Warning incoming passengers of local customs

[Gurdur]

Link to news report

German carrier Lufthansa is to warn international passengers, men in particular, about the dangers of landing at airports on the Rhine tomorrow, the day women cut men's ties off and compensate them with an unexpected kiss.
..........
Lufthansa spokesman Frank Puettmann said the company was concerned for the wellbeing of its international passengers. He recalled the case of a Japanese man who had his tie cut off shortly after arriving. "This customer promptly booked a return flight to Japan," Puettnam said.

Wussies. It's only one day a year, and you're safe if you don't wear a tie.

[verte]

If it's an ugly tie, they're probably doing them a favor.

[brianp]

Do you know the origin of the custom?

[Gurdur]

Originally Posted by brianp

Do you know the origin of the custom?

I will ask.

On this day (actually yesterday, always a Thursday, once a year, Altweiberfest day, which would translate to "Old Wives' Day", the first day of the 5-day long Karneval = Carnival), the women storm the local town hall and ceremoniously take control for the day. They then go around the place snipping ties in exchange for kisses.

Many people dress up in costume for this day and one other day of Karneval, together sing in the streets sentimental songs, and drink lots.

Karneval, in its traditions and history, actually differs a huge amount according to just where you are in Germany.

The customs I have described, plus a peculiar habit of ers dressing up in mock Napoleonic French Hussar uniforms, parades etc., apply to northwestern Germany, very specifically the Rheinland, and are usually explained as originating in mocking occupying French troops when Napoleon occupied the Rheinland.

In southern Germany, the celebrations are far different, and much more sombre; instead of the mock-Napoleonic scene, the southern German parades and costumes recall extremely old paganism.

I don't know what they do in Eastern Germany, they probably just sit around and bitch as usual.

[Octavia]

Seems to me to be a very good way to get rid of the ugly ties received as Xmas or birthday presents...

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but Daddy can't wear his Mickey Mouse tie any more. A mad woman cut it off!"

[QueenOfBlasphemy]

That sounds like such fun! (Mind you, I'm a sucker for anything that allows for dressing up.)
And I agree with Verte, I've seen many ties that need this treatment!

[opabinia]

I have never heard about this. It sounds like fun.

[Storm_Raven]

I can fully understand why they're warning their international passengers about this, believe me, I'd be blood furious if they did that to a nice tie of mine. Still the day sounds like fun, if you're not wearing a tie that is.

Storm Raven

[Gurdur]

Two words: cheap polyester.

[HawkerHurricane]

I'd bring 90% of my ties with me, and every time I lost a tie I'd put a new one on...

(I'd do it right there in front of the girl if she was cute enough!)

[Jethroism]

I'd wear twenty ties loosely draped around my neck so I could kiss all the pretty ladies.

Unfortunately, with one look at me, all the women would run away and the custom would stop. Then it would be like a scene from those old Frankenstein movies; an angry mob of armed torch-carrying townsfolk and farmers chasing me through the forest.

Jethrostein

[Jethroism]

I see that HawkerHurricane and I had a similar idea.

However. I didn't mention that I was wearing nothing but the ties, so my idea was more perverted.

[HawkerHurricane]

Originally Posted by Jethroism

I see that HawkerHurricane and I had a similar idea.

However. I didn't mention that I was wearing nothing but the ties, so my idea was more perverted.

I would not appear nude in public on those days, for fear that other items might be mistaken for a tie...

[Deacon Doubtmonger]

Badda-boomp!

Seriously: There's a similar custom in the western US. The Trail Dust Steak House and Pinnacle Peak Steak House restaurants want to keep an "old west" ambiance, so they'll cut off your tie and hang it from the rafters. No kisses, though. (Moot in my case -- Mrs. D would me if I tried ...)

[Little One-Eyed Wench]

Originally Posted by Deacon Doubtmonger

Badda-boomp!

Seriously: There's a similar custom in the western US. The Trail Dust Steak House and Pinnacle Peak Steak House restaurants want to keep an "old west" ambiance, so they'll cut off your tie and hang it from the rafters. No kisses, though. (Moot in my case -- Mrs. D would me if I tried ...)

We used to have a restaurant in Ohio that did the same thing. Unfortunately it caught fire and burned to the ground. Turns out that polyester is highly flammable and tying it to the wooden rafters was a bit like dousing the place in gasoline...

[Kes]

England is so boring. Can we start some new, interesting, traditional customs?

[brianp]

Well we've got Morris Dancers. What more could you want?

[Jethroism]

HawkerHurricane:

BrianP: Please, explain the Morris Dance.

I like the silly customs of the world. I just like silly, period. It's better than too serious (though serious has its place), and always much better than deadly-serious.

Jethro

[Don Alhambra]

Easy, Jethroism.

Spoiler:

The Morris dance is common to all inhabited worlds in the multiverse.

It is danced under blue skies to celebrate the quickening of the soil and under bare stars because it's springtime and with any luck the carbon dioxide will unfreeze again. The imperative is felt by deep-sea beings who have never seen the sun and urban humans whose only connection with the cycles of nature is that their Volvo once ran over a sheep.

It is danced innocently by raggedy-bearded young mathematicians to an inexpert accordion rendering of "Mrs Widgery's Lodger" and ruthlessly by such as the Ninja Morris Men of New Ankh, who can do strange and terrible things with a simple handkerchief and a bell.

And it is never danced properly.

Except on the Discworld, which is flat and supported on the backs of four elephants which travel through space on the shell of Great A'Tuin, the world turtle.

And even there, only in one place have they got it right. It's a small village high in the Ramtop Mountains, where the big and simple secret is handed down across the generations.

There, the men dance on the first day of spring, backwards and forwards, bells tied under their knees, white shirts flapping. People come and watch. There's an ox roast afterwards, and it's generally considered a nice day out for the all the family.

But that isn't the secret.

The secret is the other dance.

In the village in the Ramtops where they understand what the Morris dance is all about, they dance it just once, at dawn, on the first day of spring. They don't dance it after that, all through the summer. After all, what would be the point? What use would it be?

But on a certain day when the nights are drawing in, the dancers leave work early and take, from attics and cupboards, the other costume, the black one, and the other bells. And they go by separate ways to a valley among the leafless trees. They don't speak. There is no music. It's very hard to imagine what kind there could be.

The bells don't ring. They're made of octiron, a magic metal. But they're not, precisely, silent bells. Silence is merely the absence of noise. They make the opposite of noise, a sort of heavily textured silence.

And in the cold afternoon, as the light drains from the sky, among the frosty leaves and in the dampair, they dance the other Morris. Because of the balance of things.

You've got to dance both, they say. Otherwise you can't dance either.

--Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1991)

[Kes]

I've never quite seen the point in morris dancers. Celidhs are England's version of Salsa dancing (a bit more promiscuous, what with all the swapping your partners). It can get very energtetic, if everyone isn't so drunk that they cant work out what they are supposed to be doing next,so it's pretty good exercise.

Traditional folk music has very sweet and innocent lyrics about lovers getting caught in bed by their husbands and sacrificing themselves to save the lover (I'm not sure if that's the ancient religions coming through within the enforced Christianity). The folk revival seems to have lead to the political branch of folk music.

Nope, I still can't work out how any of that fits with Morris dancing. Moris dancers do seem to associate themselves with folk music and Ceilidhs though.

BTW, does anyone know if it's true that Valentines Day was originally the day when people got assigned to new lovers (before Christianity was heard of in the UK and it was given it's current name after some religious bloke called Valentine that married people in secret or something)? A mate worte an article once about how within the community names would be selected at random and people would have to sleep with the person for the whole year, untill the process was repeated. It could be great if you got the person you'd secretly fancied for ages, and if not, well it's only for a year. The article was ony in a student magazine though, so I was never quite sure how rigorous his research was. Not sure we should reinstate that tradition though

[Jethroism]

Thanks. Weird shit is cool.

I think BrianP's photo is Chimpy McNugget and his whole neo-con crew enjoying the festivities.

Jethro

[verte]

Originally Posted by Gurdur

Two words: cheap polyester.

Originally Posted by Little One-Eyed Wench

We used to have a restaurant in Ohio that did the same thing. Unfortunately it caught fire and burned to the ground. Turns out that polyester is highly flammable and tying it to the wooden rafters was a bit like dousing the place in gasoline...

[Never]

Originally Posted by Little One-Eyed Wench

We used to have a restaurant in Ohio that did the same thing. Unfortunately it caught fire and burned to the ground. Turns out that polyester is highly flammable and tying it to the wooden rafters was a bit like dousing the place in gasoline...

I've never heard of this. Whereabouts in Ohio was it?

[David B]

When I first looked at this thread, I thought it was going to be along the lines of Gerard Hoffnung's advice to foreigners piece.

Originally Posted by some website I found with an extract from Hoffnung

You will oblige your chambermaid by hanging your mattress out of the window every morning

All London brothels display a blue lamp

Ignore all signs saying left or right - these are merely political slogans

Zebra parking places are freely available

Have you tried the famous echo in the Reading Room at the British Museum?

On entering a railway compartment, make sure you shake hands with all who are present

David B (advises non nationals that all London Police Stations displayed blue lamps)

[Little One-Eyed Wench]

Originally Posted by Never

I've never heard of this. Whereabouts in Ohio was it?

A resort in East Sparta called Bear Creek. The restaurant was either in the campgrounds or nearby. It happened quite some time ago. I can't find any links to show you.