20 Customs from other countries that may seem a little strange to Brazilians

According to the UN there is, on our planet, in the year 2021, a total population of just over 7 billion. These people grew up in countries with different cultures, passed down for centuries from generation to generation. So when we meet a foreigner or travel to another country, we can feel the difference in customs and traditions.

we, from awesome.club, we love to bring trivia to surprise our readers. That’s why we’ve selected 18 traditions, from different parts of the world, that can leave even the most traveled people awestruck.

Mummering (or Mummery) — is a Christmas tradition where groups of people dress up and go from house to house to party. They eat, drink and dance until the owners find out who the ‘undercover’ are. ©smkels/Reddit

Here in Holland, when someone celebrates a birthday, we congratulate everyone at the party. Let’s say it’s John’s birthday. People arriving for the celebration will congratulate everyone in the house by saying, “Congratulations on John’s birthday”, or just “Congratulations”. (gefeliciterd!). ©PafPiet/Reddit

We throw cinnamon powder on single people when they turn 25. ©Jaerynn/RedditIn Denmark, if you’re still single on your 25th birthday, your friends will come and dip you in water or oil and throw lots of cinnamon powder on you. ©hakkeboef68/Reddit

We have a tradition of believing that someone might look at you with bad intentions or with envy, and this happens more often if you are handsome, young, and successful. There are rituals that can be performed to “remove the evil eye”. To avoid attracting attention, you can carry an “evil eye” gem, which is a blue and white circle in the shape of an eye, called a Greek eye. Another option is for an elderly person to “spit” on you. They believe that the evil eye sees “saliva” and does not see you as beautiful. Of course people don’t actually spit, they just pretend🇧🇷 ©Dionyziz/Reddit

An ancient ritual calls for “watering” women on Easter Monday so that they “do not wither”. This custom was practiced with a bucket of water. Already today, in some places, it is customary to sprinkle a little cologne and then declaim a poem to the girl. If I’m not mistaken, its origin comes from some ancient fertility rite. ©AkechiJubeiMitsuhide/Reddit

Here, when you go to the sauna, you can pick up a bundle of birch twigs and lightly tap your body or your partner. It is a purifying act and helps with blood circulation, but foreigners often find it quite strange. Another thing that causes a lot of curiosity is when we open a hole in the ice in the middle of winter and swim in the freezing water. Outsiders are sometimes surprised to learn that this is not bad for their health. ©AlienAle/Reddit

On New Year’s Eve, it’s a tradition in Spain to eat 12 grapes: one berry for each of the 12 chimes. It is supposed to bring good luck for the new year. ©proflight27/Reddit

In Quebec, there is a tradition: almost everyone who rents an apartment moves on the same day, July 1st. In the rest of the country, Canada Day is celebrated, but in Quebec it is the moving day (Le jour du déménagement). ©mtl_guy22/Reddit

Here in Norway we have a tradition called “Russ”, which is basically when students celebrate the end of high school. This celebration usually takes place between the 1st and 17th of May (the period in which our constitution was written). ©LumoTheLegend/Reddit

Traditional US food: peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I read several things recently (NO COMMA) stating that people in other countries were shocked, or confused, by this classic combo. ©1043CA150/Reddit

I don’t know if anyone has already commented on this, but in my country it’s considered inelegant if you congratulate someone before their birthday. So, if the birthday is tomorrow, people really see it as a rude gesture for you to congratulate the birthday person today, as they understand the gesture as a wish for bad luck or something like that😄. ©f1fcb/Reddit

The particularities of age in Korea: the nine months a child is in the womb are already added to their age. Therefore, when you are born, you automatically have your first year accounted for. Also, a person is one year older on New Year’s Day, not the day of their birth. So, if you were born on December 31st, you will be two years old the next day, January 1st. It’s pretty weird! ©dshllecheeere3r3/Reddit

It’s not exactly in my country, but my sister is in Barcelona / Catalonia. Every year, around Christmas, the children ‘feed’ a log of wood. After a few days, as it is ‘full’, they beat it with sticks until it ‘releases’ the gifts. I think it’s more plausible than Santa Claus. That’s what it looks like to me! ©ponderous_pete/Reddit

In the UK there is a kind of competition – the Cheese Race – in which a large round cheese is rolled down a steep slope for competitors to chase down a hill. The winner is the one who manages to get the cheese. ©Guru6676/Reddit

Here in the Philippines, when cutlery falls on the floor, if it’s a spoon, we say there’s a guest arriving. If it’s a fork, then it’s a guest. We like to use this tradition to play with people. ©sabaybayin/Reddit

Until recently, I was sure that dipping cookies in tea was commonplace everywhere in the world. I’ve always made it in my coffee, tea or chocolate milk since I was a kid. My grandmother dips pieces of baguette with Camembert cheese into her black coffee in the morning. ©CH-OS-EN/Reddit

In northern India, it is a tradition to touch the feet of elders to receive a blessing and show respect. For some it may seem even stranger when the age difference between the two people is quite small. For example, the younger brother must touch the feet of the older brother’s wife, even if the age difference between the brothers-in-law is less than five years. Which, in fact, can be very weird for some foreigners. ©Foreigner Love/Reddit

When gifting a person or yourself with a bouquet of flowers, it must contain an odd number: three roses or seven lilies. Even-numbered bouquets are intended for funerals. I always thought that this tradition existed in other countries as well, but last week I was reminded of this when talking to a German friend, and only then did I realize that it was a restricted tradition. ©Unknown/Reddit

Brazilians love their coffee in the most traditional way possible — strained, in the American style. In some European countries, however, our way of drinking coffee is not so common. For example, the Portuguese generally prefer to drink espresso coffee, so most of the population has an espresso machine at home, which in Brazil we almost don’t see.

While in Brazil it is common to have ice cream in the cone — and in other ways too, such as in plastic cups, with cake and even in refined dishes such as petit gâteau — in Thailand “the banana leaf is a common way of serving ice cream, especially if this is coconut ice cream.” Goaty 33 / Reddit

Did you like to know more about the tradition of some countries or cities in the world? Did you already know any of the ones we present? Is there one that only happens where you live? Tell us in the comments.