Every yuletide season, as the world settles beneath winter skies or summer winds in either hemisphere, ancient customs and traditions take center stage in several countries.

Let’s have a glimpse at some unique commemorations.

Colombia

On 7 December, it celebrates the Día de las Velitas, when entire Colombian cities and towns glow under the delicate flicker of candles and lanterns arranged on balconies, windows, sidewalks and plazas. Families honor the Virgin Mary as open spaces hold concerts and competitions, while fireworks dance through the night. By the next morning, white flags bearing Our Lady’s image sway over doorways. This marks the true opening of the Christmas season.

Mexico

The season stretches into what many fondly call the Guadalupe–Reyes Marathon. Beginning on 12 December with the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe and ending on the 6th of January with the arrival of the Reyes Magos, it is less a marathon of endurance and more a chain of joyful gatherings. Nightly posadas from 16 to 24 December fill neighborhoods with music and lanterns. Christmas arrives at the heart of it, while Holy Innocents’ Day on 28 December brings playful tricks. New Year’s Eve rolls into New Year’s Day, until finally the Three Wise Men close the festivities. It is a lighthearted, social stretch of days similar to our extended Christmas celebration.

Canada

Far to the north, Canada nurtured the wild imagination of kids not just domestically, but all over the world. In 1973, a handful of postal workers in Vancouver began replying to letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole” that would otherwise have ended as mail in the undeliverable office. Their small gesture grew steadily until 1982, when the initiative became a nationwide program under the now-famous postal code H0H 0H0. Postmaster Roy Debolt described the aim as making the holidays “a little warmer and more complete” for every child who wrote in. Today, thousands of letters continue to make their way through this uniquely