Strange Local Traditions

[AnnaMarie]

I can only think of one tradition from my parents culture. Home made meat pies. These are not like anything I have ever eaten anywhere else. They were made for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve....but if you were lucky your mom made lots and every now and then would just pop one out of the freezer.

Acadian cooking was basically, use what you've got lots of.....so the meat pies were usually a combination of pork and chicken. Since my cousin was a hunter, we often had rabbit in ours.

In my home, before going to bed on Christmas Eve, we left out a piece of meat pie and a beer for Santa.

~~~~

I need to make some meat pie. I haven't had any since before my mom passes away.

 

[Out of Order]

...depends on which way the stains face.....

Did you know that those Tide pens don't work on everything?

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Did you know that those Tide pens don't work on everything?

Bummer. Might I suggest lighter fluid and a match?

Question: Why don't they just make guys underwear in brown instead of white. Would solve a lot of problems, and no worries if you get in an accident and have to go to the hospital.

 

[TheRedQueen]

My hometown has/had the tradition of "Doyle Days". The great lizard races.

Yes. You read that right. We raced lizards. Blue Bellies, mostly, but I think one year a kid got disqualified because he brought a Leopard Lizard. (They eat blue bellies)

There were other things involved with Doyle Days, of course, but it all revolved around the lizard races.They even built a "track" on the town common. My mom made a sign that still stands reading "Lizard X-ing". She also made a "Blue Billy" suit for my brother to dress up in. Kind of like the town mascot. (There are pictures, but they're of the old school, printed-out variety.) There were also Indian tacos served at the fire station, booths set up to sell stuff, and a whole weekend when all the town would mingle. The fun would last well into the night, and I still remember seeing kids wandering around with those glow in the dark tube necklaces, tossing Pop-Its everywhere.

Sadly, Doyle Days is a ghost of its former glory. According to my mom, antiquities dealers used to come from all over to set up their booths, and for two days at the height of summer, our little town rocked. Now, only a few people get together.

The world's moved on, eh?

 

[GNTLGNT]

My hometown has/had the tradition of "Doyle Days". The great lizard races.

Yes. You read that right. We raced lizards. Blue Bellies, mostly, but I think one year a kid got disqualified because he brought a Leopard Lizard. (They eat blue bellies)

There were other things involved with Doyle Days, of course, but it all revolved around the lizard races.They even built a "track" on the town common. My mom made a sign that still stands reading "Lizard X-ing". She also made a "Blue Billy" suit for my brother to dress up in. Kind of like the town mascot. (There are pictures, but they're of the old school, printed-out variety.) There were also Indian tacos served at the fire station, booths set up to sell stuff, and a whole weekend when all the town would mingle. The fun would last well into the night, and I still remember seeing kids wandering around with those glow in the dark tube necklaces, tossing Pop-Its everywhere.

Sadly, Doyle Days is a ghost of its former glory. According to my mom, antiquities dealers used to come from all over to set up their booths, and for two days at the height of summer, our little town rocked. Now, only a few people get together.

The world's moved on, eh?

 

[GNTLGNT]

Did you know that those Tide pens don't work on everything?

 

[mcpon14]

I can only think of one tradition from my parents culture. Home made meat pies. These are not like anything I have ever eaten anywhere else. They were made for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve....but if you were lucky your mom made lots and every now and then would just pop one out of the freezer.

Acadian cooking was basically, use what you've got lots of.....so the meat pies were usually a combination of pork and chicken. Since my cousin was a hunter, we often had rabbit in ours.

In my home, before going to bed on Christmas Eve, we left out a piece of meat pie and a beer for Santa.

~~~~

I need to make some meat pie. I haven't had any since before my mom passes away.

Your meat pies sound delicious. I'm sorry that your mom passed away.

 

[TheRedQueen]

I can't believe you found this!

 

[GNTLGNT]

I can't believe you found this!

 

[niro]

lol, this tradition makes me giggle, niro.
I can imagine all the townspeople saving bags and bags of socks with holes for years and waiting for one of their friends to turn 25. I can well imagine the pressure to find a spouse!! LOL

What is the tradition for turning 30 and unmarried!?

It's all fun and games some actually wait to get married just to be able to join the fun.

When you turn 30 and you are unmarried. As a men you got to sweep the stairs in front of your local town hall. And as a woman you got to clean the door handle of your local town hall.

 

[niro]

When I'm out of beer I hang my briefs upside down on the clothesline as a sign of distress, does that count?

You could start a tradition maybe when your son does the same it's established.

 

[Out of Order]

You could start a tradition maybe when your son does the same it's established.

 

[Blake]

I don't think it's just local but when I was in Sweden when I was nine my Grandfather left some porridge for the 'Tomte' in the barn and I said to my father that the rats most probably were eating it and he looked at me like I didn't know anything.

 

[Neesy]

I don't think it's just local but when I was in Sweden when I was nine my Grandfather left some porridge for the 'Tomte' in the barn and I said to my father that the rats most probably were eating it and he looked at me like I didn't know anything.

Swedish Tomte

Spoiler

ask Kurben - he is Swedish

 

[Grandpa]

The college I attended, a small liberal arts institution, had a yearly mud football game. Girls only. The fire department would come out to a patch of dirt on campus, hose it down thoroughly, and two teams of girls would have a game of tackle football. They were barely recognizable as human beings within five minutes.

The town of Fort Collins has a big white A painted on one of the foothills overlooking the town.

Every year, designated freshmen go up and reapply the nontoxic paint. What is the A for in a town called Fort Collins, you might ask? Well, it's for the local university, Colorado State U, team name being the Rams**. Puzzled, you ask again, how do you get an A out of that? Well, CSU used to be Colorado A&M, and the team name was the Aggies. Ah, that clears it up, you say. Sorta - the name change occurred in 1957.

Up in Nederland, Colorado, a place described in Stephen King's The Stand as a "miserable little town," if I remember right, they have "The Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival" in mid-March. This is in honor tribute acknowledgement of Bredo Morstol, who had his body frozen in dry ice close to the town in the anticipation that future technology could cure and revive him. According to the website, which is not a signer to the Oxford Comma Protocol, the festivities include the "Blue Ball, coffin races, costumed polar plunge, ice turkey bowling, frozen T-shirt and brain freeze contests, Snowy Human Foosball, a parade of hearses and a frozen salmon toss."





**In the age of Title IX, the team name of "Rams" became problematic for the women's sports. "Ewes" was not an option, apparently. For a while, the women's teams were known as "Lady Rams," which seems to me grammatically offensive, like saying, "Female Bull," or "Damsel Man," although now in the age of gender identity, maybe it's not so much of a problem, although it's not exactly stirring intimidation in the minds of one's sports competition. They've now come around and all teams are simply "Rams."

 

[Cowboy]

I used to be one of the contestants for Donkey Basketball at the local school. They usually gave me the bucking donkey just for fun.

 

[Blake]

Kr

Swedish Tomte

Spoiler

ask Kurben - he is Swedish

Kurben would know about it. I think Kurben lives in Stockholm so I don't know if they'd do that sought of stuff, it's more if you have a barn. The Tomte is supposed to be the original owner who cleared the land to live on it and most probably buried there a long time ago and he hates if you urinate in the barn. He goes mad and he has immense strength.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Do other places do a Polar Bear Dip?

For about the last 10 or 11 years, people jump in to Lake Ontario on January 1. They raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

 

[mcpon14]

My hometown has/had the tradition of "Doyle Days". The great lizard races.

Yes. You read that right. We raced lizards. Blue Bellies, mostly, but I think one year a kid got disqualified because he brought a Leopard Lizard. (They eat blue bellies)

There were other things involved with Doyle Days, of course, but it all revolved around the lizard races.They even built a "track" on the town common. My mom made a sign that still stands reading "Lizard X-ing". She also made a "Blue Billy" suit for my brother to dress up in. Kind of like the town mascot. (There are pictures, but they're of the old school, printed-out variety.) There were also Indian tacos served at the fire station, booths set up to sell stuff, and a whole weekend when all the town would mingle. The fun would last well into the night, and I still remember seeing kids wandering around with those glow in the dark tube necklaces, tossing Pop-Its everywhere.

Sadly, Doyle Days is a ghost of its former glory. According to my mom, antiquities dealers used to come from all over to set up their booths, and for two days at the height of summer, our little town rocked. Now, only a few people get together.

The world's moved on, eh?

Sounds like an awesome tradition. Too bad it isn't as great as before.