Coming from a country as culturally diverse as South Africa, it’s only natural to be curious about the unusual and fascinating traditions celebrated around the world — customs that might seem strange to some but are completely normal to others.
Here are 10 traditions celebrated around the world that will make you go ‘huh’!
1. Don’t pass the salt
Requesting salt in Egypt is considered rude and in doing so, you insult the chef. Egyptians believe that asking for salt suggests that you are not satisfied with the meal. Best to take your own salt along.
2. Newborn babies are considered 1-year-olds
Koreans ‘age’ a year every new year. Every person’s birthday is 1 January, so a newborn is already a year old. If a baby is born on 31 December, the baby turns 2 years old the very next month, on 1 January, of the new year.
3. One last dance
Famadihana – the turning of the bones – is a Madagascan funerary ceremony where people exhume their ancestors and rewrap the corpses in fresh cloth before dancing to live music while carrying the freshly wrapped corpses over their heads and returning them back to the tomb. The belief is to celebrate the life lived by the dead person.
4. Blacken the bride
There is a pre-wedding tradition in Scotland called blackening. The ritual involves throwing as many disgusting things at the bride, like rotten eggs, spoilt milk, fish, and basically, anything with a high gross factor. The custom is a metaphor for the challenging chapters of marriage life and if she can handle the blackening, she’s all set for married life!
5. Throw the baby for good luck
A ritual practised by couples in Karnataka, India, where newborns are thrown off of 50-feet-high temples with the belief that this custom brings good health and luck to the babies. The family members hold out blankets to catch the terrified infants.
6. Salute the magpie
One for sorrow, two for joy. In England, it is believed that spotting a solo magpie brings bad luck, and to counteract the prevailing bad luck, you have to salute the magpie.
7. A roof full of teeth
It appears that not all children get visited by the Tooth Fairy. Children in Greece throw their baby teeth that have fallen out onto the roof of their home with the belief that it brings good luck and a healthy replacement tooth.
8. Red means dead
While visiting South Korea, be sure to stay away from red ink when writing cards or notes. Writing someone’s name in red ink traditionally signifies that the person is deceased.
9. Tardiness is encouraged
You will be considered too eager, rude and greedy for showing up on time to events in Venezuela. Best to arrive 15 minutes later than the scheduled time to prevent being sneered at.
10. Baking with luck
Bolivia has a New Year’s Eve tradition in which bakeries across the country bake sweet pastries and cakes with coins in them. Those who find a coin in their cake are said to have good luck in the new year.
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