Spoilers for Christmas Around the World Mini Advent Calendar
* Advent Calendar SPOILER ALERT! *
Below are listed the countries behind each door for the Christmas Around the World Mini Advent Calendar, with a brief explanation of the picture that represents their Christmas tradition. 
1.England’s Christmas Crackers were invented by London confectioner Tom Smith in 1845-50. This festive decoration pulls apart to reveal a small gift, a paper crown and a joke.
2. In the Netherlands, the tradition of leaving shoes out for St. Nicholas, also known as Sinterklaas, has origins in helping the poor and has been practiced for over 700 years. Children in the Netherlands leave their shoes by their doorstep on Dec. 5 to be filled by St. Nicholas with sweets and coins.
3. When the clock strikes midnight on December 24 in El Salvador, many people exchange hugs to celebrate the arrival of Christmas, called Es Hora de los Abrazos.
4. The Advent Wreath or Adventskranz, is a circular wreath decorated with four candles that are lit one by one on each Sunday leading up to Christmas, symbolizing the increasing light of hope and anticipation for Jesus' arrival during the Advent season. It is a central tradition in Switzerland during the four Sundays of Advent that lead up to Christmas.
5. The traditional meat-free Christmas Eve meal in Poland, known as Wigilia, is a result of the Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on the eve of a feast day. In Poland this can include the Christmas Eve Carp, a symbol of Good Luck.
6. For more than 40 years, thousands of people have jumped into the cold waters of Ireland for a Christmas Day swim, often as a fundraising event.
7. Jólakötturinn, a huge cat from Icelandic folklore is said to eat children or their food if they did not receive new clothes before Christmas Eve. The Yule Cat is a Christmas-time enforcer of good behavior. The story is thought to have been used to encourage people to work harder during the long, dark winter months.
8. In Kenya, Santa is thought to ride a bike or a camel instead of a sleigh.
9. In Brazil, Missa de Gallo, or Mass of the Rooster can last all night until the rooster crows early in the morning.
10. In Germany, a long tradition of Lebkuchen at Christmas can be traced back to the 13th century when Monks in Franconia combined honey, spices and breadcrumbs to make a sweet dough made of breadcrumbs.
The tradition of making gingerbread houses is thought to have originated in Germany in the 16th century. The first gingerbread houses were likely decorated with gold leaf and foil. The tradition became more popular after the publication of the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel in 1812.
11. In Russia, Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost wears a floor-length fur coat in red or blue, a fur hat, and valenki or felt boots on his feet. He has a long white beard and walks with a long magic stick. He often rides a troika or Russian vehicle drawn by three horses and brings presents to well-mannered children.
12. KFC has been a Christmas tradition in Japan since the 70’s when the fast food chain ran a marketing campaign called "Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!" or “Kentucky for “Christmas”
13. Sweden’s 400 year old tradition,the Festival of Lights, begins December 13 in honor of St. Lucia. On this day, the eldest daughter of the house dresses in white with a lit wreath on her head and serves coffee and saffron bread (lussekatter) to the family.
14. In Guatemala, children wave sparklers called estrellitas, or "little stars", during Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration that takes place in Guatemala and other Latin American countries between December 16 and Christmas Eve. The tradition symbolizes the nine months of Mary's pregnancy and the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem
15. In Slovakia the oldest male member of the family throws a spoonful of Loksa pudding (a mixture of sweetened poppy seeds, bread, and water) at the ceiling. The more that sticks, the luckier the year will be.
16. On December 16 in the Philippines, Simbang Gabi begins.It is a Filipino tradition of 9 days of mass ending on Christmas Eve. Churches are generally filled out the doors, or the Mass is held outside to accommodate the crowd. The star-shaped lanterns used during Simbang Gabi are called parols. Some parols have long tails, tassels, or paper scallops. Others have eight points, which some believe represents the eight major islands of the Philippines.
17. In Spain, children take care of Tio de Nadal or the Poo Log by giving it a little bit to “eat” each night and covering it with a blanket to stay warm. The story goes that kids must care for the log so that it will poop presents on Christmas Day. The original log was a rough piece of wood found outside. Today, the log is often decorated with a painted face and a traditional Catalan barretina hat.
18. In New Zealand the red flowers of the Pohutukawa have earned it the title of New Zealand’s Christmas Tree.
19. Spider web designs in Ukraine date back centuries to a tale about a spider, thankful for the warmth in the house provided by a poor family, spins beautiful decorations, saving Christmas and bringing good luck to the family.
20. In Norway it is a Christmas tradition to eat rice porridge known as risgrøt with a single almond hidden in it. Whoever finds the almond receives a marzipan pig as a prize. This expression goes back to the medieval times when a farmer who had a lot of pigs that year was really lucky. When you give someone a marzipan pig, you are wishing him or her good luck for the next year.
21. The French Christmas tradition of bûche de Noël, or Yule log, is a log-shaped cake that originated from the pagan custom of burning a large log on Christmas Eve.
22. In the 1965 Charlie Brown Christmas Special by American cartoonist Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown’s tree is a metaphor for the true meaning of Christmas, which is often overshadowed by the focus on gift-giving. The tree is small and unappealing, but Charlie Brown sees its value and chooses it over the more colorful, glitzy, aluminum trees.
23. It was during the colonial period that the Spanish introduced radishes to Oaxaca, Mexico. The giant radishes were brought to the Christmas Eve Market, where they were then carved to draw the attention of the clients to the vegetable stands. The carved radishes were a hit and in 1897, the mayor proposed an annual radish festival in Oaxaca with a prize for the top contestants.This annual event is still held each December 23rd.
24. In Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, there's a tradition of people roller skating to the early morning church services from 16th to 24th of December. The roads are often closed to traffic by 8.00 am to make it safe for people to skate.