
Sweden's tradition of watching Donald Duck cartoons on Christmas Eve (2009) - georgehdd
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2009/12/nordic_quack.html
======
tyronepalmer
My wife and I are in Barcelona at the moment, and yesterday we learned about
Caga tió, or "Shitting log", Catalan's version of Santa Claus. It's literally
a log with a smiley face.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ti%C3%B3_de_Nadal)

Each family buys or makes their log and covers the rear with a blanket.
Children then hit the log with sticks until it poos presents, often while
singing one of several songs.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB_N7-HXTlI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB_N7-HXTlI)

Certainly one of the highlights of our trip.

~~~
DerKommissar
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caganer)

Spain seems to have multiple poop based Christmas traditions.

------
revelation
In Japan, they eat KFC:

[http://www.fastcompany.com/3040263/its-not-christmas-in-
japa...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3040263/its-not-christmas-in-japan-
without-kfc)

------
stcredzero
I was walking down "Christmas Tree Lane" in Alameda a couple days ago and
remarking to my mates on how popular culture turns into "Christmas Tradition".
Many "Christmas Standards" are merely popular music from days past.

There was a very impressive "Nightmare Before Christmas" display synced to
music. (The song "What's This?") Some smart alec walking by commented "someone
sure loves their arduino."

If anything should become a new Christmas tradition, I think it should be this
David Sedaris essay:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdpte1W0vk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdpte1W0vk)

It's also a nice commentary on how traditions change and can become bizarre.

EDIT: I sometimes ask people, "You know that way you feel when you do the
Donald Duck voice? Do you think ducks feel like that all the time?" I'm pretty
convinced that most people who can do that voice can't do it without a smile
in their eyes. When I looked up the definition of "ducky," I found that one of
the meanings was, "charming; delightful."

------
yebyen
Alright, so now it's time for weird Christmas things and things about weird
Christmas traditions from Scandinavia, here's a (joke? yeah probably) video
about some from Norway:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50fA_7TbSI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50fA_7TbSI)

I won't spoil it by saying anything more... enjoy

------
mhomde
It's also interesting that the segment has become a point of heavy discussion
of political correctness and genderification and at this point has been
censored in many parts

~~~
draugadrotten
Yes, indeed.

Last year a bl*ck doll was cut, as the stereotype was frowned upon (the
airhead blonde doll was kept, and the fat white men)
[http://www.thelocal.se/20121214/45080](http://www.thelocal.se/20121214/45080)

and this year a feminist gender consulting agency counted 293 male vs 22
female characters in the cartoon, and the twitterati went through the roof.

[http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2014/12/24/hejdlos-
mansdominan...](http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2014/12/24/hejdlos-mansdominans-
da-kalle-anka-firar-jul)

~~~
mhomde
They cut the blonde this year too, and the jewish stereotype. But that
particular scene is so full of political incorrectness, besides being a big
sweat shop, I think if they cut all of it there would be nothing left :)

How many years until the chinese dolls go?

------
givan
The most bizarre thing is cutting down trees

~~~
cgriswald
Reminds me of one of my favorite Xmas vids: Treevenge.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kicdSI_-
XpE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kicdSI_-XpE)

------
probably_wrong
If we are talking about holiday traditions, I should point out Germany's
"Dinner for one" sketch. Although that's for New year, not Christmas.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One

~~~
mjklin
Bernd das Brot did a parody called "Dinner für Brot", also worth a watch.

------
legulere
I prefer this swedish christmas cartoon:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnM4hswopgs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnM4hswopgs)

~~~
mushishi
This is a longer version and has better quality:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c96LBI4enk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c96LBI4enk)

------
Zikes
I find it no more bizarre than A Charlie Brown Christmas.

~~~
phamilton
The content isn't what's bizarre to me, it's the synchronicity. Everyone
watches it together at the same time all around the country. Sort of like a
cross between the Macy's parade and A Charle Brown Christmas.

That said, it's a lot of fun.

Source: Lived in Sweden for a few years, watched Kalle Anka with Swedish
friends every year.

------
personlurking
And for Iceland, via NPR...

Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world,
with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really
unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold
from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a
name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."

"The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families
perceive Christmas as a holiday," says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the
Iceland Publishers Association. "Normally, we give the presents on the night
of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it's the
backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland."

[http://www.npr.org/2012/12/25/167537939/literary-iceland-
rev...](http://www.npr.org/2012/12/25/167537939/literary-iceland-revels-in-
its-annual-christmas-book-flood)

------
mhomde
Don't forget the fine Swedish tradition of setting the christmas bock on fire.
So many gems in its rich history

[http://dynamic.hs.fi/arkku/tiedostot/236485051591abb0d7c0235...](http://dynamic.hs.fi/arkku/tiedostot/236485051591abb0d7c02352f6_Gavle%20Goat%20Timeline%20UPDATED%20%281%29.jpg)

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belorn
Kalle Anka provides a excellent time where the parents can take a break after
eating the Christmas dinner, drink coffee, and prepare for the event of
delivering and opening presents with the children. A break, where everyone is
expected lean back, to sit still and be calm.

~~~
atwebb
>where everyone is expected lean back, to sit still and be calm.

Now that's Christmas magic

------
Nihei
We have the same tradition in Denmark. We exchange presents on December 24th
in the evening and during that morning and day the tv is filled with the same
cartoons every year. We also have "Disneys Store Juleshow" (Disneys grand
Christmas show) with lots of old short cartoons (Donald and his nephews in the
snowball fight) and some new clips from Disneys movies. (Cinderellas dress
creation, lady and the tramp spaghetti scene, snow white and the party in the
hut, and this year; let it go from frozen). That's usually the thing that gets
me in the Christmas mood on the 24th :)

------
yetihehe
In Poland for every Christmas we're watching "Home Alone". People were filling
online petitions when one of main TV stations threatened to drop it last year.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Does it have that horrible Lector dubbing?

~~~
yetihehe
Of course. Like almost all of the films in tv. But almost everyone is already
used to this, we don't even notice it.

------
geon
While the article is mostly true, the commitment to this tradition is very
exaggerated. Few of the people I know gather around the TV show.

Source: Being a swede.

------
chillax
This is the traditional movie shown before noon here in Norway:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%99i_o%C5%99%C3%AD%C5%A1ky_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%99i_o%C5%99%C3%AD%C5%A1ky_pro_Popelku)
(voices are dubbed to Norwegian). I think it has been shown every christmas
eve since the 70s.

------
maaaats
My favorite part of the show is at Santa, where they paint a chess board using
chess-board-patterned paint.

~~~
digi_owl
Now thats efficiency.

------
sam_lowry_
In Russia and most of the former Soviet Union (even in Ukraine, Georgia and
Baltics), they watch one and the same film for 25 years, now.

Here's the film:
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073179/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073179/)

~~~
happyscrappy
I watch this every New Year's eve, do Russians watch it on Christmas Eve?

~~~
sologoub
Good point, it's New Year's Eve, not Christmas.

------
nly
In the UK 'The Snowman' has become a bit of an institution.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowman#Animated_film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snowman#Animated_film)

~~~
stevekemp
Which is one reason why I particularly love this Irn Bru advert (soft drink,
popular in Scotland):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfiqrkV_ZqI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfiqrkV_ZqI)

------
riffraff
for some unexpicable reasons, in italy we get 80's movies (Trading Places
(1983) is the top) and asterix cartoons. I used to wait eagerly for those, to
be frank.

~~~
ezequiel-garzon
I recently read [1, in Spanish] that you guys were into a different 1983
movie: Vacanze di Natale. Is it indeed popular as well?

[1]
[http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/11/20/icon/1416504630_403302.h...](http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/11/20/icon/1416504630_403302.html)

~~~
berdario
Those films in Italy are like Justin Bieber in the music world: almost
everyone loves to hate them, I never perused neither of the two (nor I know
anyone who does), and they evidently have captured a certain market segment.

Trading Places otoh is broadcasted every single year, so given how it's hard
to grow up without a television at home I definitely agree how that's a staple
for italian broadcast programming that's part of popculture

------
percept
I prefer the simple pleasures of Daffy Dook:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTJdmmSTvw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTJdmmSTvw8)

------
mkal_tsr
My tradition is watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol" every Christmas

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fit2rule
Same procedure every year. Europeans love their traditions and customs.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Not only Europeans.

------
glaze
I live in Finland and we do the same thing here.

~~~
asmosoinio
You happen to speak Swedish? My mother tongue is Finnish, and I had never
heard of the Kalle Anka thing, but all my Swedish speaking friends said they
have always watched it (and still do).

~~~
geon
Perhaps Swedish speaking finns used to watch Swedish TV? I suppose that would
have a very strong cultural influence.

------
kbody
[2009] Corrected [2011]

