Happy 25th bday - here’s 10+ lbs of cinnamon
So apparently some of the traditions here in DK are one of these to others:
a) Really fucking weird b) Really fucking interesting c) Strangely alarming d) All of the above
A prime example? Having friends/family/both quite literally throw spices at you on your birthday - if you’re unmarried.
25 and unmarried? Cinnamon. 30 and unmarried? Black pepper.
Why, though? A damn good question. Probably because humans in general are strange creatures and find the darndest ways to amuse themselves, but there is a historical explanation, too. At least for the pepper thing.
The colloquial term in DK for someone who is 30+ and unmarried would be either ‘pebermø’ (F) or ‘pebersvend’ (M) - ‘peber’ being the DK word for ‘pepper’, just to be clear. The female term is more recent (1700s), while the male version seems to be the original, and started popping up in the 1500s.
Why pepper? That’s acutally pretty simple - because spice traders. Spice traders dealt heavily in pepper around here, and because they spent such a big portion of their lives traveling, settling into a romantic relationship was extraordinarily difficult. They either got married very late (for the time period) or didn’t get married at all.
Okay, but then why cinnamon? That’s definitely a human thing. Cinnamon at 25 became a thing way more recently - 1960s - because some dudes in my neck of the woods didn’t want to wait for their pals to turn 30 before they could mess with them. So subtract 5 years, change to a different spice et voila!
Is it still happening? Oh fuck yes it is. How bad or creative it gets depends entirely on the vict-- er, birthday boy/girl’s friends and family, and at least in regards to cinnamon at 25, on where in DK you are.
(Friendly reminder: DK is tiny. ~6mil people. Landmass 1/3 the size of the state of Maine, for those across the pond. Yet, we still have localized traditions. WTF?)
Ultra-light version of turning 25 is nearer to the DK capital - Copenhagen. There, you might get a few sticks of cinnamon taped to your gift, card or whatever. Easy.
Light version is... probably what happened to me. Various forms of cinnamon attached to presents and cards, + 1lb of food-grade cinnamon dumped over my head after I put a cap on.
After that... Well, there are some serious precautions to take first, tbh. Because after that?
For reference, the precautions, because as you may have guessed, the above isn’t exactly 100% safe.
Make sure the birthday boy/girl actually wants the above to happen. You know, unless you’re a total asshole
Make sure they’re wearing
Old clothes
A good face mask
Goggles
Hold any electronics for them
Douse them in cold water - this makes the pores on the skin close up, and makes it easier to wash off afterwards
Only then start playing with the cinnamon. Which, in the above examples is probably not food-grade, or I doubt you could buy 10 lbs of it for ~$70 US.
Weirdly, the pepper thing is practically pedestrian in comparison. At least aside from the modern monuments that might just be lovingly hand-crafted by your adoring friends. They usually include - but are not limited to! - empty oil drums, because those were originally welded together to form giant ‘pepper mills’.
Yup. Happy birthday!