23 December

For anyone who is fed up with Christmas or irreligious enough to eschew Hanukkah but keen to throw a party, Festivus provides the answer to the secularist's prayers.

Festivus reached the public domain courtesy of a 1997 Seinfeld episode where Frank Constanza, after getting into a punch-up over the last doll in the store, establishes an alternative ritual, Festivus.

The key features of Festivus? An aluminium pole in place of a tree (no tinsel). An "Airing of the Grievances", or a chance to tell all those around the table how much they have disappointed you, and "Feats of Strengths", generally wrestling. Bizarrely, Festivus is based on the real-life family tradition of one of the show's writers, Dan O'Keeffe.

We will be getting in the spirit not with a pole but with a Polish Martini. The "Airing of the Grievances"? We have Christmas for that. And "Feats of Strength"? We'll save that until the New Year gym membership kicks in. Cheers!

It's also the Night Of The Radishes

Mexico has some weird celebrations, but the Night of the Radishes really has to be one of the weirdest. It all goes on in Oaxaca City when thousands of people gather in the plaza to admire the radish exhibition.

They're grown especially and are carved into extraordinary sculptures ranging from nativity scenes to exact models of the city's buildings. We're not going to subject you to a radish cocktail, but we will recommend a Oaxaca Old Fashioned to toast the city, a great country and Mexicans capability to celebrate just about anything.