Most every family has some Christmas traditions that are standard parts of its celebration of this special time. My family has certain foods that are musts on our Christmas menu, special decorations that have been part of our Christmases for years, even a traditional light-hearted argument over when is the right time to open presents pitting those who favor doing this on Christmas Eve against those who say after-lunch on Christmas Day is the right time.

I found a list of “35 Bizarrest Christmas Traditions” at Love Home Swap’s website. Among the unusual traditions it listed were:

• Some in South Africa eat deep-fried caterpillars of the Emperor Moth on Christmas Day — and to think some in the U.S. turn up their nose at the thought of fried turkey?

• Austrian children are told of “Krampus,” a Christmas devil who’s said to use branches to beat naughty children. Sort of makes the threat of a lump of coal in your stocking sound pretty mild?

• In Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain, some reportedly include the figure of Caganer in their nativity scenes — a small figure of a defecating man. That’s a part of the Christmas story I’ve missed all these years.

• In Caracas, Venezuela, some residents go to Christmas mass on roller skates.

• Some German families hide a pickle in the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and the child who finds it in the morning receives a special gift.

• In Slovakia, the most senior man of the house takes a spoonful of a traditional pudding and throws it at the ceiling — the more that sticks the better. Wife Gladys isn’t going for this, I’m sure.

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Today and Wednesday are the last two official days for collecting donations for this year’s Help the Helper’s campaign, where with your help we are raising funds to boost the efforts of 10 local help organizations.

Our office closes at noon on Christmas Eve, the official deadline for our effort, but for sure we”ll accept any donations that come after that, and make sure all the money gets where it’s intended — to help the good work of these local organizations that are doing good things for deserving local people, right here in our community.

We’ve raised $15,960 as of my last report and hopefully will see a last surge as Christmas arrives.

Please check out our Honor Roll appearing daily in the paper, listing all of the contributors to our effort or showing donations in memory of, or in honor of someone special to the giver.

We got a boost since my last report with an extra-generous donation of $500. But please don’t think your donation of $10 or $20 isn’t important. They all are, as added together they can help make a real difference for some deserving local person assisted by one or more of these organizations’ efforts.

Thanks to all who’ve given already. For the rest, you can still mail a contribution payable to Help the Helpers at The Daily Iberian, P.O. Box 9290, New Iberia, La. 70562, or drop it by our office.

Help us Help the Helpers by making a donation this year, and helping these 10 local organizations do even more next year.

 

WILL CHAPMAN is publisher of The Daily Iberian.