Summary: <p>Traditions help us Weird Humans feel connected to our families, our communities and our culture. We have to thank Dan, one of our listeners, for the inspiration to create this episode. Well, really, who are we kidding? We recorded this one in December, so making an episode about different holiday traditions was super low-hanging fruit . . . </p><p>We started off talking about how important it is for us humans to form these traditions in order to feel connected to each other. Almost immediately, we started picking apart the traditions of other cultures and pointing out their flaws in reasoning . . . If you're listening to us from the Netherlands, we're having some issues with your Zwarte Piet. Never heard of Zwarte Piet? Check out the controversy <em><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/black-pete-christmas-zwarte-piet-dutch"><strong>(here)</strong></a>.</em></p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://weirdlyhumanpodcast.com/content/images/2021/12/what-is-the-christkind.jpeg" class="kg-image"><figcaption>Credit: https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-the-christkind/</figcaption></figure><p>The Netherlands aren't the only country to have Weird Human holiday traditions. Elle is learning German, and had to bring in the German traditions of the Krampus and the Christkind. Iceland has its own special holiday flavor with 13 Yule Lads. These Santa-Trolls each have unique personalities, and Icelanders put up with their shenanigans in exchange for daily gifts for Advent. </p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/friends-christmas-PuKSVqbw0hEpq">via GIPHY</a></p><p>We would be completely remiss if we didn't mention some of the fun traditions enjoyed by our Jewish friends, and Candace tells us how she really feels about White Elephant gift exchanges . . .</p><p>Whatever your traditions Weirdos, we hope you have a Happy Holiday Season! We'll be back with more in the New Year . . . </p>
