Place Facts About Traditions

Some Taiwanese funerals feature exotic dancers performing on electric flower cars to attract crowds and give the deceased 'one last hurrah.'

When you speak of good or bad luck, many people knock on wood to ward off misfortune or preserve good fortune. While popular folklore attributes this to ancient Celtic beliefs in wood spirits, the practice most likely evolved from a 19th-century British children's game called 'tiggy touchwood,' where touching wood made players safe from being tagged.

According to widespread superstition, once a wedding ring has been placed on the finger, removing it brings bad luck to the marriage.

If one walks underneath an open ladder it is said to bring bad luck. Sometimes it is said that this can be undone by immediately walking backwards back underneath the ladder.

Opening an umbrella indoors is said to result in 21 days of bad luck. Some traditions hold that it is only bad luck if the umbrella is placed over the head of someone while indoors.

Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.

In the Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to be a harbinger of good luck! There once lived a woman so poor, says a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas decorations for her family. One Ch

It is a recognized practice in some communities in Southern India for a man to marry his elder sister's daughter, a form of cross-cousin marriage, though its prevalence is declining.

People in parts of Western China put salt in their tea instead of sugar.

In many households, part of the fun of eating Christmas pudding is finding a trinket that predicts your fortune for the coming year. For instance, finding a coin means you will become wealthy. A ring means you will get married; while a bachelor's button or thimble predicts a year of single blessedness.

In Tibet it is considered good manners to stick out your tongue at someone.

At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".

In Mexico, the Tooth Fairy is known as the 'Tooth Mouse'.

In Italy, many families celebrate Christmas with the "Urn of Fate" - a large bowl filled with wrapped gifts. Family members take turns drawing presents, but some packages contain joke items or nothing at all, turning gift-giving into a game of chance and laughter.

In Brazil, Christmas is celebrated with fireworks.

In Finland, Valentine's Day is called "Ystävänpäivä" which translates into "Friend's day".

If you die in Amsterdam with no next of kin and no-one to attend your funeral, a poet will write a poem for you and recite it at your funeral.

In Japan, it is tradition for husbands to get a monthly allowance from their wives.

Since 1966, the Swedish city of Gavle has built a giant straw Christmas goat in the town square. Arsonists have burned it down 43 out of 60 years. The city tried guards, CCTV, fences, and fireproofing. In 2005, attackers dressed as Santa and a Gingerbread Man shot it with flaming arrows. In 1976, an American tourist burned it down and told police he thought it was a tradition.

The Mackinac Bridge is Michigan's five-mile 'Mighty Mac.' Every day, only cars are allowed on it. Except one: every Labor Day, Michigan closes it to cars and opens it to walkers. The first walk, in 1958, drew just 68 people. For decades, two lanes stayed open to cars during the walk. Since 2017, all of them close, and walkers get the whole bridge to themselves. Now 40,000 to 65,000 show up every year, with a record 85,000 in one morning.