Customs and Traditions From Around The World

CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD
Depending on where you are these traditions from around the world may appear a little strange, but to others they
are part of their history and heritage,
Here’s a list of the most unusual. You may already know some of them, but all of them are very fascinating and give
you an insight in to other peoples cultures and traditions.
If you have any, or know of any other customs and traditions that aren’t mentioned in this list please feel free to add
them within the comments section.
IVREA CITY, ITALY.

The core celebration of carnival is based on a locally famous Battle of the Oranges.
TOOTH THROWING.
In Greece, a child’s tooth is thrown onto the roof for good luck.
THE ‘EVIL’ SANTA CLAUS.

Krampus Night. Celebrated in Austria on December 5th, Krampus is described as Santa Claus’ evil twin brother!
POINTING THE THUMB.

In Indonesia, a person points with their thumb as it’s considered very rude to point with a forefinger.
HOLD YOUR STOMACH, THE THUNDER IS COMING.

Japanese children cover their tummy button when they hear thunder.
HAPPY FEET?
Foot Binding, a beauty ritual for women to keep their feet from growing too large, is a painful Chinese tradition that
only stopped in the 1930s.
COMING OF AGE.
The Fulani Sharo Tradition. A coming of age ceremony celebrated in some parts of Africa
WEALTHY START.
In Brazil, New Year’s Day is celebrated with a bowl of lentil soup as the lentil is considered a symbol of wealth
TOUCHING IN THAILAND.
It’s considered very rude to pointing the bottom of one’s foot at another person, as is touching the top of another
person’s head.
361 DAYS A YEAR.
The Bahai People of Iran have their own calendar consisting of nineteen months each with nineteen days.
TOOTH FAIRY.
In many Western cultures, children leave teeth under their pillow for the tooth fairy to collect – usually in return for
some money!
SILVER PROTECTION.
A Norwegian bride traditionally wears a silver crown with dangling charms to ward off evil spirits.
FIVE PARTIES. ONE CELEBRATION.

Wedding celebrations can involve five parties in some parts of the Middle East, beginning with the engagement
party and ending with the wedding shower, seven days after the marriage.
DON’T MUDDY THE CARPET.

Shoes must always be removed before entering a Japanese home. This also holds true for Indian households too.
NEW CHRISTMAS MENU.

A traditional Christmas Day meal in Latvia consists of cooked brown peas with pork sauce and cabbage.
FATHER FROST.
In Russia, Father Frost brings presents for the children on New Year’s Day.
WALKING ON MONEY.
Gold and silver coins are placed inside a brides wedding shoes in Sweden.
NO BEST MAN.
At a Caribbean wedding ceremony, the groom never has a best-man.
SANTA’S HELPER.
Zwarte Piet. In the Netherlands, Santa has a helper named Zwarte Piet or Black Pete.
‘MORNING MR MAGPIE’.
Often said by people in the UK to counteract the bad luck brought by the sighting of a single magpie.
Strange traditions around the world
We all practice different traditions, some common and universal, while others are strange and unusual. Check out this
selection of strange traditions from around the world.
1. Chinese hat hair

A Chinese tradition which sees women wear headdresses made from the hair of their dead ancestors appears to be
going strong in this part of the country.
Instead of throwing away their hair when they comb it, women who are part of China's Long-horn Miao minority instead
save the strands and add them to their collection of hair that allows them to create spectacular headdresses.
The hairpieces are brought out for special occasions and carefully woven around horn-shaped headdresses fitted to the
heads of the young women and girls.
2. Cheese-rolling in Gloucester, England
This particular oddity has been held for the last 200 years. On the last Monday in May, contestants stand at the top of
Coopers Hill and wait for an enormous wheel of Double Gloucester cheese to be rolled. The idea is to race the cheese to
the bottom of the hill. Weirdly, the cheese almost always wins, sometimes reaching speeds of over 100 km/h.
3. Burial in the Amazon
The Yanomami tribe doesn't believe in digging holes for their dead – or in wasting anything. When a Yanomami dies,
their body is burned and the ashes & bone fragments are ground into powder. Then the family members eat the
remains.
4. Bouncing babies in India

In Solapur, a yearly non-religious festival is held in which babies are thrown from a 15-meter tower. They don´t really
bounce – waiting catchers hold a sheet below for the babies to land in. Nobody really knows how this tradition came
about, but luckily they haven´t lost one yet.
5. Spitting in Greece for luck
Don´t be too offended if an old-timer in Greece spits at your baby, three times. This is a traditional way to ward off evil
spirits and bad luck.
6. Sifudu in parts of Africa
Sifudu is an important custom practised in different African tribes. On the third day of birth of the child, relatives gather
at the hut, picking leaves from the Sifudu tree. A small fire is made at the centre of the hut and the Sifudu leaves are
burnt to produce a thin pall of smoke. The leaves have an extremely pungent aroma that irritates mouth, nose and eyes.
Then the baby is carried by a woman with his head downward in the smoke and is passed several times through the
smoke and is then handed back to the mother who quickly passes the child under her leg.
It is believed that the ritual ensures that the child is never subjected to fright, timidness or shyness.
Read more at
7. Suttee or self cremation in India

Suttee or self cremation involves widows who voluntarily lie by her dead husband's side on his funeral pyre to be burnt
alive with the corpse.
Suttee is a very old Hindu custom practised in India for many centuries until it was banned by the British in 1829.
The widow is considered a bad omen in the Hindu society. She is not allowed to attend social gatherings and everything
from her touch to her presence is considered extremely impure. Although the core idea behind this strange custom is to
reunite the couple in afterlife, most of the outsiders and even many Indians see this as just inhumanity.

8. Blackening of the bride in Scotland
Marriage is one of the most joyous occasions in all cultures and countries. An occasion filled with laughter, joy and
happiness. But it can become an occasion of craziness in Scotland. The Scottish people are not like any other European.
Their men wear skirts and they can make music out of a bag. But even more bizarre is what they do with their newly
wed bride. Instead of throwing rice, the Scots welcome their bride with eggs and sauces on her face. They dub this
strange ritual as the "blackening of bride".
9. Jhator in Tibet
In Tibet, Buddhists practice a strange sacred ritual called Jhator, or sky burial. Buddhists believe in a cycle of rebirth,
which means that there is no need to preserve a body after death, since the soul has moved on to another realm. The
bodies of the dead are therefore taken to open grounds—usually at very high altitudes—and then left as alms for
scavengers such as vultures. In order to dispose of the body as quickly as possible, a specialist cuts the corpse into
pieces, and spreads it around to be devoured.

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CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE

IVREA CITY, ITALY.

THE ‘EVIL’ SANTA CLAUS.

POINTING THE THUMB.

HOLD YOUR STOMACH, THE THUNDER IS COMING.

FIVE PARTIES. ONE CELEBRATION.

DON’T MUDDY THE CARPET.

NEW CHRISTMAS MENU.

Strange traditions around the world

1. Chinese hat hair

2. Cheese-rolling in Gloucester, England

3. Burial in the Amazon

4. Bouncing babies in India

5. Spitting in Greece for luck

6. Sifudu in parts of Africa

7. Suttee or self cremation in India

8. Blackening of the bride in Scotland

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