14 Customs and Traditions That Were Very Different When They Started

Some customs are very typical of our culture, but, at the same time, they have a good dose of influence from foreign cultures. These customs, now adapted to our context, are the result of centuries of history and evolution.

Knowing the origins of traditions that we sometimes only look at superficially can make us appreciate everyday life from a new perspective and, in this way, show us that we are the result of the sum of customs and traditions of peoples from all over the world.

O awesome.club loves stories and shares the origin of 14 things we normally do and often don’t know why.

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t know which face to put on as they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and the time to blow out the candles seems endless, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to be born in 18th century Germany. One of the theories about the origin of the custom states that the little flame lasted not for a song, but for the whole day. And the celebration had to have two candles: one represented the light and the other, the years to come of the birthday boy. Later, the candles were extinguished with a breath and a wish for the smoke to rise to the sky and the wish to come true. The celebration was known as Kinderfest and from the name we realized it was for kids only.

Another hypothesis about the origin of the tradition dates back a long time, and it is believed that the candles were a tribute to the goddess Artemis. They were placed in round candies symbolizing the lunar cycle. and then they had to be extinguished with a breath so that the smoke reached the goddess. For this reason, centuries later, Christians considered the ritual of blowing out candles pagan, until the feast of the birth of Christ had greater relevance than the commemoration of the death of the saints and, little by little, the custom came to be seen as something positive. Whatever the origin, we must understand that it is a custom that we can all adopt without restrictions and without age limit.

With greater or lesser effort, we learn that gifts must be wrapped and, for that, there are billions of designs to choose from to embellish what is already a beautiful gesture. The custom originated from something as formal as paying a salary.

In the 2nd century BC. C, during the Song dynasty in southern China, the emperor used to give payment to employees inside an envelope called chih pho, which was a type of paper made with bamboo sticks and mud. Later, the tradition evolved to give gifts with the same material.

And if, for some, even today wrapping gifts is a challenge reserved only for those who have craft skills, until a few years ago it was even more difficult. When the tradition of wrapping gifts acquired a global character, thin and difficult-to-handle paper, such as tissue paper, was used. It was not until Christmas of 1917 that the Halls brothers decided to try another type of paper, thicker, which ended up having great acceptance in society and began to be commercialized.

The newlyweds barely leave the church door after exchanging vows and there is no umbrella to save them from an impending rice storm. But when this tradition first emerged, no couple would try to stop rice unless they rejected the good omens it brings.

The custom is said to have emerged from the East, where this action is a symbol of prosperity and fertility🇧🇷 It is also believed that, at weddings in the Roman Empire, brides carried wreaths of ears of wheat, which were then crumbled and given to the guests to throw at the bride and groom, to attract good luck.

This custom arose in Ancient Rome. Only, at that time, the rings were not of gold, but of iron. In addition, they did not have romantic inscriptions, but stamps, which were used to seal letters and documents. So when the man in the marriage gave his ring to the new wife, in effect, he was entrusting him with custody of all his belongings and furniture in law.

Later, Christians imitated the custom and adapted it, causing the couple to wear the ring on their ring finger. After all, there was a theory that a vein connected him directly to the heart. And so it was until the custom took on a much less formal perspective than the one that gave rise to it, but certainly more romantic.

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like the struggle to get the bride’s bouquet, you might be interested to know that, before, the bride herself was the one who didn’t like this moment.

It is said that the custom arose in France in the 15th century. only, instead of a bouquet of flowers, the trophy was the garter that the bride wore and that supposedly brought him good luck. So the guests chased the bride to take her garter. To avoid persecution and uncomfortable situations, the bride began to throw it away. Subsequently, the garter was replaced by the bouquet, which only single women should take.

We hope that all those who managed to catch the bouquet were lucky in love (and those who didn’t too!).

Usually, as soon as they hear about a wedding, the couple’s friends immediately start arranging their bachelor parties for both with almost the same (or even greater) dedication with which the bride and groom organize the wedding.

Although the tradition has been originated with festive character on the part of the Romans in century V a. Ç, the truth is that, more than fun, the celebration was also a test for the groom🇧🇷 That night, the friends would hire a woman to seduce the groom throughout the party. If the man’s fidelity did not waver, he would be worthy to marry his betrothed.

Although in festive times the toast usually brings solemnity to the moment, if we were in Rome in the 4th century BC, we would look suspiciously at what we were about to drink. And if we did, we would toast as a matter of survival, since at that time the romans used poison to murder🇧🇷 Thus, the hosts, before drinking, banged the glasses with their guests strongly, which ended up mixing the contents of the glasses, making it clear that there was no poison.

Handshake greetings are common in many countries. In the Middle Ages, this form of greeting was essential to avoid a possible duelsince the knights were supposed to offer the hand opposite to the one on the side where they carried the sword to show that they were unarmed and that they would not attack unexpectedly.

Apparently, respect for the dead exists even before the word “life” begins to be spoken. In prehistory, 75,000 years ago, funerary rituals began to develop. But at that time, it was not just the dead that were buried, but also all their belongings, which included utensils, weapons and animal skins.

Today, giving flowers is a beautiful gesture for a special person, which is very different from the character that this same act had in antiquity. More than a gift, at that time, flowers were a kind of offering intended only for the gods by the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans; or a trophy for the winners of the Olympic Games in Greece.

Even in the Middle Ages, flowers had no affective or devotional value. They were given to hide bad odors and used as decoration.🇧🇷 The custom became more popular in the Victorian era, a period when the habit of giving flowers acquired an affective value.

It is very beautiful to see Christmas trees decorating the houses with their colors and brightness. But in olden days, when the custom developed, people did not do it for mere decoration, but to celebrate the birth of the Sun god with an evergreen tree that symbolized the Universe🇧🇷 Later, those who converted to Christianity continued to set up trees, but to celebrate the arrival of Christ.

In Europe there used to be presentation parties for court ladies, thus demonstrating that they had reached maturity🇧🇷 Over time, while in the more affluent sectors, people stopped holding this type of event for the initial purposes, the custom was adapted in popular neighborhoods as a party. And it’s good that it is so, so that all the birthday girls can be the queens of their own party.

Although the tipping gesture is the same as when it was created in bars In the 17th century, money for employees was set aside in jars on the counter.🇧🇷 This influenced the name it received in English, type (bribe), which derives from the sound produced by the coins when they fall to the bottom of the glass jar. Guests who slept in private homes also left money for the host’s employees, following the same custom, which later spread throughout the world.

Although its origin is speculated to be more ancient, the ancient Romans already applauded in public performances, clapping, snapping fingers or waving a handkerchief, depending on the degree of approval. With a little imagination, if we transferred this custom to the present, at the end of a show that we liked but not enough to say we liked it, instead of clapping our hands we would snap our fingers. It might be effective in expressing our emotions accurately, but it would be strange, wouldn’t it?

Let us know if you knew the history of any of the customs we showed. Which one did you find most interesting? Would you like it to be applied today, in its original format?