It's truly astonishing when you think about the number of people in the world, the number of countries there are, and the traditions and customs that differentiate each of them. Naturally, there are some traditions that would make no sense to outsiders. Prepare for culture shock!
After Redditor jedflip asked the online community, "What is a tradition in your country that makes no sense to the rest of the world?" people shared their experiences.
"They erect scaffolding..."
We have a "Black Pudding Throwing Festival" in the village once a year. They erect scaffolding in the main road through town and put some big Yorkshire Puddings on top of the scaffold. You pay a quid and get three Black Puddings to throw up and knock off as many as you can.
It's pretty weird.
"Not the existence of it..."
Sauna. Not the existence of it, but just how common it is. I mean I live a pretty slummy neighborhood paying dirt-cheap rent, and even I have free sauna access included with my flat.
"Not just the fact that we drink it..."
Yerba maté. Not just the fact that we drink it, but the fact that we drink it like you'd pass around a joint with everyone drinking from the same metal straw.
Something tells me...
...that this would not work post-pandemic.
"Old ladies spitting on beautiful young women..."
Old ladies spitting on beautiful young women that they are keen of.
We have a tradition in which it is believed that some person can be bewitched by a "bad eye" in case someone looks at you with bad or jealous intentions. This happens especially if you're beautiful, young, handsome, successful etc. If someone looks at you like that, you can "catch the bad eye" and then have a lot of bad luck. If you "catch the bad eye" there are rituals that can be performed to "remove the bad eye". These are typically performed by old ladies or old men. They have to say a few secret words while looking at you and mixing oil and water (the oil "catches" the "bad eye" in the water as it forms the shape of an eye). The secret words are passed down from males to females and from females to males, but not through the same gender.
To prevent catching the bad eye, there are a few methods. Either you can carry eye jewelry with you (literally a blue circle in the form of an eye), or someone can spit on you. They believe if you are spat on, the bad eye sees the spit and doesn't think you're beautiful anymore.
So if you're a young girl and you go to your grandma, they may say something "Oh my god you look so beautiful" and then spit on you. Of course, they don't literally spit, they just pretend to spit.
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On New Year's Eve, it's a tradition in Spain to eat 12 grapes, one for every 12 bell's chimes. It's supposed to bring good luck for the new year.
"Burning the effigy..."
Burning the effigy of a failed terrorist every 5th of November.
Yeah... about that...
Odd, yet intriguing.
"There is a heavy Polish influence..."
Dyngus Day. The day after Easter when men sprinkle women with water, usually with squirt guns now, and tap their butts with pussy willows. There is a heavy Polish influence on my area in the States.
"In the UK..."
In the UK they roll a big round block of cheese down a very steep hill and then some mad folk chase it down the hill. They end up popping shoulders, fingers etc. all out of place. The winner is the one that gets the cheese. Check it out on Youtube.
I went to YouTube so you wouldn't have to.
"She has a point."
American here. I had a friend from Taiwan who thought it was weird af that we said "Bless you," or anything really when people sneeze. She has a point.
"Dancing around a piece of wood..."
Dancing around a piece of wood singing songs and making headbands out of flowers during the midsummer holiday (it's not taking place during the actual middle of the summer though).
We're going to have a lot of traveling to do eventually.
We wonder if there are any new traditions that are falling into place amid all the lockdowns. Food for thought.
The world is a fascinating place. A bit odd sometimes, too. Just roll with it (much like those people with their cheese) and have a good time.
Have some of your own stories to share? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below!
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