Friday Fun - Crazy Local Traditions

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Once again a week has passed, and given that it will soon be Halloween I got thinking about a potential Friday Fun topic. Halloween would have been an easy one, but it's not celebrated everywhere around the world (For example: here in Belgium people nowadays do decorate houses and do halloween themed walks in the woods in the evening, but there is no trick or treating). 

So I wanted to explore the world of crazy local traditions around the world, as a way to celebrate our diversity and creativity. 

The city I live in (and was born in) is called Dendermonde, it's a small city in between Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels. It's over 1000 years old and the main market has some very old buildings:


(A picture of the Dendermonde city hall, a century old building with a clock tower in the middle).

We also have a century old legend about the Bayard Steed (Or Ros Beiaard in Flemish) here in Dendermonde. 

Now the crazy part: for over 600 years we've had a parade that goes out on special occasions (lately it's just been every 10 years) that celebrates the story of the Bayard Steed. This parade is recognised as Unesco World Heritage and draws crowds from around the world to Dendermonde. 

What makes this parade special are some of the following things:

• It's only every 10 years (so you only see it a couple of times in your life, and each time you see it there is a lot to reflect about, it's a moment of introspection and gratefulness to still be here and see the Steed).
• It's the only time the Steed goes out into the public, and when it does it needs to be carried by the Pijnders (never should it be put on wheels) and escorted by someone playing the Ros Beiaard anthem.  
• The Steed weighs 800kgs (about 1770 pounds) without the full decorations and the 4 brothers (it weighs more than 1100kgs (about 2500 pounds) fully decorated and with the 4 brothers on top. And this is carried by groups of12 men, called the pijnders. (no wheels or any support, pure man power).
• As you just read: there are 4 brothers riding the Steed through the city (they represent the 4 Aymon brothers from the legend). These brothers have to fit a number or requirements (these are just the key ones in descending order of importance):
  • They have to be 4 brothers, born sequentially without a girl in between.
  • They have to be between 21 and 9 years old when the parade happens.
  • They have to be born in Dendermonde, and lived here their entire lives.
  • Their parents need to be born in Dendermonde

(The Steed with the 4 Aymon brothers greeting the crowds (pay attention to the shoes underneath the Steed, the Pijnders always have white shoes on :) ) 

What makes this even more special for me and my family is the fact that we have 4 sons who could qualify the next time the Steed will appear in public (May 2030). 

Here you can see them practicing with their poor dad :) 

(A picture of me on my knees in the grass with my 4 sons on my back pretending to be the Aymon brothers).

If you want to see more of the parade, check out this youtube video of the grand final on the Market Square.  

So tell me about your local traditions, parades, legends, festivals , and more. I look forward to learning about all the amazing things people do around the world.

[Alex Koxaras _Relational_]

@Peter Van de Voorde 

That's quite a story you've got there!

I'm pretty sure, that if we are still around on this community for the next 8 years, that we will see you posting a new thread about your sons riding the steed as Aymon brothers!

In Greece we really don't have "Halloween" as it is consider in the USA, nor trick or treat. For the Greek orthodox, their Halloween [Apokries (in greek: Απόκριες)] happens exactly 3 weeks before the "Great 40days fasting" prior of Easter.

So during these days of Halloween, they do get dressed with a costume and usually, instead of candies, kids receive money (but they don't actually go from house to house knocking doors)... :)

[Peter Van de Voorde]

I've we're all still here in 8 years, and my boys are selected I'll invite everyone to come to Dendermonde and enjoy the show (preferably sporting Atlassian swag of course 😁 )

[Alex Koxaras _Relational_]

That's cool!!

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

In my home UK, we do do Hallowe'en - the north American tradition is something that went with the pilgrims from here.  The UK has done it for millennia - I don't know which one of our celebrations is the oldest on record, but Samhain is recorded going back at least 2 millennia with the Celtic tribes.

Nowadays, it's not a huge thing for us as it is in North America.  The pub I'm sitting in has lots of cobwebs, skulls, decapitated cenobites, and and and... done up for it, and the staff and many customers will do some form of fancy dress at the weekend, but most people won't, and we really don't do the trick-or-treat thing,  Maybe we're just a bit too English - the fear of knocking on a door, disturbing someone, and having to make an apology is strong.

I think it's also a little diluted by our next festival being so close - the 5th November is "Bonfire night" or "Guy Fawkes night" - we celebrate the execution of Guido Fawkes, who was probably the last person to go into our houses of parliament with an honest intention (at his trial, he was honest about wanting to blow the place up, with all the MPs in it).  

We light big bonefires (no, that is not a misspelling, we really did use to burn bones on bonfires) and set off a massive amount of explosives.  Fireworks rather than the demolition charges Fawkes had tried to use, but Yay "MAKE IT GO BANG!".  It's very common to see effigies of Fawkes dotted around towns between Halloween and bonfire night, traditionally with children asking for "a penny for the Guy", before the effigies go on the bonfires on the night.

Many open-air venues put on fireworks shows, but a lot of people do it in their back gardens too.   Some places go further - Fawkes and his co-conspirators were executed in the small-ish town of Lewes.  The town has an annual festival where they parade a veritable horde of effigies that make their way to the fire every year.  They're usually effigies of things our citizens currently broadly despise, so the last few years have seen a lot of effigies of our prime ministers, Trump, Putin and Brexit.   

[Peter Van de Voorde]

I learned about Guy Fawkes because I watched V for Vendetta. 
He's certainly an interesting character, and the way it's being celebrated sounds cool but dangerous :) 

Thanks for sharing @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- !

[Summer Hogan]

@Nic Brough -Adaptavist- that is such an interesting story you told! Thanks for sharing! 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Come visit us - we like setting fire to stuff and then throwing explosives in!

[Dániel Ballabás - EverIT]

Amazing topic! Whenever I travel somewhere, I try to read the small local newspaper to find random things like these. And even though I moved away a long time ago, I still read all the social media news sites of my birth town, a small town in Hungary.
Maybe the craziest/funniest local tradition there is an annual Moustache Festival, with competitors coming from inside Hungary and with international guests. There are four categories: moustache + beard, natural moustache, styled moustache and Hungarian moustache.
You can find pictures of the award ceremony here.
And this is not local, but countrywide (but teams from my birth town have competed in them, that's how I know), there are competitions (I guess organised by their respective unions) for outdoor plumbing and even grave-digging. Here's a gallery from this year's grave-digging competition. Happy Halloween Y'All!

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Those are some impressive moustaches @Dániel Ballabás - EverIT , thanks for sharing!

[Summer Hogan]

Great topic @Peter Van de Voorde!

What's interesting in the United States is there is a "day" for everything you can think of outside of the main holidays: Ice Cream Day, Donut Day, Chocolate Cake Day, Daughter/Son/Fathers/Mothers Day, National Pi Day (my brother got married on Pi day and had pie for their dessert), Peanut Butter Day, Star Wars Day, Hug Your Cat/Dog Day, Bring your Teddy bear to work Day, etc. 

I also learned recently that where I used to live in Japan, they also celebrate Halloween or what they call "Obon or Bon." Apparently, Disneyland Tokyo and Universal Studios Japan made Halloween in Japan what it is today. While they don't go trick or treating because the house in Japan is considered very private they celebrate in other ways. It was very interesting to me to find this out! 

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Thanks for sharing @Summer Hogan , I love the many food related days 😁 and also the Bring your Teddy bear to work Day sounds awesome 🐻

[Dave Liao]

In the States, it’s National Cat Day!

Every year I’ll take pics of me and cats for the occasion 😂 

[Thiago Ribeiro]

This one does not necessarily happen in October... but this tells a little bit about Southern Brazil.

The Ragamuffin revolt

A celebration of gaucho traditions in southern Brazil, that marks a 10-year civil uprising with free music, dance and food festival (BBQ)!

On 20 September each year, Rio Grande do Sul, the most southerly state in Brazil bordering Uruguay and Argentina, celebrates the Farroupilha (Ragamuffin) Revolution, a civil uprising that began in 1835 when the state fought for independence from the rest of the nation. The gaucho-led revolt ended in 1845 with surrender, and Rio Grande do Sul remaining part of Brazil.

Despite the defeat, the conflict is a source of regional pride, with partying across the whole of the state, although it’s in the capital Porto Alegre where the action happens. For most of September, thousands of people camp out in the city’s Harmonia Park, recreating traditional gaucho lifestyles at the Farroupilha Camp.

A programme of free events includes musical performances, horse riding displays and folk dances, with people dressed in historic gaucho fare – lace-trimmed dresses for the women and wide bombacha trousers and red kerchiefs for the men.

[Brant Schroeder]

After Halloween we used to get together and do pumpkin chucking.  My friend moved away several years ago and no one has built a new trebuchet to make it happen.  

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Did you chuck the pumpkins at a specific target? 

Also: A trebuchet? How far did those pumpkins fly?

[Kerli Loopman]

PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME !!!

In Estonia we celebrate mid-summers day (jaanipäev) with a bonfire and it is a tradition to to jump over that fire. 

Picture from: https://estonianworld.com/life/it-is-this-time-of-the-year-again-jaanipaev/

[Peter Van de Voorde]

Thanks for sharing @Kerli Loopman ,

That sounds like fun to watch, dangerous to try :) 

The picture reminds me of Fierljeppen a sport in the north of The Netherlands.