Best Christmas Traditions worldwide

1518 duels later, The Giant Lantern Festival, in the Philippines is still #1 in the Christmas Traditions ranking, with Roller skating to church, in Venezuela close behind.

The Giant Lantern Festival, in the Philippines secures the top spot with 1359 ELO points after 44 duels, winning 75% of its matchups. But the sharpest divide appears just below: 139 ELO points separate Roller skating to church, in Venezuela from The Gävle Goat, in Sweden at ranks 2 and 3. The Venezuelan tradition of rolling to mass on wheels edges decisively ahead of Sweden's notorious straw goat, which has become as famous for its annual arson attempts as for its festive symbolism. A pickle in the tree, in Germany trails close behind at rank 4 with 1151 points, while Hiding brooms, in Norway rounds out the top 5. At the bottom, A seafood barbecue, in New Zealand sits at rank 6, suggesting that summer Christmas fare struggles to match the strangeness factor that voters prize in this ranking.

This snapshot of global yuletide quirks draws from 1518 duels cast by 159 players across 6 contenders. The ranking was updated on 10 October 2026, capturing the community's current view of which traditions stand out for their sheer unusualness. Whether it's giant illuminated parol, wheeled pilgrimages, or concealed cleaning tools, these customs reveal how Christmas rituals vary wildly across continents. Cast your own votes to shape the leaderboard and signal which festive practice strikes you as the most distinctive.

Updated on October 10, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →