In Finland and Sweden an old tradition prevails, where the twelve days of
Christmas are declared to be time of civil peace by law. It used to be
that a person committing crimes during this time would be liable to a
stiffer sentence than normal.
In France, Christmas is called Noel. This is derived from the French
phrase "les bonnes nouvelles," which means literally "the good news" and
refers to the gospel.
In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi (also spelled
Kallikantzari) sometimes play troublesome pranks at Christmas time.
According to the legend, to get rid of them, you should burn either salt or
an old shoe. Apparently the stench of the burning shoe (or salt) drives off the Kallikantzaroi. Other effective methods include hanging a pig's jawbone by the door and keeping a large fire so they can't sneak down the chimney.
