Some holiday customs of the peoples of the world can plunge into a state of shock any person who is uninitiated in the intricacies of their national culture. What is just a crowd of people in devil costumes jumping over babies during the Spanish festival "El Colacho", or old sofas flying from the windows of houses in the South African city of Johannesburg on New Year's Eve! Native customs will seem to you just a childish prank compared to what the inhabitants of other countries do. Today we will remember the strangest traditions from around the world and find out how they came about.
Ukrainian Christmas and spider web
In most countries, just one type of spider or cobweb will be a good reason to panic and run out of the house screaming in horror. But this does not apply to Ukraine, where the many-legged "monster" will only be welcome. Especially at Christmas! After all, spiders, according to Ukrainians, bring happiness and good luck. According to an ancient legend, it was these creatures that helped save Christmas for a certain poor widow with children. They decorated the pinecone that served as her tree with their silvery cobwebs and brought back a festive atmosphere to the house.
The legend definitely brought a couple of notes of Halloween horror to the Ukrainian version of the Christmas tale. Indeed, in memory of the miracle performed by spiders, the inhabitants of this country began to decorate the holiday tree with artificial cobwebs.
New Year's mayhem in South Africa
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There are hundreds of ways to celebrate the New Year in an original way. You can, for example, watch the descent of a crystal ball in Times Square or set off giant fireworks. Have you heard that not so long ago, on the eve of this holiday, South African residents threw out old furniture from the windows of their houses?
This tradition spread in one of the criminal areas of Johannesburg in the 90s of the XX century after the end of the apartheid era. However, it was not given to exist for a long time for objective reasons. A few years ago, a refrigerator flying from the upper floors caused serious injuries to an innocent pedestrian.
Police officers have joined the fight against this dangerous tradition. To maintain law and order, they ply the streets of the problem area in armored vehicles. The police action met with some success. In 2013, not a single piece of furniture flew out of the windows of local houses, although on New Year's Eve there was an incredible number of fights, fireworks were launched everywhere, and a peaceful pedestrian could get caught in a flurry of glass bottles.
Fast food for Christmas in Japan
There are strange traditions in Japan too. And they concern the Christmas menu of its inhabitants. The Japanese do not want to see traditional dishes like turkey or goose on their festive table. They prefer the trivial fried chicken from the KFC fast food chain to all the culinary delights of the world. How did it happen that banal fast food hailing from America became a local national tradition?
It all started in 1974 when a group of tourists who decided to celebrate Christmas in Japan could not find a turkey for their holiday table. Instead, foreigners were forced to purchase a chicken. KFC saw the commercial potential in this case and adorned the streets of Japanese cities with ads with the slogan "Kentucky for Christmas!" Locals were enthusiastic about the new idea, and the $ 10 KFC Christmas dinner soon became fantastic. Now, in order to enjoy the coveted chicken for the holiday, every self-respecting Japanese person orders a place in the restaurant two months before the solemn event. Otherwise, he risks spending Christmas in line.
Spanish festival "El Colacho"
One of the strangest customs in the world can be observed in the Spanish town of Castrillo de Murcia. The Corpus Christi festival is held there annually, during which the locals traditionally organize the El Colacho festival. Its main event is jumping over babies.
Children born within 12 months before the solemn event are laid by their parents on mattresses with pillows spread out on city streets. Then men in terrifying masks, dressed in red and yellow devil costumes and armed with clubs and whips, jump over rows of babies like Olympic hurdlers! Thus, the inhabitants of Spain believe, they deliver children from original sin. Then the archbishop blesses the babies and returns them to their parents. Adults can also cleanse themselves of evil. This will happen if some "devil" contrives during his march through the city, before jumping over children, and hit him with a whip or club.
The El Colacho festival has been held here since 1621, and jumping over children is considered one of the most dangerous rituals in the world. Fortunately, in the entire history of its existence, not a single baby has suffered.
How do Greeks placate the Tooth Fairy?
While the Spaniards jump over children, saving their souls from the Universal Evil, the Greeks throw their milk teeth on the roofs of their own houses. Putting them under the pillow in exchange for gifts or money is no longer relevant. The inhabitants of Greece want completely different benefits. They dream that their offspring have healthy and strong molars.
However, despite their efforts, miracles do not happen. On the contrary, Greek children became European record holders for oral problems in 2015. The Tooth Fairy, apparently, was powerless against the economic crisis that seized the country and forced 8% of its population to abandon the excessively expensive services of dentists.
Finnish box for babies
Like other unusual traditions around the world, the idea of Finnish mothers to put their newborns to bed in a cardboard box will seem like a crazy idea to you. However, most of the children in this country spend the first months of their lives there.
Finnish families receive the box as state aid. It has everything you need for babies and their mothers: undershirts, overalls, sliders, hats, breast pads and other useful things. There is also a small mattress, the size of the bottom of the box, which thanks to it can be turned into a crib.
Initially, only low-income families received such a gift. However, the box, which appeared back in the 30s of the XX century, was rapidly gaining popularity, and soon wealthy mothers began to apply for it. Now, for the sake of a box, they are ready to give up a one-time social benefit of 140 euros. After all, its contents are much more expensive! In addition, it is believed that with the advent of the box, infant mortality has dropped sharply in the country. Perhaps that is why the tradition of putting a child to sleep in such an unusual "crib" is firmly entrenched in Finnish culture.
Maria Shcherova
