The presents are wrapped, the Christmas tree decorated and the turkey cooked. All over the world people embrace the Yuletide and mark it with various traditions, some more peculiar than others. Defecating figurines, decomposed birds and carved radishes – we found them all. Here are some of the quirkiest traditions around the world.

If you stumble upon a nativity scene anywhere in the Spanish region of Catalunya, don’t be surprised to see a pooing man among the figurines. El Caganer, or “the crapper”, is a peasant, depicted with his pants down. The tradition has existed since at least the 18th century and its origins are somewhat murky. Some believe that it symbolises fertility and harvest, while others think that it was simply the only gift the peasant boy had for baby Jesus.

You might assume El Caganer is the only poo-related Christmas tradition in Catalunya, however that is not the case. On the Day of Immaculate Conception, December 8, families start to ‘feed’ Tió de Nadal, a Christmas log character, every night until Christmas Eve. It’s then moved to a fireplace and everyone joins in bashing the log and commanding it to defecate (hence its other name ‘poo log’). Supposedly Tió brings presents, sweets and other Christmas delights.

If you have a taste for the unusual, Greenland is the perfect place for a Christmas feast. Think kiviak – raw flesh of auks (arctic birds similar to puffins) that’s been buried and wrapped in seal skin for months, until it has reached the right stage of decomposition.

Christmas in Australia falls at the beginning of their summer, during which temperatures can reach 35°C (95°F), so family and friends descend on the country’s beaches and have a Boxing Day ‘barbie’. Many dress up in Santa Claus swimsuits and even take a Christmas tree with them to decorate on the beach.

If you’ve been a bad boy or girl, beware Krampus – Santa Claus’ evil companion. He’s a big horned monster dressed in rags who travels with Santa and punishes children who have misbehaved. It’s a popular belief that naughty children receive a bunch of twigs instead of presents. To meet this evil character, head to the Krampus Run in Munich, Germany. This tradition of dressing up as the scary character and frightening passers-by in the Munich Christmas market dates back more than 500 years.

Christmas in Russia isn’t celebrated until 6 January because the Russian Orthodox Church still use the old Julian calendar, so Novogodnaya yolka (New Year’s tree) events are held across Russia between 31 December and 6 January. Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and his granddaughter Snegurochka (Snowflake) visit these events to join in the New Year’s festivities and bring children goody bags filled with clementines and chocolates in exchange for a Christmas poem or rhyme.

As if three days of Christmas fun were not enough, Puerto Ricans also celebrate 28 December as Dia de los Santos Inocentes (Holy Innocents Day). Similar to our April Fool’s Day, this day is spent trying to trick people by any means necessary. In the town of Hatillo there’s an old custom for men to dress up as King Herod’s soldiers and kidnap children in jest. People have to give the soldiers sweets to get the children back.

For many, Christmas is all about food, but in South Africa it's not just mince pies and turkey. On Christmas Day, South Africans tuck into a bowl of deep-fried Emperor moth caterpillars, which apparently taste a little like tea. We think we’d even prefer Brussels sprouts over this…

Another curious Christmas food tradition comes from Japan, where families head to KFC for their Christmas meal. The history of this tradition dates back to 1974, when a wildly successful KFC campaign titled Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (Kentucky for Christmas) promoted a Christmas ‘party barrel’ inspired by a traditional American turkey dinner. Only around 1% of the Japanese population is Christian, so there were no established Christmas traditions before KFC filled that void.

People in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas love to whip out their roller skates and journey to Christmas mass in style. As the religious celebrations kick-off on 16 December, masses, known as Misas de Aguinaldo, are held every day until 24 December and the most devout Venezuelans make sure to attend all of them.

According to Serbian tradition, hay must be laid under the Christmas dinner table as a symbol of the stable where Jesus was born. As the hay is spread out, the diners make chicken-like clucking sounds to symbolise Jesus’ wish to bring all the people together in a loving community, just like a hen would protect all her chicks under her wing. Cluck-cluck!

Christmas, or winter solstice, in Latvia is celebrated with a peculiar mix of Pagan, Christian and secular traditions - ‘mumming’ is one of them. In a weird mash-up of trick-or-treating and Christmas carolling, mummers dress up as various macabre figures and visit strangers’ homes, bringing a blessing to each household and frightening away the evil spirits. A nightmare before Christmas, perhaps?

The Welsh also love to embrace their Pagan side with a tradition called the Mari Lwyd (the Grey Mare). In some Welsh villages, a person dresses up as the Mari Lwyd (or it’s attached to a pole) – a horse’s skull with fake eyes and ears and a white sheet draped round it. A group of locals then go parading through the streets.

In the Swedish city of Gävle, a 43-foot tall Yule goat is built every year to mark the start of Advent. It takes around two days to fill and cover the huge metal construction with straw. Despite all this effort, each year the enormous structure is burned down by vandals sometime between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Last year, the Yule Goat only survived two days before being burned to the ground in what has become a peculiar, unofficial tradition.

“Santa Claus, North Pole, HOH OHO, Canada” is an officially recognised address by Canada Post. Each letter sent to this address is opened and replied to. It’s estimated that Canada Post have handled more than 26 million letters since this tradition was started 35 years ago. Better get writing, then.

In many households throughout Lithuania, an extra place at the dinner table is set on Christmas Eve for deceased family members who are believed to join the festivities on Christmas Eve from the afterlife. The same tradition is followed in Portugal where it’s called consoda.

Lucky Italian children get not just Christmas presents, but post-New Year’s presents too. On Epiphany Eve (5 January), Befana, also known as Christmas Witch, rides a broomstick and delivers candy and presents to well-behaved children through a chimney. Many also believe that she is a good housekeeper and will sweep your house, ridding it of misfortunes.

We've always been told not to play with our food but during Christmas in Slovakia it's actively encouraged. The oldest man in the household is required to throw spoonfuls of loksa (a type of pancake) dough at the ceiling on Christmas Eve – the more of the mixture that sticks, the richer the household will be in the new year.

Every Christmas, Guatemalans love to join in a cathartic mass burning of dirt. Every house is swept as clean as possible and the dirt is carried to the town centre where an effigy of the devil is put on top the large pile and burned.

Ukrainians don’t mess around with tangled lights and tinsel. Instead they choose to adorn their trees with spider web-like decorations called pavuchky. According to folklore, a poor widow had a bare Christmas tree which made her children very sad. The spiders heard the woman’s prayers for her children to be happy on Christmas so they decorated the tree with their webs overnight. They are also said to bring good luck and good fortune in the new year.

Leave it to the Americans to start the ‘world’s naughtiest pub crawl’: the Running of the Santas. Thousands of pub crawlers dress up as Santa Claus and take to the streets of various US cities. Started in 1998, this mass-drinking has turned into an American Yuletide staple. More than 10,000 Santas are expected in this year’s event in Philadelphia alone.

In the Philippines, the Saturday before Christmas Eve marks Ligligan Parul Sampernandu, or the Giant Lantern Festival. The festival is held in the Christmas capital of the Philippines, San Fernando – a title earned because of the intricate lanterns illuminating the city. 11 villages compete in building the biggest and most elaborate lanterns that can be over 20 feet in diameter.

When it comes to quirky Christmas traditions, the Mexican town of Oaxaca takes the biscuit, or rather, the radish. Every year, 23 December is dedicated to radishes. Residents flock to the central square where several elaborate carvings and their creators compete for the winning title. The event originated during colonial times when oversized Spanish radishes were introduced to the locals. Farmers began carving the radishes as a way to attract customers to their Christmas market stalls.