Customs and rituals of different nations. Interesting customs and traditions of the peoples of the world. Japan - crawl up and "yobay"

Each country has its own unusual traditions, which may even shock us. In this article we will look at how general information According to traditions, so do New Year's. Some moments may surprise you, some may make you smile, and some may even make you laugh.

General traditions

Denmark

For example, in Denmark it is customary to hang a flag in the window. If you see a flag, it means a birthday is being celebrated in that house.

Thailand

In Thailand there is a festival called Song Kran. On this holiday, everyone pours water on each other. If you are doused with water on this day, it means they wish you good luck. Also in this same country they treat their heads with care, because... It is generally accepted that this is the repository of the human soul.

Advice

If you touch it, you will offend the person, so it is better not to do this.

Eskimo tribe

It is customary among Eskimo tribes to stand in a row to greet a stranger. Next, the first person comes forward a little and spanks stranger on the head, and is also waiting for an answer from a stranger. So, they continue to spank each other until one of them falls to the ground.

South America

Another interesting greeting custom can be observed in South America. They spit on each other. Some African peoples greet each other by sticking out their tongues.

Korea

In Korea, if you want to show that the table is delicious and you really liked it, it is recommended to slurp very loudly. This is exactly what everyone does to please their owners.

Northern Kamchatka

In Northern Kamchatka, among a number of peoples, the host could be shown great honor and respect if the guest had sexual intercourse with his wife. The owner of the house will be incredibly honored by such an act. And the mistress of the house tried her best to make the guest want to have sex with her. sexual intercourse. And it was considered the greatest happiness if a woman became pregnant and gave birth to a child after such a relationship. When a child was born, the whole village celebrated this event.

Philippines

You can’t ignore the island of Luzon (Philippines). This custom has existed since ancient times and continues to this day. Even before their death, the deceased carved out graves in logs, in which they were placed. After this, the deceased were taken to caves far into the mountains. So, some caves already contain a huge number of such unusual coffins. And some of them tear out their ancestors every few years and change their clothes.

New Year traditions

What New Year traditions can be observed in Bulgaria, and even so that they surprise us with their unusualness?

Before the last stroke of the night before midnight, the lights in the houses are turned off for a few minutes and they kiss.

Scotland

In Scotland there is a different tradition, a family tradition. It is customary here to light a fireplace before midnight, sit down with the whole family and look at its fire. It is believed that at this moment all sorrows and sorrows go away along with the past year. Everyone also makes secret wishes. When the clock begins to strike the last strokes, the doors of the house are opened to old year I could leave and come in again. After this ritual, everyone goes to the festive table and has fun.

There is another unusual and vibrant tradition in this country. On New Year's night, it is customary for them to take barrels of tar, set them on fire and roll them along the streets. In this way they burn the old year and celebrate the new year.

Ireland

And in Ireland it is customary to open the doors in all houses. If you want, you can go into any house and you will be the most valuable guest. You will be seated at the table, fed with festive dishes, and you will be part of the holiday of this family. The next day the celebration continues with family and friends.

France

If in the southern part of France the housewife is the first to draw water from a source in the New Year, then she must leave a bun from the festive table. And then, the woman who comes for her and takes the pie must leave the pie from her table. So the treats continue until the evening.

Germany

Germany also has an unusual new year tradition. In this country, when midnight comes, every person (both old and young) stands on a chair. It can also be a chair or table.

Advice

So, standing on a kind of hill, everyone starts jumping loudly and cheerfully, welcoming New Year.

Italy

Italians also have unusual traditions and customs. So, it is customary for them to throw all unnecessary things and old things out of the windows. At the same time, success and luck in the New Year depend on the number of things that are thrown away. The more, the better. Argentina has a similar tradition, but in a simplified form. So, from offices you can see flying documents and bills.

Conclusion:

As can be seen from this article, there are unusual traditions not only in general terms - such as greetings and hospitality. Also, unusual traditions affected the New Year - the most celebrated holiday in the world. All these traditions are very unusual, funny and interesting. And in some customs you even want to take part yourself.

Today on the territory of Russia you can meet representatives of 190 ethnic groups - these are Russians, Chuvashs, Udmurts, Yakuts, Tatars and many others. In total, according to various sources, there are from 2000 to 4000 peoples and nationalities living in the world. They all have their own cultural traditions, however, some have particularly amazing customs!

Madagascar

The inhabitants of Madagascar continue to follow several unusual traditions. This state is spread over a number of islands Indian Ocean, however, got its name from the largest landmass that formed about 88,000,000 years ago. Then the future island “broke away” from India and set off to drift into open waters. Today Madagascar is located closer to Africa. It is separated from the mainland by about 400 km, and every year this distance only increases by 2 cm.

Gradually the island began to be populated by representatives different nations, - along with the aborigines, Arabs and French appeared here. Pagan views mixed with Islam and Christianity.

Shamanism and Fado

Shamans continue to live on the island. Although they public importance Over time, it began to weaken, even today these people monitor the observance of the unwritten laws and prohibitions of their ancestors - fado.

Tourists need to be especially careful, because the indigenous people always remember about fado, and therefore do not go where they are not supposed to go, and do not talk about what is not worth talking about.

Important fact! For non-compliance with local traditions, Malagasy can seriously punish representatives of other nations, for example, by beating them.

Most revered animal

In Madagascar, they are especially prized... Cows! People breed them not at all in order to always have milk or meat, but because these particular horned animals are a sign of the owner's wealth, well-being, prestige and respect in society. In addition, it is cows that participate in most island rituals.

If a person passes into another world, the Malagasy people always “decorate” his grave with skulls or, at a minimum, the horns of artiodactyls. The more revered the deceased was during his lifetime, the more magnificently his grave will be decorated. Here you can see any parts of the cows' bodies. Sometimes for such purposes, shamans slaughter up to 100 animals at a time!

Funeral rituals

Funerals occupy almost a central place in the life of this island country. It is no coincidence that Madagascar is also called the “island of spirits”. Here they believe that a person’s earthly path is too fleeting to pay attention to, so only death has real meaning for the Malagasy. Funerals are always festive, fun, noisy, with dancing and rich tables. The festivities can take several days and nights. Everyone is happy for the deceased, because, according to the islanders, he does not die, but is transformed into a spirit, which the others will also regularly appease with gifts and offerings!

According to one custom, the dead are buried in luxurious graves, and according to another, even more ancient tradition, they are placed on small boats and sent to open ocean. No resident has the right to ignore funeral rituals or encroach on the inviolability of cemeteries - all this is regarded as disrespect for the dead and is considered fad.

Feasts with corpses

Most strange custom of the people of Madagascar, which appeared in the 17th century, is called “Famadihana” (from Malaga “turning over bones”).

Sufficient time must pass before the deceased completely transitions into a state of spirit. However, so that the deceased does not get bored during this period, he is regularly “shaken”, and quite in an unusual way. The dead are dug out of the grave or taken out of the crypt, washed, dressed in clean clothes, and then transferred to the place of a rich feast with a large number of guests. Everyone is obliged to approach the corpse, greet it and ask to share the meal and fun. If the Famadikhana is held in honor of an important person and is of a grandiose scale, then the deceased is even carried around the village and shown to him the places where he loved to visit during his lifetime.

At dusk, the corpse is taken to the cemetery. First you need to walk around the grave 3 times, and only then bury the remains back into the ground. This way the Malagasy can be sure that the dead will calm down and not bother anyone. Famadihana is held no earlier than a year after the burial, and is also repeated every 7 years. During it you are not allowed to cry or be sad.

For Malagasy, Famadihana is something like a family celebration, when all relatives get together and relax together. However, the government is extremely skeptical about such events, because they provoke the spread of diseases and infections.

India

Amazing customs are also found in India, the second largest country in the world after China. Several hundred different peoples live here, unusual traditions– Rajasthanis, Sinhalese, Sindhis, Tamils ​​and others.

Replacement for husbands and wives

The peoples of India follow an amazing practice in which people are officially allowed to choose their life partners... Trees! This happens in exceptional cases - for example, when an astrologer predicts misfortune in a first marriage or announces the presence of a curse.

If a girl was born in an unfavorable astrological period, which is called Kuja Dosha, she can bring trouble to her chosen one. Such women are called “Mangalikas”. Concluding alliances with them is fraught not only with failure, but even with death. To prevent this from happening, prudent Indians came up with the tradition of weddings with trees.

After marriage, the tree is cut down and the woman is declared a widow. The curse is considered formally accomplished, because the tree seems to take away everything negative with it. After this, any man will be able to marry a woman without fear or fear. Sometimes a tree becomes a “husband” in order to transfer part of its fertility to the “wife”.

Men are allowed to do the same, but in their case the reasons will be different. Thus, according to Indian rules, the eldest son must find a wife first. However, sometimes average or younger sons express a desire to get married earlier, so so that they don’t just wait, the family marries the first-born on a tree.

A similar ritual is performed if a man has already had 2 unions that ended in the death of his wives (divorces in India are extremely rare). The ban on marrying 3 times does not hinder Indian men at all - they enter into alliances with trees, and then continue to calmly marry real women.

Cows and urine therapy

In India, the cow is considered a sacred animal. This artiodactyl has taken such an important place in the life of Indians because it personifies the ancestor of Surabhi. In addition, it is the cow that helps the deceased cross the river of time and find peace, and is also used for transportation by Shiva himself, one of the supreme Hindu deities.

However, the matter is not limited to reverent worship alone. Some followers of Hinduism follow a rather funny, from the point of view of Europeans, tradition - they regularly ingest cow urine, because They believe that this way it will be possible not only to get rid of existing diseases, but also to prevent possible illnesses. We are talking about oncology, tuberculosis, diabetes, stomach problems.

Priest Ramesh Gupta refers to ancient Indian lyrics, which list the beneficial effects of such treatment. Despite the fact that not all Indians share his views, many still continue to come to the city of Agra, where there is a special shelter for cows. Adherents of the strange practice are confident that soon different nations from all over the world will learn about the benefits of cow urine therapy, and soft drinks made from a non-standard ingredient will replace Coca-Cola and Pepsi on store shelves.

Sati

However, not all customs in India are voluntary. One of the most terrible forced traditions in the whole world is Sati. The essence of this ritual funeral practice is as follows: after the death of her husband, the widow must be burned with him on the funeral pyre. Despite the fact that today Sati is considered a prohibited event, various Indian ethnic groups inhabiting rural areas sometimes continue to implement it. In total, about 40 such cases have been recorded since 1947.

The custom was named after the Hindu goddess who sacrificed herself for the sake of her lover, the god Shiva. Translated from Sanskrit, Sati means “truthful, honest, real, existing.” The roots of the terrible practice go back to the 10th century - it was then that the ritual self-immolation of widows became a mass phenomenon.

Women left without spouses knew about their fate, and therefore meekly accepted it. On the one hand, a fire awaited the widow, and on the other, the stigma of an unfaithful wife, shame, humiliation and even violence. Despite this, Sati was often viewed as a voluntary and even purely personal matter, which it never was in reality. A woman whose future was considered unpromising was not only subjected to social pressure, but also physical coercion. Numerous drawings and writings indicate that widows were often tied up, because this way they were unable to get out of the flames.

Wedding in Scotland

The Scots are known throughout the world for their wedding ceremonies and traditions. Firstly, they always choose only weekdays for ceremonies. Here it is believed that weekends are created exclusively for relaxation - both from work and from celebrations.

Secondly, the groom gives his bride a special gift - a small brooch, which is a symbol of future happiness, love and prosperity, and also becomes a special family amulet. After a couple has children, the wife pins a brooch on the clothes of one of them to ward off anxiety, sadness and misfortune. With the passing of generations, this heirloom passes from adults to young people.

Thirdly, the people of Scotland sometimes indulge in unusual entertainment, which appeared in the country during the Middle Ages. So, during the celebration, everyone who is not too lazy begins to smear the bride in mud! A snow-white dress, a veil, shoes - all this becomes gray due to flour, honey, earth, soot, sauces, noodles, sour milk and oils... In such a dirty state, the bride needs to walk along the main street, show off in the central square, go to all the pubs and, in general, appear to almost the entire city.

If today this is done out of laughter and as a tribute to ancient traditions, then once upon a time such a ritual had a very specific purpose. Medieval people believed that the more they smear the bride in dirt, the fewer quarrels and squabbles there would be in living together spouses. In addition, it was believed that in this way the girl said goodbye to past sins and began a new, important stage with a pure soul.

Japanese Fertility Festival

Amazing traditions are also followed in Japan - for example, the Shinto festival Honen Matsuri is held here every year. It is celebrated on March 15, but not by all the people, but only by representatives of individual prefectures. The event is especially popular in the city of Komaki (Aichi Prefecture).

The spring festival is dedicated to the goddess Tamahime no Mikot. However, the central place here is occupied by a specially created wooden phallus, which reaches 2.5 m in length and 250 kg in weight! This design, carved from cypress wood and renewed every year, represents the consort of Tamahime no Mikoto, the warrior Take-ina-dane.

The Japanese believe that the parade, during which a wooden object is carried from one temple to another, can bestow upon them abundant fertility and healthy offspring. Honen Matsuri is one of the manifestations of the so-called. phallic cult, which was found in the beliefs of many different peoples of the world - the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Cretans, Africans, Indians, Australians, etc.

Amazing traditions of different peoples

Tradition, custom, ritual are a centuries-old connection, a kind of bridge between the past and the present. Some customs are rooted in the distant past; over time they have changed and lost their sacred meaning, but are still observed today, passed on from grandparents to grandchildren and great-grandchildren as a memory of their ancestors. In rural areas, traditions are observed more widely than in cities, where people live separately from each other. But many rituals have become so firmly established in our lives that we perform them without even thinking about their meaning.

Traditions can be calendar, related to field work, family, pre-Christian, the most ancient, religious, which entered our lives with the adoption of Christianity, and some pagan rituals mixed with Orthodox beliefs and were somewhat modified.

Calendar rituals

The Slavs were cattle breeders and farmers. In the pre-Christian period the pantheon Slavic gods included several thousand idols. Supreme gods there were Svarozhichi, the ancestors of all living things. One of them was Veles, the patron of cattle breeding and agriculture. The Slavs made sacrifices to him before sowing and harvesting. On the first day of sowing, all villagers went out to the field in new, clean shirts with flowers and wreaths. The oldest resident of the village and the smallest one started sowing, and they threw the first grain into the ground.

The harvest was also a holiday. All, even the old and sick, villagers gathered at the border of the field, a sacrifice was made to Veles, most often a large ram, then the strongest and handsome men and young guys with scythes in their hands and simultaneously walked through the first lane. Then the girls and young women, always fast and healthy, tied the sheaves and placed the money. After successful cleaning, a rich table was set for all residents of the village; a large sheaf, decorated with ribbons and flowers, was placed at the head of the table, which was also considered a sacrifice to the god Veles.

Maslenitsa also refers to calendar rituals, although at present it is already considered a semi-religious holiday. In ancient times, this ritual invoked Yarilo, the god of the sun and heat, on whom the harvest directly depended. That is why the custom arose on this day to bake pancakes, fatty, rosy, hot as the sun. All people danced in circles, which are also a symbol of the sun, sang songs praising the power and beauty of the sun, and burned an effigy of Maslenitsa.

Today Maslenitsa has abandoned its pagan meaning and is considered almost a religious holiday. Each day of Maslenitsa week has its own purpose. And the most important day is Forgiveness Sunday, when you should ask all your family and relatives for forgiveness for involuntary offenses. Sunday is a turning point Lent, the strictest and longest, when believers abstain from meat and dairy foods for seven weeks.

Yule rituals

When Christianity was firmly established in Rus', new church holidays. And some holidays that have a religious basis have become truly popular. This is precisely what should be included in the Christmas festivities, which take place from January 7 (Christmas) to January 19 (Epiphany).

On Christmastide, young people went from house to house with performances, other groups of boys and girls caroled, girls and young women told fortunes in the evenings. All village residents were required to participate in preparations for the holidays. They slaughtered livestock and prepared special dishes. On Christmas Eve, January 6, the evening before Christmas, they cooked uzvar, a sweet compote with rice, prepared cheesecakes and pies, sochevo, a special dish of cabbage with grain.

Young people sang special comic carol songs, asked for treats, and jokingly threatened:

“If you don’t give me some pie, we’ll take the cow by the horns.”

If they didn’t give treats, they could play a joke: close the chimney, destroy a woodpile of firewood, freeze the door. But this happened rarely. It was believed, and is still believed, that generous gifts, songs with wishes of happiness and prosperity, and grain brought into the house by guests bring happiness to the house for the entire New Year, and relieve illness and misfortune. Therefore, everyone tried to treat those who came and give them generous gifts.

Young girls most often wondered about their fate, about their suitors. The bravest ones told fortunes in a bathhouse with a mirror by candlelight, although this was considered very dangerous, because in the bathhouse they removed the cross from themselves. The girls brought armfuls of firewood into the house; by the number of logs, even or odd, one could tell whether or not she would get married this year. They fed the chicken with counting grain, melted the wax and looked at what it predicted for them.

Family rituals

Perhaps the most rituals and traditions are associated with family life. Matchmaking, wedding, christening - all this required compliance with ancient rituals that came from grandmothers and great-grandmothers, and their strict observance promised a happy family life, healthy children and grandchildren.

The Slavs used to live in large families, where adult children, who already had their own families, lived with their parents. In such families three or four generations could be observed; families included up to twenty people. Such an elder big family there was usually a father or older brother, and his wife was the head of the women. Their orders were carried out unquestioningly, along with the laws of the government.

Weddings were usually celebrated after the harvest or after Epiphany. Later, the most successful time for weddings was “Red Hill” - the week after Easter. Myself wedding ceremony took a fairly long period of time and included several stages, and therefore a large number of rituals.

The groom's parents came to woo the bride together with their godparents, and less often other close relatives. The conversation should have started allegorically:

“You have goods, we have a merchant” or “Didn’t a heifer run into your yard, we came for her.”

If the bride's parents agreed, a viewing party should be held where the bride and groom would get to know each other. Then there will be collusion or handshaking. Here the new relatives agree on the wedding day, the dowry, and what gifts the groom will bring to the bride.

When everything was discussed, her girlfriends gathered at the bride’s house every evening and helped prepare the dowry: they wove, sewed, knitted lace, embroidered gifts for the groom. All girls' get-togethers were accompanied by sad songs, because no one knew what the girl's fate would be. Waiting for a woman at her husband's house hard work and complete submission to the will of the husband. On the first day of the wedding, the songs sounded mainly lyrical, majestic, farewell laments. Upon arrival from church, the newlyweds were greeted on the porch by their parents with bread and salt, and the mother-in-law had to put a spoonful of honey in her new daughter-in-law's mouth.

The second day is a completely different matter. On this day, according to custom, the son-in-law and his friends went “to their mother-in-law for pancakes.” After a good feast, the guests dressed up, covered their faces with bandages or canvas, and drove around the village, visiting all their new relatives. This custom is still preserved in many villages, where on the second day of the wedding, the costumed guests themselves harness themselves to the cart and drive the new matchmakers through the streets.

And, of course, speaking of customs, one cannot miss the rite of infant baptism. Children were baptized immediately after birth. To perform the ceremony, they consulted for a long time, choosing godparents. They will be second parents for the child and, equally with them, are responsible for the life, health and upbringing of the baby. Godparents become godfathers and maintain friendly relations with each other throughout their lives.

When the child turned one year old, godmother She sat him on an inside-out sheepskin coat and, using scissors, carefully cut a cross in his hair on the crown of his head. This was done in order to evil spirits did not have access to his thoughts and further actions.

Every year, on Christmas Eve, the grown-up godson always brought the godfather kutya and other treats, and the godfather gave him some sweets in return.

Mixed rites

As we have already said, some rituals originated in the pre-Christian period, but continue to live to this day, slightly changing their appearance. It was the same with Maslenitsa. A widely known ritual is the celebration of the night of Ivan Kupala. It was believed that only on this single day of the year does the fern bloom. Whoever can find this flower that cannot be handed over will be able to see the treasures underground, and all the secrets will be revealed to him. But only a person can find it pure in heart, sinless.

In the evening, huge fires were lit, over which young people jumped in pairs. It was believed that if the two of you, holding hands, jump over the fire, then love will not leave you throughout your life. They danced in circles and sang songs. The girls wove wreaths and floated them on the water. They believed that if the wreath floated to the shore, the girl would remain alone for another year, if she drowned, she would die this year, and if she floated with the flow, she would soon get married.

Every country, every people has its own ancestral customs. But sometimes they seem too strange for modern man. We will tell you about some of them.

Residents of the Republic of Madagascar are distinguished by exceptional affection for their relatives. But sometimes such a relationship becomes abnormal, especially when we're talking about about the already dead. To this day, the Malagasy strictly follow the ancient custom of periodically digging up the dead from their tombs, dressing them in the best clothes and taking photographs with them. To a modern European this will seem wild, but the inhabitants of Madagascar believe that such behavior is nothing more than a manifestation of love and respect for those who are already in another world.

In India, there is a rather shocking custom associated with strengthening the spirit of a newborn. The newly born child is thrown from the wall of the temple (height 10-15 meters). Below, the newborn is caught; for this, a large piece of material is stretched, which is held by at least 8 people. It is believed that such a procedure with early years will make the child luckier and also give him courage.

In Scotland, in some regions, the medieval wedding custom. Bride dressed impeccably white dress, decorated with flowers (and rich in jewelry) is completely smeared in mud. Dirt can be spoiled food, soil, flour, honey. In this form, she must walk along the main street, go around the central square, and also ride a horse throughout the city. Today this is done, for the most part, for the sake of entertainment, but previously people believed that through this a girl cleanses her soul from all sorts of earthly sins.

The relationship with death among most peoples has always been original. But in conducting funeral rites, Tibetan monks distinguished themselves most of all. The body of the deceased, according to their belief, was supposed to not only return to the earth, but also bring benefit. And therefore it was not buried, but divided and carried to the top of the mountain where they live wild animals. Thus, people believed that the spirit of the deceased was reunited with nature in the most natural way: by being included in the natural cycle of substances.

Walking on lit coals has been practiced in Japan and Africa since ancient times. But you can still find this custom there today. Fire was intended to purify a person, to instill in him courage, firmness and perseverance. It was believed that if you walk along the road of fire without fear, then there is nothing more to be afraid of in life.

The Japanese, as practice shows, are quite strange in their customs. And the Japanese spring fertility festival is proof of this. At the beginning of spring, residents of the country rising sun gather on the streets of cities (only some cities, since not everyone takes part in the holiday) to witness the sacred action. The strongest and healthiest men get the opportunity to carry a wooden male reproductive organ weighing 25 kilograms across the city. This tradition involves not only improving the land and increasing the level of productivity, but also bringing “fertility to the family,” increasing the birth rate and strengthening families.

Some holiday customs of the peoples of the world can plunge into a state of shock any person uninitiated in their subtleties. national culture. Just look at the crowd of people in devil costumes jumping over babies during the Spanish festival “El Colacho”, or old sofas flying from the windows of houses in the South African city of Johannesburg on New Year’s Eve! Native customs will seem like childish pranks compared to what residents of other countries do. Today we will remember the most strange traditions from all over the world and find out how they appeared.

Ukrainian Christmas and the web

In most countries, just the sight of a spider or web will be a good reason to panic and run out of the house screaming in horror. But this does not apply to Ukraine, where the multi-legged “monster” will only be welcome. Especially at Christmas! After all, spiders, according to Ukrainians, bring happiness and good luck. According to ancient legend, it was these creatures that helped save Christmas for a certain poor widow and children. They decorated the pine cone that served as her Christmas tree with their silvery web and brought the holiday atmosphere back into the house.

The legend definitely brought a couple of notes of Halloween horror to the Ukrainian version of the Christmas tale. Indeed, in memory of the miracle performed by spiders, the inhabitants of this country began to decorate the holiday tree with artificial cobwebs.

New Year's chaos in South Africa

There are hundreds of ways to celebrate the New Year in an original way. You can, for example, watch the crystal ball descend in Times Square or set off giant fireworks. Have you heard that not so long ago, on the eve of this holiday, South Africans threw old furniture out of the windows of their own houses?

This tradition became widespread in one of the criminal areas of Johannesburg in the 90s of the 20th century after the end of the apartheid era. However, it was not allowed to exist for a long time for objective reasons. A few years ago, a refrigerator flying from the upper floors caused severe injuries an innocent pedestrian.

In the fight against dangerous tradition The police officers became involved. To maintain law and order, they cruised the streets of the problem area in armored vehicles. The police efforts met with some success. In 2013, not a single piece of furniture flew out of the windows of local houses, although New Year's Eve and there were an incredible number of fights, fireworks were set off everywhere, and a peaceful pedestrian could be hit by a barrage of glass bottles.

Fast food for Christmas in Japan

There are strange traditions in Japan too. And they concern the Christmas menu of its residents. The Japanese do not want to see on their festive table traditional dishes like turkey or goose. They prefer trivial fried chicken from the KFC fast food restaurant chain to all the culinary delights of the world. How did it happen that banal fast food originally from America became a local national tradition?