weird traditions - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

emidew22 · 11-30-2003, 05:43 PM

So it's the "holiday season" again and i was wondering what strange traditions you and your families have. My family is weird in general, so it's not really surprising that we do weird shit around the holidays. The oldest tradition that i can remember is having christmas crackers at christmas dinner. This is something that my dad started when he came over here from ireland, and i thought it was normal for many years, but apparently in the states it's not so common. We are the only family i know that has big group pictures where everyone is wearing an oversized paper crown. We also play cards, but not poker or euchre like normal families, we play this game called tripole where you have a mat that you put your bets on and it's in increments of nickles... i don't know, no one outside my family has ever heard of it. And the strangest and most beloved tradition, which started only a couple years ago is the pepperment pig. My mom came up with this one. Every year after christmas dinner we all gather 'round the table and someone reads the story of the pepperment pig, and then we pass around a little red sack that has a big pig made out of pepperment candy inside, and all take turns smacking it with this little hammer. And when we are saticfied with how small the pig pieces have become, we pass the bag around again so everyone can eat a piece or two. It's a little deranged and almost scarey when you see the look in some of the cousin's eyes when they're getting ready to take a swing...
Anyways, please let me know that i'm not the only one who wishes we could just hide a pickle in the tree!!

rockzilla · 11-30-2003, 05:53 PM

I've got plenty of pictures of my family and I wearing stupid paper crowns gotten out of christmas crackers. They come with really lame jokes and little prizes, most of the time I can't figure out what they are.

I'm curious about the story of the Peppermint Pig, does it get smashed up and eaten in the story too?

sadistikdreams · 11-30-2003, 09:34 PM

*as Homer* MmmMMmmmmMm.........

Peppermint Pig....... *droools*

*as self* I do love other culture's's's traditions.

Batman976 · 11-30-2003, 10:42 PM

I used to play Tripole too. Not as a tradition, just had that game when I was younger.

I can only think of two traditions that I have in my family. The first one is the Mystery Gift. It's the one gift that doesn't have a name tag on it. Nobody knows who it belongs to until after all the other presents are open. Then it's presented to its rightful owner. Kind of silly now, but it was really fun when we were younger and it's just carried on.

The other tradition is that the nametags on our gifts at my Dad's house are always riddles or clues as to who they're for instead of having our names. For example, the gift might be to the first three numbers in my license plate, from the first three numbers in my parents' license plates. Usually they're more clever than that example, but sorting the gifts is a pretty fun time. There are always a few so obscure that all my brothers and sisters have to put our heads together to figure it out.

StormBerlin · 11-30-2003, 11:01 PM

Both of my folks are Hungarian and we don't eat turkey on thanksgiving. It's all about the honey ham and the fish. Oh, and the red wine. Our Christmas traditons are kinda odd too, we open gifts on Christmas Eve and that's when we have our big dinner too. At like seven or eight, not one or two in the afternoon like everyone else. I think that's about it... I'll edit if i think of more.

Mehoni · 12-01-2003, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by StormBerlin
Both of my folks are Hungarian and we don't eat turkey on thanksgiving. It's all about the honey ham and the fish. Oh, and the red wine. Our Christmas traditons are kinda odd too, we open gifts on Christmas Eve and that's when we have our big dinner too. At like seven or eight, not one or two in the afternoon like everyone else. I think that's about it... I'll edit if i think of more.

Doesn't sound all that weird to me though.. but I'm Swedish.

A Swedish Chrismas is celebrated on the 24th of December, ie Christmas Eve.

We usualy eat before 3pm (15.00) because there exists a 30 year old tardition in Sweden where the whole country sits infront of the TV and watch "Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas". I'm not kidding you.

The normal food at the christmastable (set lika a smorgasbord) consisting of various kinds of pickled herring, liver pâté, smoked sausages, cabbage, meatballs, "Jansson's Temptation" (a potato gratin with pickled sprats) and the much longed-for ham - often followed by "lutfisk" (dried ling previously soaked in lye) and rounded off with rice pudding.

Yes, we eat ham instead of turkey. Ham slices with mustard on on flatbread.. yum.

We also celebrate Lucia and I quote here what it is:

Quote:

The Swedish Lucia celebration is a good example of an annual festival of medieval origin which has acquired a new content.

Named after a Sicilian saint, the Swedish Lucia does not have much in common with her namesake. She is celebrated in a variety of ways but the most common is the Lucia procession consisting of a group of young girls and boys singing traditional Lucia songs.

On her head, the girl playing the part of Lucia wears a wreath of lingonberry sprigs with holders for real candles (battery powered ones are sometimes a safer option) to give the effect of a halo. She also has a white, full-length chemise with a red ribbon round her waist. Her female attendants are dressed similarly and the "star boys" wear white pointed hats decorated with stars. Lucia processions are held in various places, ranging from kindergartens and schools to Churches and the Swedish Parliament.

Lucia can be perceived as a symbol of the good forces in life and a symbol of light in the dark winter. She mostly appears early in the morning, bringing coffee and "lussekatter", a kind of saffron-flavored bun eaten around Christmas time in Sweden.

hell, I migth aswell link a big list..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidays_in_Sweden

hu-man · 12-02-2003, 01:49 AM

We have Lucia as well, here in Denmark.
Our christmas is also celebrated on the 24th, and in the evening. We don't always watch the Disney show though, mostly the kids do.
We eat our dinner in the evening though, most often duck or a pork roast - duck is my favourite. Never turkey, at least not in my family. We then sit around the christmas tree, sing the obligatory carols, and open our presents whilst drinking whisky - at least in my family we drink whisky

We do have a weird tradition on new years, though. There's this television show called the 90-year birthday, an old sketch with this old lady and her butler, all of her friends have died and so the butler has to act as them, getting more and more drunk as he has to toast with the lady as each of her friends.
You may all know the show, I have no idea. Anyway, they always air it on new years eve, and everybody - I mean everybody - watches it.
Hangover day, January 1st, it ski-hop day. I usually turn down the contrast on my TV though, with all that bright snow...

erion · 12-02-2003, 05:44 AM

I have a tradition of upstaging my mom's Thanksgiving turkey when I cook Christmas dinner.

I also have a tradition of receiving at least one article of clothing that will never, ever fit as a gift.

Despite not being Catholic anymore, I still attend midnight mass because the music is so very beuatiful as to be haunting.

splck · 12-02-2003, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mehoni
Doesn't sound all that weird to me though.. but I'm Swedish.

A Swedish Chrismas is celebrated on the 24th of December, ie Christmas Eve.

We usualy eat before 3pm (15.00) because there exists a 30 year old tardition in Sweden where the whole country sits infront of the TV and watch "Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas". I'm not kidding you.

The normal food at the christmastable (set lika a smorgasbord) consisting of various kinds of pickled herring, liver pâté, smoked sausages, cabbage, meatballs, "Jansson's Temptation" (a potato gratin with pickled sprats) and the much longed-for ham - often followed by "lutfisk" (dried ling previously soaked in lye) and rounded off with rice pudding.

Yes, we eat ham instead of turkey. Ham slices with mustard on on flatbread.. yum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidays_in_Sweden

I had Christmas in Sweden at my aunts in Stockholm. We did almost exactly as you describe. I loved the smorgasbord with all the different types of fish and cheese and meats.
Oh yea, the akavit with beer chasers...yum.

11-30-2003, 05:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
emidew22 Upright Location: Boston	weird traditions So it's the "holiday season" again and i was wondering what strange traditions you and your families have. My family is weird in general, so it's not really surprising that we do weird shit around the holidays. The oldest tradition that i can remember is having christmas crackers at christmas dinner. This is something that my dad started when he came over here from ireland, and i thought it was normal for many years, but apparently in the states it's not so common. We are the only family i know that has big group pictures where everyone is wearing an oversized paper crown. We also play cards, but not poker or euchre like normal families, we play this game called tripole where you have a mat that you put your bets on and it's in increments of nickles... i don't know, no one outside my family has ever heard of it. And the strangest and most beloved tradition, which started only a couple years ago is the pepperment pig. My mom came up with this one. Every year after christmas dinner we all gather 'round the table and someone reads the story of the pepperment pig, and then we pass around a little red sack that has a big pig made out of pepperment candy inside, and all take turns smacking it with this little hammer. And when we are saticfied with how small the pig pieces have become, we pass the bag around again so everyone can eat a piece or two. It's a little deranged and almost scarey when you see the look in some of the cousin's eyes when they're getting ready to take a swing... Anyways, please let me know that i'm not the only one who wishes we could just hide a pickle in the tree!!

11-30-2003, 09:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	as Homer MmmMMmmmmMm......... Peppermint Pig....... droools as self I do love other culture's's's traditions. __________________ "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." -Lin Yutang hearts, by d.a.

11-30-2003, 10:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
Batman976 is you wicked? Location: I live in a giant bucket.	I used to play Tripole too. Not as a tradition, just had that game when I was younger. I can only think of two traditions that I have in my family. The first one is the Mystery Gift. It's the one gift that doesn't have a name tag on it. Nobody knows who it belongs to until after all the other presents are open. Then it's presented to its rightful owner. Kind of silly now, but it was really fun when we were younger and it's just carried on. The other tradition is that the nametags on our gifts at my Dad's house are always riddles or clues as to who they're for instead of having our names. For example, the gift might be to the first three numbers in my license plate, from the first three numbers in my parents' license plates. Usually they're more clever than that example, but sorting the gifts is a pretty fun time. There are always a few so obscure that all my brothers and sisters have to put our heads together to figure it out. __________________ The following statement is true. The preceding statement was false.

11-30-2003, 11:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
StormBerlin Happy as a hippo Location: Southern California	Both of my folks are Hungarian and we don't eat turkey on thanksgiving. It's all about the honey ham and the fish. Oh, and the red wine. Our Christmas traditons are kinda odd too, we open gifts on Christmas Eve and that's when we have our big dinner too. At like seven or eight, not one or two in the afternoon like everyone else. I think that's about it... I'll edit if i think of more. __________________ "if anal sex could get a girl pregnant i'd be tits deep in child support" Arcane

11-30-2003, 05:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
rockzilla Junkie Location: The Kitchen	I've got plenty of pictures of my family and I wearing stupid paper crowns gotten out of christmas crackers. They come with really lame jokes and little prizes, most of the time I can't figure out what they are. I'm curious about the story of the Peppermint Pig, does it get smashed up and eaten in the story too?

12-02-2003, 01:49 AM	#7 (permalink)
hu-man The one that got away Location: Over the hill and far away	We have Lucia as well, here in Denmark. Our christmas is also celebrated on the 24th, and in the evening. We don't always watch the Disney show though, mostly the kids do. We eat our dinner in the evening though, most often duck or a pork roast - duck is my favourite. Never turkey, at least not in my family. We then sit around the christmas tree, sing the obligatory carols, and open our presents whilst drinking whisky - at least in my family we drink whisky We do have a weird tradition on new years, though. There's this television show called the 90-year birthday, an old sketch with this old lady and her butler, all of her friends have died and so the butler has to act as them, getting more and more drunk as he has to toast with the lady as each of her friends. You may all know the show, I have no idea. Anyway, they always air it on new years eve, and everybody - I mean everybody - watches it. Hangover day, January 1st, it ski-hop day. I usually turn down the contrast on my TV though, with all that bright snow...

12-02-2003, 05:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
erion Psycho	I have a tradition of upstaging my mom's Thanksgiving turkey when I cook Christmas dinner. I also have a tradition of receiving at least one article of clothing that will never, ever fit as a gift. Despite not being Catholic anymore, I still attend midnight mass because the music is so very beuatiful as to be haunting.