Ever stop to *really* think about the traditions you follow at home? And how — just maybe — they make absolutely no sense to other people?
Welp, redditor u/jediflip_ recently asked people, "What is a tradition in your country that makes no sense to the rest of the world?" And they received some pretty eyebrow-raising responses:
1. "Mummering, a Christmas tradition where groups dress up in costume and go from house to house to party, drink, and dance until the homeowners guess who you are."
2. "We have a 'Black Pudding Throwing Festival' in the village once a year. They erect scaffolding on the main road in town and put some big-ass 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."
3. "Here in the Netherlands, when someone celebrates their birthday, we congratulate everyone that is present at the party."
"Let's say it's John's birthday party. People arriving at the party will congratulate everyone in the room by saying, 'Congratulations on John's birthday,' or just, 'Congratulations' ('Gefeliciteerd!')." —u/PafPiet
Where does this make sense? The Netherlands
4. "In Barcelona and Catalonia, every year around Christmas, the kids 'feed' an inanimate log of wood. Then, after a certain amount of days, once the log is 'full,' they beat it with sticks until it shits out presents."
5. "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."
6. "'Watering' women on Easter Monday so we 'don't wilt.' It used to be done with a bucket of water, nowadays it's usually just spraying some cheap cologne after saying a cringy poem."
"I hate it. Imagine having four to five male relatives and friends attack you with different scents of bad cologne. I'd bet my arse it's the remnant of some forgotten pagan fertility rite." —u/AkechiJubeiMitsuhide
Where does this make sense? Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary
7. "Oktoberfest, the real one, in Munich. Everybody gets it — it’s about drinking a crap ton of beer for a month in Lederhosen. But most don’t know that it is an annual celebration of the wedding of a long-dead prince of a country that doesn’t exist anymore."
8. "When you go to the sauna, you're supposed to get a bundle of these birch twigs to hit yourself and others with them in the sauna. It's a purifying act and helps blood circulation."
9. "Buying a sausage in a hot dog bun or single slice of bread from the parking lot of a tools and hardware store chain on a Saturday."
10. "Throwing ground cinnamon at unmarried people when they turn 25."
Where does this make sense? Denmark
11. "In the UK, they roll a big, round block of cheese down a very steep hill. Then, some mad folks chase it down the hill."
12. "Midsommar. We Swedes dress up a cross or 'T' with leaves and other things, hang two 'rings' made from anything green (leaves, grass, and flowers) at each side of the longitudinal part of the cross or 'T.' Then, we dance around it and sing about washing our clothes and small little frogs, all while wearing wreaths on our heads."
13. "Holi. The day before, we make a giant campfire and throw coconuts in it. Then, the day of, we all throw colors at each other."
14. "Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is pretty known to be celebrated in Mexico. For one Day of the Dead tradition, you write a 'calaverita,' which is a poem for a friend or relative that narrates how they would die in a comedic way."
15. "Old ladies spitting on beautiful young women that they are keen on in Greece. We have a belief that a person can be bewitched by an 'evil eye' if someone looks at you with bad or jealous intentions. There are a few methods to prevent the 'evil eye,' such as someone spitting on you so that the evil eye sees the spit and doesn't think you're beautiful anymore."
16. "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." —u/proflight27
Where does this make sense? Spain (the Twelve Grapes tradition was also adopted in Latin American countries, the Philippines, and Hispanic cultures)
17. "Guy Fawkes Day. Can you imagine being Guy Fawkes’ ghost and watching, every year, people celebrating your death with fireworks and amusements?"
