9+ Fascinating Holiday Customs From Around the World That Will Amaze You

1. Cleaning the house in the New Year

Where: China
Cost: a great deal of time and work, but well worth it
Even while it might not seem like a joyful holiday activity, cleaning is a big deal in China. Prior to the Chinese New Year and associated festivities, Chinese households customarily perform a comprehensive, end-to-end house cleaning.

Housecleaning for the New Year @dekoruma/Pinterest
According to Chinese custom, cleaning brings good fortune into the house for the upcoming New Year by sweeping away the bad luck of the previous one. This is a centuries-old custom that is widely observed, even by people who would not consider themselves superstitious.

2. Kite Flying During Easter

Where: Bermuda
Cost to make a kite: $5–$20
Like everywhere else in the world, Easter is celebrated in Bermuda with brightly colored, handcrafted kites. A British teacher who came to Bermuda on Good Friday years ago started this tradition by using a kite to illustrate how Christ ascended into heaven.

Easter Kite Flying @Google/Pinterest
Bermuda took that spiritual lesson to heart, and the beaches there are a flurry of multicolored kites on Easter morning. Bermudans' favorite Easter foods are hot cross buns and, in a more unusual twist, salted cod fishcakes.

3. Marzanna

Where: Poland
Price: Not specified
Poland has a strong devotion to welcoming spring, and Marzanna is not a custom for the meek. Slavic goddess Marzanna is a symbol for illness, death, and winter. This is a Polish springtime custom where this terrifying figure takes center stage.

Marzanna @Pinterest/atlasobscura
Every spring, local women in Polish towns braid hay and straw into the shape of a human figure, which is subsequently dressed. This custom is known as Marzanna. After that, the goddess made of straw is burned and "drowned" in the river, so ending the life of the death-bringer and introducing Lada/Vesna, the goddess of spring.