221 Curious Customs Practices and Traditions Around the World is a collection about customs and traditions around the globe. Read and enjoy with your little ones.✨📚
The Asaro Mud Men are a famous symbol of Papua, New Guinea. Do you know:Asaro mud men are warriors who created a unique tradition by camouflaging themselves in river mud. The story behind the tradition of this warrior tribe is after they were defeated, the warriors were forced to flee into the Asaro River where …
Konaki Sumo is a Japanese tradition that is more than 400 years old, organized in certain temples. Do you know: The word ‘Konaki’ means, crying. The tradition is practised to pray for a baby’s health. In this custom, two sumo wrestlers stand facing each other with a baby in each wrestler’s arms. The babies are …
Silbo Gomero is a custom practised on the island of La Gomera, part of the Spanish Canary Islands. Do you know: Silbo Gomero is actually a whistling language. The landscape of the island of La Gomera was extremely rough and not easy to traverse on. Hence, the locals found an unusual way of communicating with …
Harikuyo is a Japanese memorial custom that is dedicated to pins and needles. Do you know: The most popular Harikuyo ritual is organized in temples in Tokyo. In olden days, pins and needles were the most valuable things to Japanese women. Hence every year in late January or early February, a ritual dedicated to pins …
Gioco del Ponte or ‘the battle of the bridge’ is a mock battle organized over the Ponte di Mezzo (bridge) in Pisa, Italy. Do you know: The first battle was held over the bridge in 1568 to gain control over the bridge. The Gioco del Ponte in its original form was considered violent and hence …
Tunarama is a popular traditional festival in Australia. Do you know: This festival was held for the first time in 1960. Tunarama is a four-day long festival with more than 40,000 people attending. Among many events, the most popular event at the festival is the Championship Tuna Toss. Both men and women participate and each …
Inukshuks are traditional landmarks existing across the Arctic region of North America. Do you know: The Inukshuk in the shape of a human being is known as an Inunnguag. Inukshuks come in all sizes with just a single rock or many rocks in varying sizes. These landmarks are built for many purposes. In the large …
The Flyers of Papantla are a group of 5 men from the city of Papantla in Mexico. Do you know: The ritual these men perform is said to have formed in the 1200’s. The Flyers of Papantla originated from Totonaca legends, in which the men send a message to the god of fertility, asking for …
Jallikattu or ‘Chasing the bull’ is a bull taming competition held in Tamil Nadu, India. Do you know: This tradition is more than 2,000 years old and proofs of the same are various cave paintings showing men chasing bulls. The word ‘Jallikattu’ is a combination of two words, meaning coins and package. This is because …
The Hare Pie Scrambling & Bottle Kicking tradition is an event held in Leicestershire on Easter Monday. Do you know: The bottle kicking is actually a special football match played with small beer barrels used as balls. This tradition involves a Hare Pie procession comprising individuals in unique costumes leading the procession, including a man …
Hadaka Matsuri or ‘the naked festival’ is a 1,200-year-old tradition celebrated annually in Japan. Do you know: Over 3,00,000 people come to watch this festival. Every year in February, more than 10,000 participants wearing just pieces of loincloth follow a naked man or Shin-otoko in the city streets. While the Shin-otoko represents evil, touching him …
Clean Monday is the first day of a traditional feast of the Orthodox Lent in Greece. Do you know: On Clean Monday, people traditionally eat flat bread made of flour, water, yeast and olive oil, known as Lagana. A traditional custom, known as the ‘Flour war’, is held every year on Clean Monday. This tradition …
Worm Charming started out as a ritual amongst fishermen but soon evolved into a traditional sport. Do you know: The competition was formed in 1980, when Tom Shufflebotham charmed 511 worms from the ground in half an hour. A World Championship for charming worms is held traditionally in Cheshire. The sport was created as a …
The World Stinging Nettle Eating Contest is a tradition carried out every year in Dorset, England. Do you know: Stinging nettle is a plant that creates a rash and bad itch when touched. What started out as a challenge between two friends in 1986, on whose nettle was the longest, gradually changed into another type …
The Straw Bear is an old English tradition held annually in January. Do you know: The day when the ‘straw bear’ dances, is 7th January, which is considered the start of the agricultural year in England. The straw bear is a tradition where a man or a boy dresses up in a costume made completely …
Mamemaki is a ritual performed by people in Japan. Do you know: The ritual of mamemaki is performed during the Setsubun or Bean throwing day that is held in February. The Mamemaki ritual is performed to ward off evil spirits. It involves either the head of the house or the toshiotoko (member of family born …
Gaining weight before a marriage is a custom practised by people in Mauritania that dates back to pre-colonial times. Do you know: Girls as young as 5 and 7 are force-fed 2 kilos of pounded mixed millet in 2 cups of butter and 20 litres of a camel’s milk each day. There were special fat …
Placing Tile Cats on the roof of a home is a long-standing customfollowed by people from the Yunnan province, in China. Do you know: Tile cat is an object that resembles a cat and hence the name. It is customary for the people of the west of Yunnan, to place a tile cat in the …
The ‘Battle’ of Mellans and Avresses is a mock fight tradition (with men on stilts) in 1951 in Namur, Belgium. Do you know: This tradition is also known as la bia bouquet or the gold stilt combat. Traditionally, men divide themselves into two groups; the Mellans are the ones found on the black and yellow …
Anastenaria is a fire-walking custom prevalent in various parts of Europe. Do you know:Anastenaria is headed by a group of twelve, of which majority are women. There are two huge events of Anastenaria that are dedicated to Saint Catherine and Saint Helen. The events include processions, music and dance as also animal sacrifice. For all …
Battle of the Queens or Combat de reines is a cow-fighting tournament that is held in the Alps. Do you know: While the competition involves serious cow-fighting, very often the cow may not have been interested in engaging in a fight and just walks away. The battle of the queens is an annual festival where …
The São João or Saint John Festival is a popular tradition held in June, in Portugal. Do you know: The festival is dedicated to saint John who is considered the patron saint of lovers. The São João festival is an extremely popular custom where various dishes in large quantities are made and sweet Port wine …
Falling Asleep of the Virgin is a tradition with festivities carried out for a period of ten days in Markopoulo, Greece. Do you know: The European cat snakes that can be seen during this period are known as ‘our lady’s snakes’. The festivities that occur for ten days revolve around the village church of Panagia …
The Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme, is a festival carried out in Las Nieves, Spain for the individuals who have had near death experiences. Do you know: On this day, those who cheated death are paraded in coffins. The festival dedicated to the patron saint of resurrection, Saint Marta de Ribarteme, begins with thousands …
Goat Tossing Festival is a bizarre tradition held in a small village known as Manganeses de la Polvorosa. Do you know: This event, which is held in the end of January, is actually carried out to honour the local patron saint, St. Vincent de Paul. The goat tossing tradition is performed exactly as the name …
In the town of Marostica in Vicenza, Italy, a game of chess is performed with actual human beings. Do you know: This tradition of a human chessboard goes back all the way to 1451. The human chess game originated with the lord of the Marostica castle. When two knights were in love with his daughter, …
Aperschnalzen is a tradition, involving rhythmic whip cracking and is extremely popular in Bavaria, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. Do you know: The so-called ‘short-handled whips’ used for the event are actually more than 4 metres long. Held in the month of February, the Aperschnalzen originated from the tradition to ‘wake-up’ Nature and call on good …
The Vegetarian Festival is a tradition organized by people on the island of Phuket, Thailand. Do you know: The festival is held as a way for people to cleanse themselves spiritually. The Vegetarian festival, as the name suggests, is a festival where people eat only vegetarian or vegan food. The diet is considered a cleansing …
The Katsina Dolls carved by the Hopi people are created for various purposes. Do you know: The Katsina dolls are said to contain the spirits of deities, natural elements and animals, and even the deceased ancestors of the Hopi tribe. The Hopi people believe that the spirits come down in the form of Katsinas to …
The Cascamorras Festival is a tradition where two towns in Granada, Spain, start a mock war for a statue of the Virgin of Mercy. Do you know: The actual statue of the Virgen de la Piedad was found in 1490 in rubble outside a former mosque in Baza. The mock battle that takes place every …
Click one of our contacts below to chat on WhatsApp
