I'm trying to think of any specifically german traditions, the lead-pouring oracle comes to mind but I think that's common in other countries as well, right? You melt a small piece of lead and pour it into a bowl of water, and the shape it forms as it cools tells you about your future.
Having a pig is lucky because when you have a pig you'll have food. And a four-leaf clover is lucky because normal clover only has three leaves and you have to be really lucky to find one with four. 
Thanks for sharing the knowledge :))
I thought all the Western countries have similar, if not the same, traditions for Christmas and New Year...
Looking forward to seeing the new variant and getting last years too!
Shelybear - I think it's pretty diverse among different countries and regions.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge :))
I thought all the Western countries have similar, if not the same, traditions for Christmas and New Year...
Things have actually just recently become very similar. Most places had their own Yule traditions, which were eventually overlayed by christianity. Back then, there wasn't much communication between the areas of the world (at least not among peasantry), so Christams was basically Yule with christian elements added. These days we have all this mass media and with aerican christmas movies being so widespread, many emulate what they see there (at least here in easter Europe). So things have definitely become more homogenous. Some old traditions do survive though. So a christmas in different countries will still be different.
Even American Christmas customs are different. Where I come from in the time I grew up, it was common to put up the tree on the last Saturday of Advent. The whole family spent the evening singing carols and decorating the tree. From then until Christmas Eve everyone visited houses of family and friends to share cookies and cocoa (with a plate laid out for Santa on Christmas Eve). Guests brought cookies, hosts made cocoa or spiced cider. The stockings were stuffed a bit more each week of Advent with small toys, favors, new socks and candy canes and served as our Christmas Eve gift. The tree stayed up through Epiphany, January 6. New Year's Eve saw the stockings re-hung to be filled with oranges, apples and nuts and gold chocolate coins (for a prosperous New Year). I was really shocked to find out that people here in California put up the tree right after Thanksgiving and chuck it out the day after Christmas. And they never heard of New Year's stockings. So there are still local traditions out there, particularly in the rural US.
Well, in Poland you traditionally decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, put all the gifts under the tree and then share them after the Christmas Eve dinner (which is traditionally meatless, although you do eat a lot of fish). The tree should stay up at least until Epiphany, or even up to 2nd February (Presentation of Jesus at the Temple).
Well, when I was growing up (in Maryland) our family would put up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. We'd have a spaghetti dinner for Christmas Eve because my mom didn't have time to make a big fancy dinner and spaghetti was easy. Christmas Morning, after the presents were opened, my dad would squeeze fresh oranges for orange juice for breakfast and we'd enjoy that along with a Christmas yeast ring pastry my mom had made for the occasion. My sister still makes this same breakfast and she makes one of the pastry rings for me as well.
When we were teenagers, we convinced our mom to change the Christmas Eve dinner to Lasagna, since we liked it better. Poor mom! It was a lot harder to make, but then, we were able to help out and did almost all the decorating.
I've noticed a lot of people celebrate the presents and dinner on Christmas eve. My family always celebrated it on Christmas morning.
When I was younger, we didn't have much money (although none of us kids realized it), so my mother would put a small breakfast cereal box and a few fruits in our stocking to help fill it up so it wouldn't be too empty. We loved it - we'd open our stockings before our parents would be up, and then run off and eat breakfast. There were also usually a few little toys in the stocking to keep us amused so we wouldn't wake my parents up early. I have a very smart mother. 
Christmas eve we open one package each, and it isn't allowed to be a package labeled "from Santa". After all, Santa wouldn't have arrived yet. 
We also don't allow anyone to open what we know is their "big" present that Christmas, like if we know someone is getting an iPad or something similar. I often prefer it to be clothing - then I can wear it on Christmas day.
W still fill up the stockings, because it's fun. My sister and I generally go to Walmart and a few other places and buy little things (cosmetics, pretty pencils, things like that), and put those in the stockings on Christmas eve night. All of those are "from Santa" - after all, he fills our stockings!
Here in Estonia, Christmas is the biggest family holiday, so it's celebrated by having a large part of the family gather together for a feast. When I was a kid that was often in our place, but these days we go to my grandparents'.
One tradition we have is that in December, before Christmas, children will put their slipper on the windowsill every night and Santa's elves will then put candy or fruit in them. Me and my sister actually had special stockings for it that we hung up on the window. (fun fact: the first letter I ever wrote was to the elves, on behalf of my sister to tell them she wanted chocolate)
Another thing is, we actually meet Santa. He would arrive sometime in the middle of the feast and greet us with the traditional question of "Are there any good children in this house?". Then we would perform to him to get our presents. Of course, it's not a real Santa, but a guy in costume and my family stopped getting one after a while because all the children grew old enough to figure it out. These days we just put all the gifts under the tree.
Thank you all!
We don't really celebrate Christmas but as LadyNova said, Christmas became worldwide due to over-advertise and beneficial for businesses. I can still remember when I was younger (6 or 7 perhaps), I used to get some Christmas gifts from my parents and was told that they were from Satan. I believed Satan was true that time. However no longer after that my classmates reveal the truth that there was no real Satan but my parents, I got very disappointed and stop getting gifts from them as surprises. Sometimes I still get some gifts from my parents as Christmas gift or New Year gifts but it is just occasionally. We have Chinese New Year (aka. Spring Festival) instead, which is considered the biggest festival in China.
I know that here in UK, Christmas decoration begins very early. All the decorations, at least for public areas (streets, shopping malls, schools, etc) have already been done. I'm not sure if the family decoration has started yet but perhaps? I can feel the Christmas atmosphere everywhere now
It's literally my first REAL Christmas but also it's a pity that I don't have a Christmas tree to decorate... 
Btw, may I see your guys Christmas trees after you finished?
Did you just make a typo or did something get lost in translation when chrismas migrated to China?
Sorry, but I've been giggling for five minutes straight.
And if you have materials, you could make a small craftwork tree.
Lol, also had to giggle about Satan.
Here in Austria we don´t get our gifts from Santa Claus, but from the Christkind. That´s basicly an angel girl (mostly with fair curly hair), which is derived from baby Jesus. Due to americanisation Santa (and reindeers) are slowly taking over, especially in business. I refuse him though. IMO the Christkind is much cuter. 
We usually open our gifts on Christmas eve. Before we open our gifts someone (mostly me) reads the Nativity story to all and we sing some traditional Christmas Carols (Silent Night,....). After handing out the presents we have dinner (mostly fish) and then we spend the rest of the evening together playing games.
On Christmas day after lunch we usually visit my grandparents, were all my aunts and uncles and cousins come together. And we hand out presents again and have dinner.
On December 26th, also called St. Stephen's day in Austria, we take our horses for a ride to church where day get salted bread as blessing for the next year.
Oh I'm sorry they were just typos I basically can't remember where the 'n' is and when I capitalised the first letter, auto-correcting didn't work. Anyway, since that made you laugh I'm not going to correct them then lol
When something are translated into Chinese they will be in completely different characters 
I guess 26th Dec is just the boxing day here in UK.
I had to laugh when I saw that Satan gave her gifts, too. That's an awesome typo! 
I love the idea of the Christkind, idril, but that sounds very religious, so my family would never do it. Tell you a secret: I'm not Christian. Therefore Christmas is a purely secular holiday for us. I'm figuring that really it's the Yule holiday, so that's why I want to celebrate it.
My father gave us a choice when we were little - either presents on Hanukkah, or presents on Christmas. Being the mercenary little tykes that we were, we chose Christmas, because that way we got more presents. 
I love the decorations, and the cooking smells, and everything that comes with Christmas, so I'd never give it up now. To us it's about family and being together, even more than Thanksgiving is.
I know that here in UK, Christmas decoration begins very early.
Far too early! I've seen them in November. Houses, not shops. 
I do mine the weekend before Christmas and they're down Jan 3rd. I did buy cards today though, and that's early for me.
I did buy cards today though, and that's early for me.
I have mine already to do tomorrow when I wake up. I'm going to listen to Barry Como sing Christmas carols while I sip on hot cocoa and write little messages in the cards to my friends and family.
I love the idea of the Christkind, idril, but that sounds very religious, so my family would never do it. Tell you a secret: I'm not Christian. Therefore Christmas is a purely secular holiday for us. I'm figuring that really it's the Yule holiday, so that's why I want to celebrate it.
Yes, we still celebrate Christmas very traditional. With the majority of Austrians being catholic Christmas, Easter and All Hallows are still very religious. I'm usually not very religious either, but with the rushed and more commercial pre-Christmas-Season, I don't mind a bit solemn silence and contemplation.
EDIT: There seems to be something wrong with the quoting function?
Our Christmases sound a lot like Mias. A single gift from mom and dad was opened on Christmas Eve, and it was usually a new pair of flannel pajamas or a cozy robe. We were allowed to grab our stockings when we woke on Christmas morning and there was always a tangerine to snack on (still considered rather exotic then), a new toothbrush and a small toy or two to hold us over until the sun came up. Then we would all run and jump on our parents bed to wake them up so we could open the rest of our presents, followed by my mom making a huge breakfast. I still carry on the tradition of a big holiday breakfast, my kids love it.
My dad was very into Christmas, he loved to make candy and cookies and bake all sorts of pies... and always a home made fruitcake soaked in whiskey for a month, the man would put on a feast! Also when we were little he would always take a sled and leave sleigh tracks and bootprints on the snow for us to find in the morning, to 'prove' that Santa had indeed been there. And of course Santa would also have had some eggnog and a cookie or two from the plate we left out for him before we went to bed.
We also got our Christmas gifts from the Christkind, like idril described (although it always struck me as particularly non-christian, since the newborn baby Jesus couldn't have possibly been an elementary school aged blonde girl), and all gifts were exchanged on Christmas Eve, after the Christmas dinner.
We also had Santa Clause, or rather "Nikolaus", but not on Christmas but on December 6th, which is Saint Nicholas Day.
On December 5th we'd clean our shoes and boots and then put the biggest one next to the door (since we had no chimney), and at night Nikolaus would come riding past on his horse and drop nuts, oranges, a chocolate Santa and other sweets into the boots of good children (you were supposed to put hay into the boot for Nikolaus' horse, but we didn't do that). Bad children got no gifts and a beating from Nikolaus' farmhand, Knecht Ruprecht.
Here is a picture of Saint Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht:
That sounds interesting, especially with the picture of them
The first time I've heard Nikolaus was from this video :http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7izaAGD5LcA I got confused on what is the difference between him and Santa but then I just equalised them...
Actually I quite like this song but I know someone don't like it very much...
