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Isn’t it so fun and exciting to experience other cultures that are radically different from your own?
That’s one of the beauties of traveling!
And it’s really fun when you encounter a tradition in another country that is totally unique and unexpected. Diversity is what makes the world go ’round, people!
People on AskReddit talked about the traditions that make sense in their country but not in the rest of the world.
Let’s take a look.
1. Why not?!?!
“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 3 Black Puddings to throw up and knock off as may as you can.”
2. Congratulations!
“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!).”
3. That’s different.
“Throwing ground cinnamon at unmarried people when they turn 25.
This is in Denmark.”
4. Sounds fun!
“Mummering.
A Christmas tradition where groups of people dress up in costume and go from house to house to party, drink, and dance until the homeowners guess who you are.
Not sure letting a bunch of disguised drunk people into your kitchen to dance would work anywhere besides a small town.”
5. It’s everywhere.
“Sauna in Finland. 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.”
6. The real meaning behind it.
“Oktoberfest- the real one, in Munich.
I mean, everybody gets it – it’s about drinking a ton of beer for a month in Lederhosen.
But most don’t know that it is an annual celebration of the wedding of a prince long dead, of a country that doesn’t exist anymore.
Bavarians like to make their parties organized and scheduled.”
7. WTF?
“Barcelona/Catalonia.
Every year around Christmas the kids ‘feed’ an inanimate log of wood and then after a certain amount of days – once its full – they beat it with sticks until it sh**s out presents.
I mean it’s more plausible than Santa I guess but what the f**k?”
8. Very odd.
“”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 cringey poem.
We still hate it. (Imagine having 4-5 male relatives and friends attacking you with different scents of bad cologne.)
I’d bet it’s the remnant of some forgotten Pagan fertility rite.”
9. Fun!
“On Yom Kippur, from evening to the following evening, no ones drives motor vehicles throughout 90% of the country.
For that period, the roads belong to children bicycling and skating. Often kids aged 12 and higher use the opportunity to cycle to neighboring cities.”
10. Eat up!
“On New Years Eve, it’s 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.”
11. Midsommar.
“Midsommar (a Swedish thing).
Basically we Sweds dress up a cross or “T” with leaves and other things, hang two “rings” made from what ever is green (leaves, grass and flowers) at each side of the longitudinal part of the cross or “T”. And now it looks like a d**k.
Now what does a group of Sweds do with the “Midsommar stong” (the giant d**k looking thing)? We dance around it Of course and sing about washing our clothes and the small little Frogs. While wearing “wreath” on our heads.
And then we eat pretty much the same thing we do on Easter and Christmas and there is generally a s**t ton of Alcohol involved.
Midsommar was and is meant to celebrate fertility…. (that is why the whole d**k).”
12. This is wild.
“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 an 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 any more.
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.
Greece.”
Okay, now we want to hear from all the readers out there.
In the comments, tell us about the things from your country that don’t make sense to the rest of the world.
Please and thank you!
