Mari Lwyd

The Mari Lwyd tradition was once carried out in South Wales. Groups of men would go around door-to-door with a horse prop, made of a horse skull on a stick, asking for entry to the house in a song. The homeowners would deny entrance through a song, and it would go back and forth until someone eventually gave up. If the homeowner gave up first, the group of men would be granted access to their home and would be allowed food and drink and to basically cause chaos in the house.

Source: emgn.com

Kallikantzaros

A malevolent goblin in Southeastern folklore, Kallikantzaros lives underground but comes out between Christmas and Epiphany to play pranks on people and scare them. So he’s pretty much the grinch of mythology.

Source: emgn.com

Consoda

In Portugal, it is tradition for people to wake up early on Christmas morning and have a big feast. The feast is knows as Consoda. It honors dead relatives and celebrates ancestors. Families set out extra plates and sometimes even leave crumbs on the plate.

Source: emgn.com

Père Fouettard

Similar to Knecht Ruprecht, Père Fouettard would accompany Saint Nicholas. Originating in France and southern Belgium, the story of Père Fouettard is a pretty sinister one. Père Fouettard was a butcher who came across three wealthy boys on their way to boarding school, captured them and robbed them. Later he killed them, chopped up their bodies and kept them in a barrel. After Saint Nicholas found out, Père Fouettard was punished and spent the rest of his days following Saint Nicholas.

Source: emgn.com