扫把
挪威和这都有邪恶的女巫和幽灵。坏幽灵和恶女巫会用扫把逃走，所以挪威人都会在平安夜搞好防御工作。藏起所有扫把！显然，在挪威平安夜是骑扫把兜风的绝妙时间。这里也可以啊！
8. Kallikantzaroi & Pig Jaw Protection
Similarly, in Greece there is a need to ward off bad spirits. Kallikantzaroi are evil spirits that live deep inside the earth most of the year, but wreak havoc on Greek homes over the Christmas holiday. There are lots of ways to ward off these pests, which are described differently at every turn. Some say they look like people, some say they look like very tall things that wear metal shoes. I happen to like the description that says they have monkey arms and red eyes and are covered in fur. Just hang a pig jaw inside the chimney to keep them from coming down it.
8 恶灵Kallikantzaroi 和辟邪猪头
在希腊同样必须避开恶灵。恶灵Kallikantzaroi长年住在地下，但是他们会在圣诞节这天上来大肆破坏。阻止恶灵捣乱的方法很多，但是各地的恶灵都不一样。有人说他们长得像人；有人说他们是穿着金属鞋的长东西；有人还说他们手臂和猴子一样长，眼睛通红，还满身的毛，这个我很喜欢。只要在烟窗里挂个猪头就能阻止他们进来捣乱。
7. Skating to Church 7 溜冰去教堂
On a lighter note, the capital city of Venezuela has a neat tradition. The streets in Caracas are closed off in order to allow churchgoers to get there by roller-skate. Nothing like getting a little cardio in before a church service.
据说委内瑞拉的首都有一个整洁的传统来庆祝圣诞。加拉加斯(委内瑞拉的首都)的街道全部封锁以便人们能滑旱冰去教堂。在礼拜之前会有点像是做有氧运动。
6. Stirring the Pudding
Pudding is very important in the Christmas traditions of Great Britain. If you make the pudding right, it can bring you luck as well. Legend has it if you mix your pudding in a clockwise direction and make a wish the wish will come true. Just make sure everyone in the family gets a whirl – it’s rude to keep all the wishes for yourself.
6 搅拌布丁
在英国的圣诞传统中布丁占据着重要一席。合适的布丁会给你带来好运。传说按顺时针搅拌布丁并许愿，愿望就会实现。确保家里的每一个人都能轮到，毕竟一个人独享好事不怎么好。
5. Lose a Shoe, Gain a Man
Tired of being single? If you’re a woman you can do this simple Christmas Eve tradition from the Czech Republic. Just go outside in the daytime, stand with your back to your door, and toss one of your shoes over your shoulder. If it lands with the toe facing the door, it means you’ll get married within the year. If you aren’t tired of being single try it anyway. If the heel faces the door then you’re in luck!
5 丢只鞋，得个男人
厌倦单身了吗？如果你是女性，或许你可以试试捷克这个简单的平安夜传统。在白天走出家门，背靠着大门，并且将一只鞋子扔过肩高。落地后，如果鞋尖朝着门，那意味着你可以在一年内把自己嫁出去。如果你并不讨厌单身，试试也无妨。如果鞋跟朝门，那么你幸运了。
4. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
If luck is what you’re seeking, you should take a hint from the folks in Portugal. The ‘consoda’ feast takes place Christmas Day. You set extra places at your dinner table for the souls of the dead. Offer them food and they will bring you luck throughout the year.
4 猜谁回来吃晚餐？
如果你求的是幸运，你可以从葡萄牙人那里得到点启示。在圣诞节举行“consoda”晚宴，并留几个空位给逝去的亲人。为他们准备食物，他们会给你全年都带来好运。
3. Don’t Throw Out That Horse Skull Just Yet…
Or, if you’re looking to make some extra cash you can follow this old tradition from Wales called the Mari Lwyd (Venerable Mary). It’s easy. Just find a horse skull, because you’ll need that. Also, make yourself a horsehair sheet (maybe out of the salvaged hair of the horse you get the skull from) because you’ll need that, too. Get yourself some mummers and a bucket. Now, go out about the town covered in the horsehair sheet holding the horse’s head up on a pike. Make the horse’s skeletal mouth bite people you meet in the street. If it “bites” them, they have to pay a fine. Put the money in the bucket. At the end you have a bucket of money, or a horse head on a pike in a very uncomfortable place.
3 不要扔掉马头盖骨
如果你想挣点外快，试试威尔士这个称为Mari Lwyd的古老传统吧（庄严玛丽）。这传统很简单。一、找块马的头盖骨，因为你会用到。二、找块马毛床单，这个你也会用到（那头盖骨哪来的，从那弄点废弃的马毛就行了）。三、找些铃铛和一只桶。现在用长矛举着披着马毛床单的马头去游街吧。如果这匹马“咬”了谁，那么他就得交点罚金，把钱放到桶里。最后你能得到一桶钱，或是一个歪七歪八矗在长矛上的马头。
2. Poop Log
Both of the top two bizarre Christmas traditions come from Catalonia, Spain. The first is a tradition that is fun for the whole family. Get a log. Hollow out the log. Put a face on the log, and some arms and legs. Make it look like a reindeer or a dog or something. Start “feeding” the log on December 8th. It should be full of candy and toys and stuff by Christmas. Then, beat the log (or “Caga Tio”) until he “poops” out all the goodies. If the stuff won’t come out, there is a song you can sing. It translates to “Poop log, poop turron, hazelnuts and cottage cheese, if you don’t poop well, I’ll hit you with a stick, poop log!”
2 Poop 木桩
最怪异的两项圣诞传统都来西班牙的自加泰罗尼亚。第一个传统是全家人的娱乐。找一节大木桩，凿空。给木桩画个脸，并安上四肢。把他弄得像只驯鹿，一只狗或是其他东西。从12月8日开始“喂养”这块原木。圣诞节时它最好是填满了糖果、娃娃或是其他东西。然后敲打木桩直到她吐出所有东西。如果她不吐东西，你可以唱首歌。歌词是“Poop log, poop turron, hazelnuts and cottage cheese, if you don’t poop well, I’ll hit you with a stick, poop log!”
1. El Caganer – The Great Defecator
His name is El Caganer. He’s a figurine for your nativity scene. He’s a red-capped peasant, or a monk, or another type of figure (nowadays you can buy them of famous people). You place him a little bit away from the rest of the figures in your nativity scene. Because he’s crapping. Yep. El Caganer translates to “the great defecator” in Catalonian. It’s not sacrilegious – the “fertilizer” means the year will yield a good harvest. If not, it’s a heck of a conversation piece.
1. El Caganer——伟大的澄清者
他的名字是El Caganer。他是耶稣诞生的雕塑。雕塑是个戴着红帽子的农民，和尚或其他形象。（现在你可以买到一些名人的雕塑）你可以把它同其他耶稣诞生的雕塑分开放，因为这雕塑就是狗屎。在加泰罗尼亚，El Caganer被译为“伟大的澄清者”。这不是亵渎神明——“肥料”意味着来年将会有个好收成。如果收成不好，那将成为众人臭骂的对象。
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