In Ukraine, as soon as you sit down to the dinner table, get comfortable—because you’ll be here for a while. Ukrainians serve a whopping 12 courses during their traditional Christmas feasts, and each one is dedicated to one of Jesus’ apostles.

“In Brazil, people usually go to the beach since it’s the summer there,” says Hudson Bohr, a Brazilian photographer based in NYC. “Immediately after midnight, you’re supposed to jump seven waves while making seven wishes.” The tradition is rooted in paying homage to Yemanja, the goddess of water. “Before you get in the water, you’re supposed to wear all white, as it symbolizes purity,” he explains.

Mexico

The Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in Mexico is a culturally rich tradition akin to Halloween that takes place on November 1 and 2. Despite the name, the Day of the Dead is all about celebrating life, joy and colour. Its essence is to demonstrate love and respect for the spirits of departed family members.

Similar to other Halloween traditions around the world, Day of the Dead celebrations include activities like dressing in bright makeup and dazzling costumes, throwing parades, singing and dancing. However, what marks this holiday as especially unique is the custom of making offerings to loved ones. Families build temporary altars as a tribute to deceased ancestors. The altars are laid with confections like sugar skulls and bottles of tequila, as well as marigolds and photographs of the lost. It is said that these offerings will attract the spirits to the altars to be reunited with the living family.

How’s this for a super-fun Christmas tradition? In Caracas, Venezuela, residents don’t head to church services in cars—but on roller skates. There are actually so many people who participate in this tradition that several city streets are closed to traffic on Christmas morning.

The Spanish start off their new year by eating 12 grapes, which symbolize each strike of the clock. The tradition of las doce uvas de la suerte started in the late 19th century and is believed to ward off evil while boosting your chances of a prosperous and lucky new year. However, this will work only if you manage to eat all of the grapes in a matter of seconds since they need to be gone by the time the clock finishes striking midnight.

Fet Gede, or the Festival of the Dead, has all the verve of Halloween tradition, but with a completely different cultural backdrop. On November 1 and 2, Haitian practitioners of Voodoo, Vodouisants, pay their respects to Baron Samedi, father of the deceased spirits. Vodouisants dance in the streets to commune with their dead and walk through graveyards where they ‘feed’ their ancestors with food from their own table. Fet Gede is occasionally described as the Voodoo equivalent of Mardi Gras, Día de Los Muertos, and Halloween because of its explosive celebratory atmosphere, vibrant cultural traditions and commemoration of deceased family.

In Scandinavian countries like Denmark and Sweden, St. Lucia, or St. Lucy, is a big part of Christmas. On December 13, people celebrate St. Lucia Day, which by many is viewed as the start of the holiday season. For these festivities, the oldest daughter in each family dresses in a white gown and wears a crown made up of twigs and nine candles.

In Italy, it's considered good luck to be wearing red undergarments as the ball drops. How and when this practice started is disputed, but why not give it a try? We'll wear any underwear color in the new year if it means a bright future ahead. We even shopped some options for you, below. Hell, lean in and choose red for your New Year's Eve nails and New Year's outfit too. 

One of the most interesting Halloween traditions around the world is practiced in Ireland. In fact, Halloween originated from Samhain or “All Hallowtide”, a pagan Irish festival that marks the end of summer. A long-held Halloween custom is the baking and eating of Barmbrack, a dense cake loaded with currants, raisins and candied citrus. It is tradition for bakers at Halloween to mix a ring, small rag and a coin into a Barmbrack. Each token signifies a particular fortune for whoever receives it in their piece of cake. Whoever gets the ring will marry or find happiness, whoever gets the rag will join the clergy or have an uncertain financial future, and whoever receives the coin will have a prosperous year.