One of the best parts of being a military spouse is how the holidays look a little different every time we move. While many families build traditions in one hometown, we add new layers everywhere the military sends us. Our holiday memories become stitched together from places we’ve lived, friends who became family, and customs we never would have experienced otherwise.
Over the years, I’ve learned that embracing local traditions doesn’t replace your own — it adds to them. Here are some of the most memorable holiday traditions military spouses discover around the world.
Germany: Christmas Markets and Glühwein Season
If you’ve ever been stationed in Germany during the holidays, you know the magic of the Christmas markets. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the wooden stalls, handcrafted ornaments, warm crepes and steaming mugs of Glühwein. You wander cobblestone streets bundled in your warmest coat, shopping for gifts you swear you’re buying for others (even though half end up on your own tree).
For military families, these markets become a gathering place — a way to feel part of something bigger. You bring visiting relatives or go with friends, creating memories that last far longer than the duty station.
England: Christmas Crackers and Panto Season
In England, no Christmas is complete without crackers — the colorful cardboard tubes that snap when pulled apart to reveal tiny toys, groan-worthy jokes and the traditional paper crown everyone wears at dinner.
Then there’s the Christmas pantomime, a loud, quirky, interactive theatrical show that you truly have to experience to understand. It’s a tradition military kids never forget, and one spouses adopt with surprising enthusiasm. (Where else are you encouraged to shout at the stage?)
Italy: Nativity Scenes and La Befana
Italy is steeped in holiday tradition, and military spouses quickly learn that Christmas isn’t just a day — it’s a season. Nativity scenes, or presepi, appear everywhere, from town squares to elaborate private-home displays. Some towns even build live nativity villages complete with artisans, shepherds and bakers.
Then there’s La Befana, the beloved old woman who delivers gifts on Jan. 6. By the time Epiphany arrives, military families have fully welcomed her into their holiday storytelling.
Japan: Illumination Lights and Christmas KFC
Christmas in Japan is something many military families laugh about years later. While the holiday isn’t traditionally religious, Japan celebrates with incredible winter illumination displays that take over city centers, parks and botanical gardens.
And yes — the KFC rumor is true. Eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas is a national trend. The first time you see families lining up outside a KFC in December, you’re convinced you misunderstood something. By your second year, you’re making your own reservation.
Korea: Sharing Warmth and New Year Traditions
In Korea, Christmas is quieter, but the season is full of warmth. You’ll find holiday street food and beautifully lit shopping districts. Military families quickly embrace tteokguk (rice cake soup) on New Year’s Day, a tradition symbolizing good fortune and growing a year older.
There’s something reassuring about marking the new year the Korean way — surrounded by your military community and simple, meaningful rituals.
Hawaii: Mele Kalikimaka Christmas
A Hawaiian Christmas might be the easiest one to get used to. Picture palm trees wrapped in lights, beachside parades and Santa arriving by outrigger canoe. The first time your kids build a sandman instead of a snowman, you realize how beautifully different holidays can be.
Military spouses often describe holiday seasons in Hawaii as some of their most memorable — full of sunshine, community and a pace that encourages you to slow down.
Turkey: Lanterns, Hospitality and Blended Traditions
Spending the holidays in Turkey offers a beautiful mix of history and warmth. While Christmas isn’t a major holiday, December still feels festive with colorful lanterns in shop windows, winter markets lining the streets and the smell of roasted chestnuts filling city squares.
New Year’s Eve is the main celebration, complete with fireworks, large family dinners and upbeat gatherings that feel surprisingly familiar. Military families often find that the season becomes less about the date and more about the cultural experience — exploring ancient sites in winter, picking up hand-painted ceramics and discovering how quickly Turkey makes you feel at home
As military spouses, our traditions don’t all look the same. Some of us collect Christmas ornaments from countries we once had to look up on a map. Others cook meals inspired by places we’ve lived. Some years we celebrate early or late, over video calls or in new languages, with new foods or new friends.
But that’s the beauty of this life: We get to weave pieces of the world into our family story. And year after year, no matter where we are, those memories become part of who we are.
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