For thousands of years, many around the world have celebrated the winter solstice, from which many religious holidays trace their origins. England’s Stonehenge, for example, is the site of solstice celebrations, which feature Druid and Pagan traditions. The Dōngzhì is a solstice festival marked in China, Korea and Vietnam, while Japan’s winter solstice celebration is known as Toji.

Evolving out of the winter solstice and incorporating elements of Samhain, an ancient Gaelic holiday similar to Halloween, Hogmanay is a Scottish New Year’s Eve bash featuring massive parties that carry on until January 2. Hogmanay begins with a torchlight procession that includes, of course, drummers and bagpipers.

In Italy, an old woman called La Befana delivers gifts to children. The story is that the Magi stopped at her house to ask for directions on their way to visit baby Jesus. They invited Befana to come but she said she had too much housework to do. After they left, she changed her mind and tried to find them but couldn’t, so now she flies around on the night of January 5 (the eve of the Epiphany, which marks the Magi’s meeting with Baby Jesus) delivering toys to children.

Primarily celebrated in the United States and the Caribbean, Kwanzaa is modeled after traditional harvest festivals in west and southeast Africa and celebrates family, community and culture. The celebration begins the day after Christmas and lasts until New Year’s Day. Celebrants gather to share a sumptuous meal and to honor their ancestors.

In the 1970s, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s operations in Japan, where turkey's are hard to find, were in trouble so the company invented a tradition to give the non-Christian nation a taste of American poultry and sell lots of chicken. It took off, and now many families eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve. It’s called Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, which means “Kentucky for Christmas.”

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Bahamians celebrate Junkanoo on Dec. 26 and Jan. 1. Junkanoo is believed to have originated from celebrations enslaved people had during their three-day “holiday” at Christmastime. Today, there are late-night parades featuring dance troupes wearing elaborate costumes. The shrill of whistles and the lively beat of drums, horns and cowbells keeps everyone moving with great exuberance.

In Central Europe, children are visited by Krampus—a mythical, goat/devil figure thought to have originated in Pagan rituals for the winter solstice. As Christianity, spread, Krampus became buddies with St. Nicholas, and today the two of them visit children on the evening of Dec. 5, with St. Nick rewarding good children and Krampus punishing bad kids. Festivities celebrating Krampus often include parades of people dressed as Krampus.

People in Russia and nearby countries celebrate Svyatki for two weeks in January. While Svyatki translates to “holy days,” the festival is largely composed of Pagan traditions handed down from the time before Christianity became the dominant religion in that part of the world. Grand feasts, fortune telling and caroling are important aspects of Svyatki.

Hanukkah is the Jewish “festival of lights” — an 8-day wintertime celebration marked by the lighting of a menorah, special prayers and fried food. The tradition dates back to the second century BCE, when Jewish warriors weary from battling and defeating occupying Greeks, were able to make a one-day supply of menorah oil last for eight days.

During wintertime in Wales, you might open your front door to find a sheet-covered person carrying a horse’s skull mounted on a pole, accompanied by other revelers dressed in costumes. In the Mari Lwyd (“gray mare”) custom, the merrymakers sing to the homeowner, who sings back and eventually invites them in for food and drink.

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