Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Christmas Eve: Traditions from around the world

16:00
24 December 2023

Christmas Eve
Traditions from around the world

Christmas Eve snacks
It is tradition to leave snacks out for Santa and his reindeer in the UK, but there are many Christmas Eve traditions underway around the world.

Are you stocked up on milk and cookies for Santa and his reindeers tonight? It’s a Christmas Eve tradition in the UK, but many countries have their own.

In Canada it is today that wrapping paper is being torn off the gifts under the tree. Many people open their presents today, leaving just one for tomorrow.

Food plays a big role today in many European countries. In Germany for example it is tradition to eat simple, usually potato salad with sausage to remember a time when the period between St Martin’s Day and Christmas Eve was a time of fasting in Christianity.

Italy meanwhile are enjoying the Feast of Seven Fishes, serving seven different seafood dishes. A tradition traced back to the Roman Catholic’s abstinence of meat on Christmas Eve.

Finally, you’ll find a night sky awash with fireworks and paper lanterns in Argentina where it is customary to head outside at midnight Christmas Eve to watch the show and bring in the big day.

You may have your own annual tradition each year on this day, whatever it is we hope you are all prepared for the big day itself, just one sleep to go!

A winter wonderland tradition in Chinaread more
Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Trapped beneath a blanket of hot air. Heat dome. . . Monday, 22 June 2026
Split graphic showing a heat dome illustration over Europe on the left with a high-pressure system trapping hot air, and an extreme temperature map on the right displaying widespread 40–41°C heat across France and Spain with a large thermometer icon.
Monday, 22 June 2026

Heat dome

Trapped beneath a blanket of hot air
50 years since historic 1976 heatwave. Three-month hot spell. . . Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Black-and-white photograph from the 1976 UK heatwave showing a crowded outdoor swimming area packed with people bathing, wading, and sitting along the water's edge during extreme summer heat.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Three-month hot spell

50 years since historic 1976 heatwave
Super typhoon near the Philippines. Gusts of up to 155 mph. . . Tuesday, 23 June 2026
WindRadar showing Typhoon MEKKHALA east of Taiwan. A clearly visible eye, surrounded by areas of extremely high wind speeds.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Gusts of up to 155 mph

Super typhoon near the Philippines
All weather news
This might also interest you
Flooding, gales, and heavy snow. Storm Chandra. . . Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Split image showing aerial flooding in a town with muddy water covering roads on the left, and a rural road on the right blocked by heavy snowfall with vans stopped and a person walking in snow.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Storm Chandra

Flooding, gales, and heavy snow
Unsettled conditions into the weekend. Breakfast brief. . . Friday, 29 August 2025
Weather map of the UK and Ireland showing scattered showers with cloudy patches across much of the region, especially around western and northern areas. Sunshine symbols appear over London, Cardiff, and parts of southern England, while temperatures range from 17°C to 18°C in most places. Areas of heavier rain are visible over the Atlantic to the west.
Friday, 29 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Unsettled conditions into the weekend
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList