The surrounding world is a fascinating place filled with extreme variability. Diverse nations and cultures have varying customs and traditions that for some people form an inherent part of their lives, while for the others seem to be strange and incomprehensible. Portal Slotsspot prepared for you some of the quirkiest customs and traditions that can be encountered in different corners of the world.
1. The Mari Lwyd (Wales)
Welsh nationals have always been recognized as being a bit odd and out of their mind and this perception is evidently strengthened even further by their weird Christmas-related traditions. The Mari Lwyd is the name of the embellished horse’s skull, which is pretty terrifying to hear, yes. It seems like a horse’s skull alone is not horrible enough, so this very skull is put on a broomstick and then covered up with a white sheet, from which bell-shaped embellishments are hanging down. The terrifying figure is then carried from house to house in order to encourage people to engage in a singing competition. This is a truly long-lived tradition as its roots originate from the 19th century, although no one really dares asking what all the story is about.
2. La Tomatina (Spain)
Spain has plenty of excellent traditions including siestas and much more. Nonetheless, there is one especially strange tradition that is known as La Tomatina. This implies the participation of Valencia residents in a mass fight that presupposes throwing and casting around tomatoes. Just imagine the fights similar to those that involve the use of snowballs, only this time you’ll need tomatoes. Not many of the world traditions could be a good match for such a sighting when all people are simply covered in tomatoes, while buildings around the place remind of the scenes from some horror or action movie.
3. Teeth-Tossing (Greece)
We all grew up and lost some of our teeth in the course of our development. Hiding the lost tooth beneath the pillow before going to bed and finding some money under it in place of the tooth is one of those traditions that are prevalent in many parts of the world, but not in Greece. It is evident that the economic crisis of 2008 produced a huge impact on Greece-based homes so that instead of replacing teeth with some cash, children are rather stimulated to cast away the lost teeth onto the housing’s roof, which is a much more cost-effective method to tell you the truth!
4. Red Ink Ban (South Korea)
There is one rather creepy custom that is peculiar to people from South Korea. It presupposes that writing some individual’s name with the help of red ink would be considered not appropriate. The reason behind this is that the red color is generally used to write someone’s name when they are already dead. Therefore, if you dare writing some person’s name in red, you are simply making this person doomed to ill fate. The good news is that this tradition is not peculiar for western civilization, because kids at school would definitely scare away everyone else by writing their names down using red ink on the covers of their school books.
5. Itchy Palms (the United States)
Gambling-driven activities encourage multiple prejudices and have provoked the inception of respective traditions in various corners of the world. One of such traditions is related to Afro-American culture across the territory of the US. It is commonly believed that if some person has itchy palms, they will most definitely generate some extra cash in the short-term perspective. So, when someone feels like their palms are starting to itch, it is the best sign that it is time to go gambling in order to take the fullest advantage of the predicted glory and success. Evidently, this could be a sign of some disease as well, so how would you know for sure?!
6. Camel Fights (Turkey)
There is a long-lived perception that forcing a pair of animal beings to struggle with one another just for the sake of having fun is viewed as unacceptable in many parts of the globe. Cock fights or bull fights are only some of the most prominent examples. In Turkey, for example, camel fights are considered a bit more acceptable, mainly because these beings do not provoke too much damage causing no particular harm to one another. Moreover, it is a widely acknowledged type of sports. Even though people do not get engaged in the fun, there is the risk that such kind of fights could result in saliva spraying over the crowd of spectators, but it is all together very amusing!
7. Nag Panchami (India)
There is one tradition in India that presupposes the worshipping of snakes. Some of the most hazardous and dangerous snakes across the entire globe are carried to the sacred temple located in some rural district in India. As soon as they reach the place, they are then sprayed with a mixture of red powder, honey and milk, after which they are free to enter the temple’s backyard. So, what could go the other way round? Obviously, nothing in particular. Lethal bites during the Nag Panchami festivities are definitely unlikely to ever happen. Evidently, safety and human heath do not require any support when it comes to the state of affairs in rural regions of India.
8. Butt-Whipping (Czech Republic)
As a part of the MeToo movement, the entire global society has long been eager to see when all the stories about sexual harassment against female mass media workers are going to come to an end. However, there are destinations around the world where traditions in respect to females remain a bit obsolete and even embarrassing. Here is what Czech Republic has on offer – butt-whipping women. Every Easter, the males of Czech Republic go from one house to the other bearing the wooden sticks that all have a beautiful design and whip the butts of women whom they come across in order to enhance the fertility of those females. It is obvious that in any other nation of the world or even Europe alone, you would get a punch in your face for doing such a thing, but probably gender equality is simply not common in such places as Czech Republic.
