People often say “my house is my fortress”, but sometimes they mean completely different things by these simple words. Especially when people who are not quite familiar with their traditions or beliefs come over to their house.
For sure, traditions are simply wonderful, but there are particular situations when what is completely familiar to one person seems absolutely strange and weird to another. This, by the way, concerns not only traditions, but also religion and culture.
There is a popular thread on Reddit where people discuss the strange things they had to do in other people’s houses in order to comply with the owners’ cultural or religious requirements. The thread is quite extensive – to date it has over 33.4K upvotes and over 16.0K different comments.
Bored Panda has compiled a curated list for you with the most interesting and weird things from this thread. By the way, we also have our own tradition – everyone who reads the list must vote for their favorite items, and even better – leave a comment. So, traditions are traditions – they need to be obeyed, if you know what we mean…
More info: Reddit
#1 Overly Friendly Work Outing
I used to have a job that rented a lot of houses and properties in Southern California. Part of my job was meeting with property owners and to close a deal with them. One day I go to this man’s house in laguna Beach, as in his house was ON the beach. I was meeting with an insanely wealthy but also insanely nice Asian man who I had met a couple of times before and we had somewhat of a work type relationship. As i begin to bring up the deal to be made, he suggests we walk to the beach first, (I was ready to get home, it was Saturday) so we start walking, talking about life etc. He then proceeded to hold my hand, interlocked finger style, for the whole walk. I was originally wielded out by it but when I brought it up to a coworker he said it’s just a part of their culture. He also made me wear his personal house slippers to be allowed entry into his home. Just cultural differences but it still cracks me up that the most romantic beach walk I’ve ever had in my life was with an 75 yo something man millionaire.
Image credits: blowhardyboys86
#2 Forbidding Playing Witches
I was kicked out of a elementary school friend’s birthday party because another friend and I played “witches” in her treehouse. She was Southern Baptist. There was a literal cauldron in her treehouse, I stand by my decision.
Image credits: erineestevenson
#3 Going To Sauna With Other People Without Any Clothes
When meeting my Finnish fiancées’ family, I was invited to a sauna with her brother. No clothes allowed. 10/10 would sweat with my boy again
Image credits: MadRadInnit
#4 Exchanging Christmas Gifts But Leaving The Host Without Anything
I don’t play with this group anymore, but had 3 “friends” who would regularly come over to game. I was the first of us to own a house, so it made sense for me to host.
One Christmas, the group all brings Christmas gifts for each other. They didn’t tell me they were exchanging gifts at my house, and no one got a gift for me either. I was sad because I realized then that I wasn’t their friend but rather a tool for them to play D&D.
Image credits: Panwall
#5 Asking People To Do Some Work Instead On Shabbat
When I lived in Antwerp (Belgium), I once was stopped by an elderly, woman on the street. She was asking for help inside her house. Guiding me through a house where the temperature was way too hot, she stopped at every radiator and asked me to turn them down. In the end we went to the kitchen, where some jewish women and children were watching me silently while I was putting all the burning gas stoves on a low heat. Then she showed me out, thanked me and closed the door.
In Antwerp there is a big community of hasidic jews, I can imagine this was during sabbath.
Image credits: laurens-t
#6 Delivering Bags Of Food To Poor Families
I grew up in a highly Mormon area, so most of my friends in school were Mormon, and I was occasionally invited into their more intimate Holiday celebrations for example.
One year, they gave me bags of food and drove me to a random house, then told me I had to go in and Deliver the bags to the people inside (A big family who currently have no means of financial support) as a secret Santa.
It was a wonderful gesture, but I felt really awkward being asked to do this in a stranger’s house, but they asked me to do it for the expressed reason that I was a stranger, and they wouldn’t know who had donated the food.
Image credits: sezah
#7 Eating Dessert On The Back Of The Plate
Went to a friends house for dinner a lovely meal. The whole family cleaned their plates of food then turned them over and ate dessert on the back of their plates like it was the most normal thing in the world. I copied them just to be polite.
Image credits: Argybargyass
#8 Paying For Meal While Visiting Your Friends
I went over to my friends house to play D&D in high-school, and my friends mom mad lunch for the 7 of us. It was really good. We were just playing D&D and eating tacos, and after we all finished the lunch, everyone started pulling out cash. I was super confused.
My friend turned to me and asked, “Do you have your $5?”
So apparently we were supposed to pay for the meal. I was incredibly embarrassed. One of my other friends ended up paying for me. I never played D&D at that house ever again…
Edit: This happened in SoCal. They were just a standard American household as far as I was aware. The food was homemade. D&D is Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a role-playing game. Also, I can confirm that my friend was not taking the money. I literally saw him give it to his mom.
Image credits: Songovstorms
#9 Challenging The House Host To A Sword Duel
As a Greek, i had to challenge the house host to a sword duel because he was a Turk and i had the moral obligation to do so
Image credits: captain_snake32
#10 Asking The Ambulance Doctors To Take Off The Shoes While Attending A Person In Cardiac Arrest
I work for the ambulance service and I was asked to take my shoes off before attending to their mother in cardiac arrest. Politely reminded them that there was a time and place
Image credits: phoenixfeet72
#11 Forbidding Even Little Boys To See The House Owner’s Wife
I was prohibited from going to the lobby of the house or get out of the room without giving a warning first because I was prohibited to meet the wife of the host since I am a man. I was 10 years old by the way.
Image credits: ward_-_
#12 Discussing A Girl’s Worth In Cows And Dollars Before Her Marriage
I used to mentor a girl from Uganda. I walked in on her family discussing the marriage of their daughter (older sister of my mentee) to the son of the other family. They were debating how many cows and dollars she was worth. Women are not allowed to be in the room when it the trading happens. It was my first day as her mentor and I walked in the front door and suddenly I was smack dab right in the room with a bunch of huge guys that were having the discussion of this girl’s worth. It was bonkers.
Image credits: KDWWW
#13 Having A Quiz On “The Word Of God”
My family is Catholic, Im not. They believe in God but really only go to church once in a while and just wanted me to believe and be a good person as the bare minimum. I’m not religious but I humor them.
Anyways, once when I was younger, There was a kid whose father was friends with my father and my dad and I got asked to come over for dinner. Sounds fine. There are other people there for dinner too. My dad and I thought it was weird. Prolly a dinner party and he forgot to mention.
Meet the guy’s son. Cool kid at first glance. Massive gamer, has modern consoles (for the time) gaming PC, had a Scar L airsoft rifle. We hit it off. Same with the other kids.
Then in the middle of playing, the guys son turns off the TV and ps3 and starts telling us, “alright guys, gather around and we’re gonna do a quiz on the word of God and talk about why you should be saved by praying to him and following his teachings.”
I’m like “nope.jpg” and fake a stomach ache to get out of it. Go to the bathroom and the guys son tells me “hey don’t want you feeling left out.” Then proceeds to slide me the packet; yes packet, and a pencil from under the bathroom door and he tells me “make sure before you come out, you finish it and turn it in so I can check it.”
Luckily, my dad faked a call from my mom saying she wasn’t feeling well and went to grab me. We both got out hella quick. Turns out, it was all some sort of recruitment thing going on for a church of this specific sect of Christianity or something. My dad felt off after being told that he was going to be taught the true values of God and he was expected to force/teach these values to his family. At the time, it all felt like a fever dream.
Never could find that kid on FB or any other social media. So maybe he never existed at all haha.
Image credits: Insanefox32
#14 Thinking That The Peace Sign Means A Broken Cross
I went over to a friend’s house for a sleepover and when I changed into my pajamas her mom started demanding I put something else on and throw my pajamas out. I was really confused, she was yelling about how my pajamas were sinful and bore signs of the devil! I ended up just calling my mom to take me home because I was so uncomfortable, but that woman just kept scolding us for allowing me to wear satantic symbols.
The symbols on my pajamas? Peace signs. She said they were broken crosses, so clearly a sign of the devil.
Image credits: usernameemma
#15 No Snacks In The House
Late to the game, but here goes.
I had a friend growing up whose parents didn’t allow any snacks in the house. Every time he invited me over to spend the night, I was expected to bring boxes of snack food because it could be allowed if brought in by an outsider.
And yes, his parents would partake, too.
So there was junior high school aged Higestache bringing boxes of snacks for an entire family to have a ‘cheat night’ at my expense.
Image credits: higestache
#16 Ordering All The Guests To Drink Coke
Dated a Lebanese guy.. On Christmas we had to drive around and visit all the aunts and uncles and sisters and brothers and so on.. At the first house I was offered a glass of coke and I kindly refused (coke makes me bloated and I wee a lot). I was told by my boyfriend that’s it’s rude. I had to finish each coke at every house, and if I finished it too soon, I would get a refill. I almost died that day. Also all the woman were mostly standing in the kitchen, did not really mingle with the men.
#17 Celebrating The Scottish New Year
My friends father was a Geordie and his grandad was Scottish. Each hogmanay it was my job to leave their house and re enter bearing a gift of coal. This was my task as I was the only one there with dark hair.
So that’s a thing.
Edit: spelling of Hogmanay.
Image credits: GabberZZ
#18 Praying Before Eating For 5 Straight Minutes
When the host has been saying grace for 5 straight minutes and we’re all still holding hands in a big circle as if we’re trying to summon a spirit, it feels pretty weird.
Image credits: Bizarre_Protuberance
#19 Must Have Ice Cream After Dinner
Must have ice cream after dinner, even a spoonful was enough. My friend invited me for a sleepover and his dad took out a small bucket of ice cream, turns out they have a separate freezer just for ice cream. Friend’s mom didn’t want any so she just took a spoonful from her husband. His dad would offer me ice cream whenever he can. We went for a drive and his dad saw a Dairy Queen we went there and spent an hour inside trying every kind of ice cream they had.
His mom wasn’t any different but it was with making sure the meal was balance, doesn’t matter if you ate a dozen fried chicken but you better eat a lot of vegetables with it.
I thought that they probably grew up poor and ice cream was a luxury his dad never had and maybe his mom wasn’t able to eat much.
My paternal grandma was unwilling to let a guest go home without eating anything.
Image credits: illogicalfuturity
#20 Eating Oranges With Skin
i am reminded of the story on Reddit where a girl went to her boyfriend’s parents’ house to meet them, and they had a ritual where they gather around a table and savagely consume an entire orange, skin and all. She didn’t do it, and she upset the entire family. I think it’s my favorite story from Reddit.
Image credits: frauleinsteve
#21 Reading The Bible Almost Constantly
I once went to have dinner with a girl from uni who came from a super nice but very religious family. Her dad turned out the be the pastor. Absolutely no problem being silent while they’re praying before dinner, however after dinner the whole family got their bibles out, and asked me politely, which my favourite verse was so we could read it together. Eh…?
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Image credits: Qihai7
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