Habbo certainly has a diverse selection of people. There are thousands of users across dozens of countries and each and every one of them celebrates the holidays in different ways. I asked a few users what their most unique holiday traditions. You might be surprised how other people celebrate!

In the Picnic Area, I met Jugne, a thirteen-year-old Lithuanian girl living in the United Kingdom. She told me about the Lithuanian tradition of Kucios. “It’s a special Christmas Eve dinner that is spent with family. We cannot have meat for this meal, but we do have Kuciukai. Kuciukai’s are slightly sweet pastries made from leavened dough and poppy seeds. We also have Christmas wafers! It’s basically flatbread that family members break apart for each other. Families come together no matter how far apart to spread happiness to each other.” She explained that the eldest family member holds the Christmas wafer and breaks off a piece to begin the ritual. The remaining wafer is passed on to another member while a prayer for loved ones is said. This continues until everyone at the table has a piece of the wafer. This is such a beautiful ritual symbolising oneness with family.

I met hyperrahim in the Welcome Lounge. He’s seventeen years old and from Malaysia. He said, “Here, we celebrate Eid al-Fitr. It’s a holiday for Muslims in which we celebrate after Ramadan, which is thirty days of fasting food, water, feelings of pleasure, and taking part in forbidden acts.” He went on to say, “It’s a feast about being thankful for what you have and for being brave enough to fast. It represents patience and willpower. We define everyone as our brothers and sisters during this time. We increase our liaison by traveling to visit relatives. It’s a month where all bonds are connected and cherished, glued together with love.” I absolutely love the meaning behind the fast and feast.

Fear posted on the Discussion forum, “I’m twenty-three and I am from England. On Christmas, my family and I wake up at a decent time and have some sandwiches and a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate to tide us over for the dinner. We open whatever gifts we have and just spend time together. When we eat dinner we always have a few drinks. My mother passed a few years ago, so we have a toast to her soul. A couple hours after the dinner, my nan comes over to give us some money and spend time with us. From there, we just have some family bonding time which we don’t get to do every day, so it’s pretty nice.” It’s a beautiful thing that they honor his mother at this special time, even though she can’t physically be with them.

The underlying theme across the world around this time of year is love for one’s family. Regardless of our country of origin, our past experiences, our situations, we all cherish these things. Despite our differences, we all have this in common.

How do you celebrate this time of year?