It’s the holiday season again and people are coming together to celebrate in numerous diverse ways. Did you know many holiday traditions around the world involve feet and shoes? It’s true!

Let’s look at five traditions where footwear plays a prominent role:

Ecuador. We all know about making a list for Santa, but in Ecuador, they write a list and then place it safely in their shoes! The tradition has it that Papa Noel will take your list and replace it with new shoes and presents.

France. Children in France await Père Noël by neatly placing their shoes in front of the fireplace the night before Christmas. Come morning they awake to find their shoes filled with candy and presents.

Hungary. In Hungry, children leave boots on the window for Mekulash, the Hungarian Santa. Good children are rewarded with boots filled with chocolate, nuts, and fruit. Naughty children however awake to find boots filled with sticks.

Iceland. In Iceland, children will leave their shoes on the windowsill during the Christmas season. The Jolasveinar, a troop of 13 elves, comes to visit one at a time over 13 days. The elves leave candy and gifts for the good children, while the bad children find their shoes filled with potatoes!

Italy. In Italy, Santa is a witchy old woman named La Befana who rides a broom. Children set out their shoes and go to bed. She brings toys, fruit, and candy to well-behaved children and for disobedient children, La Befana fills their shoes with coal!

You can count on the Foot & Ankle Specialists, PC foot doctors to provide care for your feet using a full range of both conservative and surgical therapies. Our expert team, including board-certified podiatrists Dr. Scott E. Hughes, Dr. Greg P. Vogt, and Dr. Christine I. Tumele, serve patients of all ages with state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technologies including onsite digital x-ray, ultrasound, diabetic shoes, and digital scanning for custom orthotics.

For any questions or to make an appointment, please contact us at one of our Southeast Michigan facilities in Monroe (734-241-0200) and Lambertville (734-856-8900) in Bedford and Monroe counties). Don’t forget, we make house calls.