The most unusual Christmas tradition in every state

In Mobile, Alabama, thousands of people dress up in pointy ears to join one of the largest congregations of elves in the world: Elfapalooza!

Back in 2016, Elfapalooza was second to a festive congregation in Bangkok, Thailand, which holds the world record of most elves in one place, and every year Mobile tries to take their spot.

In 2020, Elfapalooza was moved to August, and was a drive-in event.

The Russian Orthodox tradition of Selaviq, also known as starring, is celebrated in Alaska.

In the days leading up to Russian Christmas on January 7, parishioners parade from house to house carrying a wooden star, which represents the star of Bethlehem. At each house, the size of the group increases as the residents of that house join the party.

At the end of the trek, there are food, gifts, and hymns sung to celebrate the culmination of the Three Wise Men's journey.

One of the most popular tourist attractions during the holiday season in Arizona is the giant tumbleweed tree in Chandler, Arizona.

Workers begin to assemble this dry tannenbaum in September until it is lit for the Christmas season. The tradition of lighting a tumbleweed "tree" goes back over 60 years in Chandler. While this year's tree lighting ceremony was canceled, the tree still stands for people to look at.

Ostentatious Christmas lights displays may have caught on in all four corners of the globe, but in Arkansas, each of the state's holiday light displays is connected on a giant "trail" that covers the whole state.

The Trail of Holiday Lights is mapped so that you can easily drive from one awe-inspiring display to another, making it the perfect COVID-friendly activity.

In sunny Laguna Niguel, California, surfing is sprinkled with a little holiday spirit in December for the Surfing Santa competition.

Athletes enter this Christmastime contest wearing white beards and jolly hats. Proceeds from the event support Surfers Healing, a surf camp for children with autism.

Unfortunately, this year's competition was postponed until spring 2021.

Las Posadas, or "The Inns," is a Mexican Christmas tradition, during which people of all ages gather to re-enact the story of Christmas — specifically the journey of Mary and Joseph from inn to inn searching for a place to stay before Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.

In Colorado, the Tesoro Cultural Center leads a procession of children dressed as Mary and Joseph, as well as shepherds and angels, to travel from house to house asking for shelter. At the end of the re-enactment, there is a celebration with hot chocolate and sweets for children.

While this year's re-enactments were canceled, be sure to check them out in 2021.

Every December in Mystic Seaport, actors put on an interactive play that's set around Christmas Eve.

Last year, the lantern-lit tour of the Mystic Seaport museum was inspired by the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol."

While this year's tours were canceled, you can watch behind-the-scenes videos from years past.

For Delaware's Swedish population, Christmas is associated with a visit from Tomte, the devilish imp who leaves gifts for good children.

According to the legend, tomten were mischievous and vengeful creatures who guarded farmsteads, but today they are regarded as benevolent Santa Claus or St. Nicholas-like figures.

On December 19, Wreaths Across America, a non-profit organization, lays out holiday wreaths on thousands of graves in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, as well as 1,200 other locations across America.

The event, which is to honor the fallen soldiers that have been buried in military cemeteries, is still going ahead this year, with some adjustments.

Deck the Chairs on Jacksonville Beach is one of the largest holiday lights celebrations in Florida.

Volunteers decorate the iconic red lifeguard chairs of the American Red Cross with elaborate holiday lights displays, combining the spirit of the holidays with the balmy warm weather of the Sunshine State.

Unless you live in Atlanta, you likely have never seen the pink pig train that comes to Macy's Lenox Square every holiday season. The pink pig tradition began in 1953 at Rich's downtown store, and has become a holiday mainstay for Georgia residents who recognize it as a unique staple of the holiday season.

In a normal year, children can take photos with Priscilla the Pig, climb aboard, and, of course, purchase pink pig merchandise. But as you may have guessed, Priscilla's taking this year off.

"Due to the high touch nature of the rides, Macy's will not be hosting the Pink Pig this year," according to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's website. "We look forward to continuing this fun holiday tradition in 2021! We are grateful to Macy's for their continued support of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Happy Holidays!"

In Hawaii, celebrating Christmas with a hula that ends in a pig roast over an open fire is a tradition that dates back to the first Christmas in Hawaii. Celebrated in 1786, a merchant ship docked off the shores of Hawaii during Christmas sent a search party ashore who hunted a pig, killed it, and roasted it.

Later, they are said to have participated in a gift swap with the island's natives, when a local chieftain sailed out to the docked ship and gifted them with a roasted pig.

The tradition, which resembles the American Thanksgiving story, continues today with a roast pig on almost every Hawaiian table on Christmas.

Lake Coeur d'Alene's Journey to the North Pole cruises are some of the most popular holiday events in Idaho. The cruises are still going ahead this year.

The holiday light show on the water features floating displays of Santa, Rudolph, The Grinch, and more, as well as fireworks.

The most famous American Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market) is in Chicago. Styled after the traditional, centuries-old markets of Germany, this Christkindlmarkt features hundreds of vendors selling traditional crafts and trinkets from Germany, Austria, and local artisans.

There's also plenty to eat and drink, like glühwein (mulled wine), hot cocoa, and giant German pretzels.

This year's Christkindlmarkt is going virtual, which means that everyone across the world can partake in this tradition.

Usually held every year starting the day after Christmas, the Indianapolis Auto Show is a unique tradition that puts a hold on traditional holiday cheer in favor of shiny fast cars for lookers and buyers alike.

The Holly & Ivy is a holiday decorating tradition at the Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa. Community groups and organizations each adopt a room of the spacious mansion to decorate with trees, ribbons, baubles, and more. The Salisbury House then hosts tours a few days before Christmas to show off the volunteers' decorating skills.

This year, the event is going virtual.

Lindsborg is widely known as the Swedish capital of Kansas, so it's no wonder that the community throws an impressive St. Lucia Day festival every year. This year's festival will have plenty of outdoor events and a drive-thru pancake breakfast.

On this Swedish holiday that celebrates the life of the martyr Saint Lucia, the eldest daughter of every family — wearing a white robe and crown of ivy and candles — serves traditional Swedish food to her family. Her appearance is supposed to represent light and hope during the Winter Solstice.

Fruitcake is known around the world as the laughingstock of Christmas culinary traditions. But in Kentucky, you'd be lucky to get your hands on the famous fruitcake made by monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani.

Also known as Twelfth Night cake, this fruitcake made with dried fruits, nuts, and spices, which is often soaked in bourbon (after all, this is Kentucky), is a popular Christmas delicacy.

Christmas Eve bonfires on the levees are a holiday tradition synonymous with Creole culture.

Every Christmas Eve, locals burn log structures that stand up to an impressive 30 feet. Most are built as traditional teepees (like the one pictured above), but some depict shapes like houses and ships.

In New England, particularly in Maine, one of the most important parts of Christmas dinner is the seafood chowder, made with lobster, crab, and/or clams in a warm, creamy broth.

Get a recipe for New England Christmas chowder here.

Over two decades ago, in Baltimore, Maryland, a man living on 34th Street placed a string of Christmas lights in the tree in his front yard. Soon, his neighbors mimicked his tradition.

Now, more than 25 years later, the humble Baltimore block is transformed every year into a decorative spectacle known as the "Miracle on 34th Street." Every house participates in the annual lighting tradition that draws visitors from all over the country — this year, visitors are encouraged to mask up before heading over.

Not many people know that the nostalgic paintings created by the popular artist Norman Rockwell actually depicted a real place, and not just small town Americana from his imagination. That place — Norman Rockwell's hometown — is Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Stockbridge Main Street goes all out every year in December to recreate the idyllic New England setting with parades, caroling, and holiday concerts.

This year, as the town's site states, "We will embrace the character of the 'Best New England Christmas Town' with virtual events, and outdoor, masked-up and socially distanced offerings. Highlights include virtual readings & a holiday marketplace, online videos of holiday concerts past and Main Street at Christmas celebrations, as well as, outdoor holiday light shows, live theatre and more."

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland claims to be the largest Christmas store in the world. Open all year round, the 320,000 square-foot store contains multiple floors of decorations, gifts, trees, and any holiday trinket you can possibly think of.

Lutefisk dinners began as a Nordic holiday tradition, and are now part of a quintessential Christmas dinner for Minnesotans across the state, regardless of their ethnic background.

Lutefisk is a dried white fish soaked in water for several days and treated with lye. The dish has a Jell-O-like consistency, and is reminiscent of gefilte fish served during Jewish Passover. It has become popular in the Twin Cities region due to the large population of immigrants from Scandinavia.

Instead of just decorating houses, Mississippi residents look forward to the decked-out boats that take part in the Biloxi Beach Water Boat Parade. Boaters decorate their vessels to the nines, and the show culminates in a stunning fireworks display.

If you live outside of Missouri, you probably have no idea who the Fairy Princess is. But for local kids, the Fairy Princess is a holiday icon. Young local women dress up in crowns and royal regalia to meet with children. Each child who meets a Fairy Princess gets a toy that comes out of a secret treasure chest.

The Fairy Princess was a tradition started by Kline's Department Store in 1936. The Klines came up with the idea because they were Jewish and did not wish to hire a Santa Claus. Thus, the non-denominational (and sparkly) figure was born.

This year, kids can still meet a Fairy Princess virtually, and receive a special gift.

The Montana Ice Festival may sound magical, but this annual ice climbing competition is all about athletic grit.

Held every year right around Christmas in Bozeman, Montana, the festival features daring climbing contests on the face of the Bridger Mountain Range, as well as the annual Adventure Film Festival.

This year's festival was canceled due to the pandemic, but the organizers have already told ice-climbing fans to save the date for December 6-12, 2021.

Yes, Buffalo Bill was a real person. William Frederick Cody was well-known as a historical figure of the Wild West, but these days his mansion — the Cody House — is popular for its holiday traditions.

Local organizations "adopt" rooms of the Cody Mansion and decorate them for the holidays. Visitors can take a tour of the house and will receive hot cocoa and Christmas cookies. This year, the tours will be strictly drive-thru only.

The Reno Santa Crawl in Reno, Nevada, is one of the largest Christmas-themed pub crawls in the country. It's also a charity fundraiser that donates proceeds to local schools. This year, the organizers couldn't justify bringing in "15,000 Santas" to downtown Reno, but did encourage visiting local festive bars "Junkees, Chocolate Walrus, Adam and Eve and Party America."

Inns and bed and breakfasts across New Hampshire take part in what's become known as the "Inn to Inn Cookie Tour."

Participants can travel to different lodging locations in the White Mountains area to sample homemade holiday cookies and hot chocolate, and mix and mingle with guests at each inn.

While this year's cookie tour was canceled, they've already scheduled 2021's for December 11 and 12.

Storybook Land has been a prime spot for New Jersey kids for over 60 years, and their Christmas Fantasy With Lights parade has been around for over 25 years.

The evening's highlight is when Santa appears, lighting up the entire park with a wave of his magic wand.

They don't have white Christmases in New Mexico, so it makes sense they'd decorate with something a little spicier, which is why dried peppers are often strung across homes or turned into wreaths. The peppers are said to bring health and good luck.

A beer keg tree is constructed in Rochester, New York, annually. In the past, the tree has been made out of 430 kegs and covered in 2,000 feet of lights.

Every year in Asheville, Santa climbs down the 315-foot Chimney Rock, and then joins in other Christmas festivities at the park — there's hot chocolate, cookies, as well as a kind of petting zoo.

Garrison is known as the Christmas Capitol of North Dakota, and for good reason, as the entire town transforms into a Victorian-era village for the holiday season. There's a fruit cake toss, English high tea, top hat decorating, live performances of Dickens' works, horse-drawn carriages, and a whole lot more old-school festivities.

The 2020 festival was canceled but 2021's dates are already lined up for November 26 and 27, December 3 and 4, and December 10 and 11.

Take a tour or even stay overnight at the house with the leg lamp in the window from "A Christmas Story."

Firing the "Christmas guns" at Fort Reno is a longstanding tradition. Originally a custom brought over by German immigrants, the firing of the guns (and cannons, in some cases) was thought to dispel evil spirits in preparation for Christmas.

Portland's Singing Christmas Tree entered its 58th season this year, and prides itself on never being canceled. This year, the tree will just be streamed so everyone can enjoy virtually.

The tree consists of over 350 singers, and the event, which is around two hours long, includes dancing, a nativity scene, and a light show.

In Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, Santa makes a more low-key entrance than flying in on a sleigh. After a tree has been lit and set afloat on Childrens' Lake, Santa rows across it to greet all the kids waiting for him on the lit up shores.

This year's lighting will look a bit different, but residents are still encouraged to bring their own ornaments to decorate the trees.

An annual tradition on Block Island, this Christmas tree, made with around 200 lobster traps, is a little unusual, but makes sense once you think about all the lobster consumed in Rhode Island.

In 1860, Charleston, South Carolina, was about to enter the Civil War. To remember that turbulent time, the Edmondston-Alston House gives visitors the opportunity to try and imagine what Christmas Day before the Civil War was like.

The entire town of Deadwood (yes, that Deadwood) is a National Landmark, and has been since 1961. It's a true time capsule into the days of cowboys and the Gold Rush, and goes all out for Christmas with lights, decorations, and a Christmas Spectacular show.

The Nashville Bluegrass Band performs at the Station Inn in Nashville's hippest neighborhood, the Gulch, every December. And every year, the band gives away a Christmas ham to someone in the audience, after they perform the song "Ham Beats All The Meat." If not just for the ham, go for the music and the banter.

Dallas residents have a beloved tree they call Big Pecan Tree — all capitalized. The enormous tree gets decorated every year — and has been since 1927 — and seeing it in all of its holiday glory is a local tradition.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was founded in 1847, making it one of the oldest traditions on this list. The Choir has released over 10 albums, including one this year called "When You Believe: A Night at the Movies." But the best place to see them perform is in their home state of Utah, which they do around Christmas every year.

Due to obvious reasons, the choir hasn't performed this year, but PBS will air their Christmas special "Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir."

Middlebury, Vermont, gets its entire population into the holiday spirit with different events, like the "I Spy" contest. In the past, the contest involved finding 10 tiny chickens hidden in 10 store windows in downtown Middlebury. The winner of the contest got $100 in Middlebury Money — money that can be spent at local shops and restaurants across town.

In 1787, George Washington brought a camel to his home in Mount Vernon for Christmas, and now Mount Vernon pays tribute to the tradition by having their very own Christmas camel every year. He even takes selfies.

This year was the 42nd Festival of Trees in Seattle. Trees are professionally decorated according to a theme (this year's was "Project Welcome Home, Vietnam War Memorial"), and can be sponsored by companies or individuals. Trees are for sale, and all of the proceeds go to Seattle Children's Hospital.

In 2020, it all went down virtually, and the trees are being displayed in windows.

The Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights, which first started in 1985, is one of the biggest light shows in the country. It spans 300 acres, and has over 89 lit up attractions — from a rainbow tunnel to Peanuts characters — made with over one million lights.

Normally, during weekends in December, Cave of the Mounds in Wisconsin offers Sing-A-Long Caroling Tours. The cave's acoustics will make your favorite holiday songs sound otherworldly — but this year, you just have to settle for YouTube videos.

On Christmas morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, skiers can fly down the mountain with Santa.

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