Where we live has an even greater affect on us than we realize. It isn't until we see how friends and family are celebrating the holidays in other states that we realize just how unique and maybe even strange, some of our favorite traditions are! Keep reading below to see how many of these wacky traditions you can relate to.

1. We dive into the holidays feet first.

Seeing locals dressed up in full character is no unfamiliar sight during the holiday season. Whether you stumble across Santa or someone hailing from the North Pole or go through small towns like Skaneateles where you can find handfuls of people resembling Charles Dickens characters. We dive feet first into the holiday season!

2. We even like to build a Christmas tree out of kegs every year.

Rochester makes getting into the spirit quite fun with Genesee Brewery's Christmas keg tree. Officially up and lit for the year for all to see, the electrifying and quirky tree is a tradition that we all love.

3. It wouldn't be the holidays in Upstate New York if you didn't smash a pig or two.

If you don't understand what this means, don't be alarmed. We promise we aren't actually encouraging you to go smash an actual pig. Some of us like to go to our local candy store and buy peppermint pigs that come equipped with a small hammer. New Yorkers will then buy the pig that we consider to be good luck, and then smash it to pieces to eat on Christmas. Strange to you maybe, but quite normal to us!

4. We fill up the city with red and white during SantaCon.

Head down to the Big Apple on December 9th this year and witness the wild sea of Santas that come out to play for SantaCon. The Santa-themed convention is an unusual one, but it's something that indefinitely brings a smile to your face.

5. We decorate our trees in ornaments that you may not quite understand.

Sure some of you think you're cute by hanging a whimsical pickle on your Christmas tree, but how about going the extra mile and decorating your home in Beef on Weck or Buffalo Wing ornaments?

6. We make sure our favorite statuesque buddies get into the spirit too.

Look up high above places like Vidler's 5 & 10 and you'll get to see a familiar face wearing a Santa hat and tinsel!

7. We pay Santa a visit at the actual North Pole.

That's right! We drive all the way up to the North Pole to tell Santa ourselves exactly what it is that we want. Well... by driving up to the North Pole, we mean the North Pole in Essex County of course. An actual town named the North Pole equipped with it's own Post Office that will give you the official North Pole stamp.

8. We Polar Plunge our way into the holidays.

Most small towns that sit along a body of water in New York will start hosting their annual Polar Plunges around this time of year. It may seem strange to purposefully go into a freezing cold body of water, but we'll never stop doing it.

9. We break out the fireworks in February.

Most people may associate fireworks with summertime festivities, but in New York we like to keep our winter festivals nice and exciting. Head up north to Saranac Lake and you can see us be weird in wacky as we make our way through an ice castle and watch fireworks overhead.

10. We like to watch bands play out of train cars.

Something many of us look forward to each holiday season, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rolls through New York to celebrate. As the holiday light-covered train makes it's way across the U.S., New Yorkers get the chance to watch artists perform out of the train. This is one tradition that the entire family will always love.

11. And we take our Gingerbread house-making quite seriously.

New Yorkers have no time for anyone who looks at the art of Gingerbread house-making as some throw-away craft. This is serious people! Head on over to the George Eastman Museum now through December 13th and you'll find us enjoying one of our many traditions... seeing all these sweet creations.

Do you hail from the Western half of our state? Then you might relate to these 9 Weird And Wacky Holiday Traditions You'll Only Get If You're From Buffalo!