Piece by: ZENNA ISSA

05 October 2023

•How far can you go to ensure your cultural traditions live on, read to know some of the craziest traditions in the world.

It is an annual event which is held on the last Wednesday of August in Buñol, Spain, the festival consists of people throwing tomatoes at each other for fun.

La Tomatina is the largest tomato fight in the world. The originality of the tradition isn't really dated but it's believed to start during the Gigantes y Cabezudos parade back in 1945.

People who weren't included in the event started a brawl in the main square using tomatoes as weapons.

3) Throwing cinnamon at unmarried 25-year-olds in Denmark

In Denmark, if you turn 25 and are unmarried you'll endure your friends and family submerging you in a cloud of cinnamon.

The 25-year-old is tied to a lamp post or tree then splashed with water and then heaps of cinnamon are thrown on them until they are completely covered in cinnamon.

After being plotted with cinnamon you have 5 years to find yourself a partner if not on your 30th birthday the same treatment will happen but instead of using cinnamon, it will be pepper.

4) Finger-cutting of the Dani tribe in Indonesia

Whenever women of the Dani tribe lose their loved ones the top joint of their finger is amputated. Strings are tightly tied around the finger until it goes numb then a family member either a sibling or a parent will cot off the top finger. The wound is then burnt to stop the bleeding and prevent infections.

This process is done so as to symbolize the pain suffered after the loss of a loved one and to keep the deceased spirit away.

5) The bathroom ban in Borneo

For the first three days of marriage, couples from the Tidong Tribe are normally forced to stay in one room and aren't allowed to visit or use the bathroom at all.

The rule is enforced by family members who watch the couple day and night for three days. They also make sure that the couple eats and drinks in small amounts so they don't get the urge to visit the washroom.

A failure to complete this tradition is believed to bring bad luck to the couple and signify that the marriage won't last.

6) Polterabend in Germany.

The Friday before the wedding is known as Polterabend. The soon-to-be-married couple normally meet with family and friends outside the bride or her parent's house.

Once everyone arrives an assortment of plates, bowls and sometimes toilet bowls are thrown to the floor by everyone.

Glasses and mirrors are not thrown since glass represents happiness and breaking mirrors is believed to bring bad luck.

After the smashing ceremony, only the couple is allowed to clean up the shattered pieces, symbolizing their ability to work together in tough times as a married couple.

7) The Mari Lwyd in Wales

The Mari Lwyd is a Welsh Christmas tradition. It involves decorating a horse's skull and then mounting it on a broomstick.

The person holding the stick is normally covered with a sheet, making the skull look like the head of a terrifying animal.

The horse is carried throughout local villages, followed by a large group of people. At each home they stop, they'll knock and burst into a song requesting to enter the homestead.

The homeowners must deny them entry through a song so as to create a lyrical argument that continues until the group is either sent away or invited to enter.