Here are a few examples of quirky traditions from the countries I know:
Mexico: When you buy new shoes you are entiled to the Remojada, meaning that they should be stomped on. I must admit this is one of those annoying traditions because, although it was probably fun at age 6 when you would get your shiny new zapatos de charol stomped on by half the student body at recess, in no way would I like my pretty new suède boots being all dirty and stepped on the first day I wear them. Plus, in my case, new shoes almost always hurt my feet at the beginning, so I don't have to tell you that stepping on my foot as well is not going to be very appreciated!
France: Making eye contact when you toast is mandatory! I don't know where this tradition comes from but at the beginning André used to call me out in the middle of a toast in front of everyone for not looking at the eyes while clinking glasses so I'm guessing it's pretty solemn. And then again, how many times I've had to prevent myself from giggling when looking at the person in front of me raise their eyebrows so high up into their forehead and open their eyes clock-orange-wide in order to make unavoidable eye contact. LOL
France: When a couple marries it is tradition for the couple to spend their wedding night in a secret location (the house of a family member, a room in a hotel nearby, etc). Nobody is supposed to know where they are and after they leave the party the wedding guests must try and guess the secret location and spend the rest of the night looking for the newlyweds. When they do find them they are supposed to barge in the room (uh hello? WEDDING NIGHT?!) and make the bride slurp some kind of sauce (I've never really asked what's in it but it looks pretty gross) out of, get this, a chamber pott!!!! Eiiiiiwwwww!!
US: It is good luck for the bride to wear something new, something old, something borrowed and something blue and for the newlyweds to save their wedding cake top tier for a year in the freezer. Can someone explain why????
Mexico: A pipa de agua is a large truck that is used to haul water into a home's cisterna (a sort of underground well). These trucks usually can carry up to 10,000 liters of water and you call them when you have no water left in your cisterna to flush your toilet or wash your dishes and they'll come to your home and empty their 10,000 liter tank into your cisterna out of a hose that is hooked to the tank. Anyway, the tradition is that on the last day of the school year the kids all pitch in and order a pipa de agua that arrives all the way into the school's main playground and spend the day having wet ballon fights and water battles.... I'm not so sure Greenpeace would approve of this one ....
US: The prom.
Mexico: When a person blows out their birthday candles there is suddenly the cry among the party guests for a Mordida! Mordida! (Bite! Bite!). This means the birthday boy or girl has to take a bite out of the cake and no soon has his/her lips touched the icing that several hands come out of nowhere and slam dunk the person's head into the cake. It sounds more violent than it really is, and most of the time the person only gets some icing around the mouth... but once in a while there is a serious head pusher and if you're not careful you can find yourself covered in cake face mask! (Needless to say, after cutting the cake, the slice with eyebrows and nose hair on it goes to the brithday boy/girl LOL)
US: I have to admit I'm not very familiar with US traditions having rarely lived on US soil... but I can think of the funny "knock on wood" expression which always cracks up my fellow frenchmen here ("but why on ze wood?? ") or the dressing up in disguise on Halloween night. Nahhh... too easy... anyone care to add?
In any case, I recently came across another pretty funny tradition. This time from Rumania! My parents in law gave a party last weekend for my Hubby's 30th belated birthday. Several of their friends attended and most have known André since he was born! It turns out a rumanian tradition is to have a birthday cake torn appart on top of the head of the birthday boy!! Yep, you read right! Ok, so the actual tradition is to do this only on the 1st birthday when the kid is too small to know what is actually going on... but this year we made a small exception ... and well.....
Smile honey, you're famous! :D
6 comments:
Great post!
Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocking_on_wood
That's so funny! They do the same thing with toasts here. If you don't look people in the eyes you're doomed to 7 years bad sex...or so the saying goes... :)
I might have to steal your idea for this post, I am thinking of so many ridulous Chilean and US traditions right, that could be really fun to write about.
I really enjoyed reading this entry, it was informative and entertaining!
"US" :(is an english custom ):
sommething new= the new life
sommething old = the past
sommething borrowed = friendship
sommething blue....fidelity, loyality.
In England they say "Touch Wood" instead of Knocking on it. And when I say "knock on wood" I usually knock on my head (but that's not something everyone does, just me).
When you get married in the South (U.S.) you have a bridesmaid luncheon and you have what's called a "charm cake" slipped into the layers you have little silver (or gold if you're rich) charms that you specially selected for each bridesmaid. Attached to each charm is a ribbon that reaches to the plate of the specific bridesmaid. The bride has to stand up and tell everyone why she picked whatever charm for the person and then the bridesmaid will pull the ribbon and reveal what her charm is. Not sure where that came from.
touch the wood is a very old tradition in all europe!!
Mexico Way: Thanks for the wikipedia link. Didn't know "knock on wood" was also used in so many other places... goes to show we always think we are the center of the universe... LOL
Mamacita: The 7 years of bad sex threat is also used in Mexico..... when you brake a mirror :s -- Steal away... can't wait to read about more funny US/Chilean traditions...
Hélène: Wow! Merci pour l'info! Je ne le savais pas même le jour de mon propre mariage! La honte!
André: And you say what? "Je tape sur du bois"? And I'm warning you, any french man or woman that dares to stomp on my puhrty new shoes is going to get punched in the face! LOL
Mexpat: What a cool tradition! I wonder what my charm bracelet will be if were a bridesmaid (although I think I can't be one anymore 'cause I'm married, right?) :(
In any case, they have another funny tradition here on weddings. The bride's girlfriends dress her up in a ridiculous disguise (the more ridiculous the better) and take her on a treasure hunt the entire day all over the city all the time wearing a sign that says something like: "Soon to get married" while she gives out candy and little goodies to people passing by. :D
Anonymous: So I hear... :D
Fned.
Post a Comment