“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About

“Shoes on or off?”, you might wonder stepping into someone’s house. Well, it depends on where that house is located: if it’s somewhere in the US, for instance, walking inside with outside shoes might not be that big of a deal, but doing that in Japan is likely to be frowned upon.

This is just one example of how the same situation might be viewed very differently in different locations; and there sure are many more. Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such situations, after one of them asked netizens what is considered a taboo in their country but absolutely fine elsewhere. If you’re eager to learn something that might be good to remember when visiting one country or another, scroll down to find redditors’ answers on the list below, and feel free to share what are some things considered taboo in your own country in the comments.

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Lobbying. We call it corruption or bribes in Iceland.

fridgehawk , Mikhail Nilov Report

168points

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About In Alaska you can be put in a phone registry to go and pick up a road kill moose off the side of the road. This is considered a super lucky phone call as even the worst road kill moose has 100’s of pounds of good meat. Everyone is normally stoked for you if you get this call also and if during the day time people will normally honk and cheer driving past you getting the dead moose. I never realized the weirdness of all of this till explaining the excitement of road kill moose to some friends in San Diego. .

Next_Emphasis_9424 , hitbug Report

104points

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Sitting on a desk or table. In Maori culture it's insulting to plonk your a**e on a surface where food might be prepared.

TooOldToBePunk , Pavel Danilyuk Report

90points

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Some things in the world are pretty universal, that’s true. However, one can’t argue that most things we say, do, or experience differ not only with each country but with each region or household, even; what is completely normal in one might be considered out of line in another.

Such out-of-line things are usually considered taboo – “a subject, word, or action that is avoided for religious or social reasons”, as dictionaries describe it. And they can relate to any and every thing there is, from food to periods, and beyond. According to the person who started the thread, redditor ‘Auelogic’, even such a seemingly humdrum thing as chewing gum can be a taboo in certain places.

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Universal healthcare

asfacadabra , Kaboompics.com Report

83points

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Not offering a cup of tea to anyone entering the home including servicemen.
In the UK not doing so is punishable by death.

Captain_Parsley , Ahmed Aqtai Report

80points

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“In my country, there are many minor taboos, like the idea that selling gum is frowned upon. This made me curious about what other taboos exist in different countries,” the OP told Bored Panda in a recent interview, sharing why they decided to ask this particular question.

Discussing the netizens’ answers, the OP shared that they were interesting to read, especially as they related to numerous different countries. “I’ve learned a lot from this,” they admitted.

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About As an iranian, where do you want me to start?

Hungry-Calendar-5532 , sina drakhshani Report

74points

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About I just went to Germany for the first time (I’m from the US). My colleague (from Germany) went to grab me a glass for my beer and I said that I could just drink it from the bottle, and you could almost hear a pin drop when about 10 Germans spun around to stare at me. One of them said “….. wafflekween, that’s a WHEAT beer. It must be drank out of a glass!”.

wafflekween , Darlene Alderson Report

71points

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“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Child marriage (thank god).

Piece-of-Whit , Pixabay Report

66points

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It’s safe to assume that the redditor wasn’t the only one who learned new information while browsing the list, as while we might be well-familiar with things that are considered taboo in our country, we might also be completely oblivious to what we shouldn’t say or do elsewhere.

That’s because our morals and values, as well as our mindset, tend to be shaped—or at least, largely influenced—by the culture we find ourselves in. As one TED speaker put it, “We all see the world through cultural glasses.”

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Foraging or even walking through private land (“safe passage”) -

In many countries foraging on private property is quite acceptable if you are only taking small amounts, as well as safe passage (hiking through private property but not staying there).

But in the USA, even WALKING onto someone’s personal property without express permission can get you shot. And taking something?? Omfg you have a death wish.

Foraging isn’t permitted on most public lands either. “Take nothing, leave nothing,” is the rule.

Every European person I have told this to is stunned.

Remarkable-Escape267 , www.pexels.com Report

65points

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#10

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About USA: eating horse meat. Apparently this is relatively common in France or Italy, but would be greeted by horror over here.

Ulfhethinn09 , Pixabay Report

62points

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#11

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Standing next to a stranger closer than 6 ft, unless the lack of space forces you to stand thay close.

(Google "Finnish bus stop".).

AavaMeri_247 , Lucas Prado Report

60points

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The aforementioned TED speaker, a cross-cultural expert and a rocket scientist, Julien S. Bourrelle, suggested that people tend to view the behavior or emotions of others through their own cultural glasses.

“The lens through which your brain sees the world shapes your reality,” he said, which explains why people might be surprised to find that something that seems completely normal to them is considered taboo in other places of the world.

That’s why lists as such can be not only fascinating, but useful, too, as not knowing that something is considered taboo when visiting a foreign country can create some rather awkward situations.

#12

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Being gay

MahWahf , Monstera Production Report

54points

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#13

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Any kind of physical punishment for children. Maybe not exactly a taboo, rather downright illegal, but it’s shocking how normalised using physical punishment is in so many parts of the world.

digl3tt , Yan Krukau Report

52points

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#14

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Waltzing in someone's home wearing shoes.

Frick-It_Ralf , Erik Mclean Report

50points

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If you enjoy browsing content about cultural differences and life in different parts of the world, you might like this list of funny illustrations that depict the cultural differences between the East and the West, too. You might also want to consider viewing these stories about the biggest culture shocks people have ever encountered.

#15

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About The word “c**t”. It’s a HUGE insult here in the US but it’s barely a swear in the UK and practically term of affection in Australia. (I might be stereotyping a little here though).

disgruntledhoneybee , Helena Lopes Report

50points

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#16

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Any form of nudity shown in public. Americans sexualize everything, so nudity here is far more taboo than in France, for example.

ChewingGumPubis , Ximena Mora Report

49points

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#17

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Mowing your lawn or other noisy activities on a Sunday.

OctoMatter , Magic K Report

48points

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#18

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Being a bubbly positive person in eastern europe = you're crazy and delusional and lots of red flags

being not bubbly positive person in USA = something is wrong with him avoid him.

Jazzlike-Society5358 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

47points

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#19

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Breaking spaghetti.

AdElectrical8222 , Pixabay Report

43points

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#20

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Not exclusive to my country, Sweden, but we have draconic d**g laws here.

You can be dead drunk in the streets and ppl won’t bat an eye, but if you smoke weed you’re treated as criminal.

Sadeg-Power , Motoki Tonn Report

43points

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#30

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About Celebrating your birthday before its actually your birthday.

halbesbrot , Adrianna CA Report

25points

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Ka Se 1 week ago

It is said to bring bad luck where I live.

18points

Margot Plummer 3 days ago

Is that in Germany?

0points

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Marianne 1 week ago

Here in Germany, if you wish someone a happy birthday before the actual day, it's super unlucky. We say that if you celebrate something that has not yet happened, you are provoking fate to prevent it from happening. In other words, the person might die before the actual birthday.

9points

Trillian 1 week ago

True. Not sure if people really believe something bad might happen but it's just really not done.

4points

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Hans Georg 1 week ago

How far south in Germany do you live? But yes, superstition is widespread.

2points

Ivona 1 week ago

Exactly the same belief in Bulgaria.

1point

LonelyLittleLeafSheep 1 week ago

I'll celebrate my birthday on whatever day is most convenient and if it happens to be the Saturday or Sunday before (because it falls on a Monday or Tuesday) then so be it. This superstitious c**p is ridiculous.

4points

Chan Sue Lynn 1 week ago

Then how to people born in 29th February celebrate?

2points

Ban-One 1 week ago

Since the 29th is the day after 28th, it makes sense to celebrate on March 1st when it's not leap year.

7points

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antoinette maldari 1 week ago

There are some that celebrate their birthday, weekend, week, and month!!!

1point

Beth Wheeler 1 week ago

I used to work with a nurse that said it's not my birthday it's my birthday month and she expected everybody to tell her happy birthday every day. NOPE, I only did it on her birthday or on Friday if it happened to be on the weekend.

0points

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Daya Meyer 1 week ago

Never thought about that. Why would I celebrate something that has not happened? I wouldn't celebrate christmas on december 8th either, would I?

1point

cerinamroth 1 week ago

People seem to celebrate baby showers often enough in some places though... They give me the heebie jeebies personally.

0points

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Ace 1 week ago

Where?

1point

Marianne 1 week ago

Definitely bad luck in Germany.

6points

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El Dee 1 week ago

Germany?

0points

WubiDubi 1 week ago

Fine for kids' parties. Clashes with friends' parties etc.

0points

Heras buddy 1 week ago

Stopped celebrating birthdays. I have a wake for the passing of another year.

0points

Comment Deleted 1 week ago

Post is called, People Share 47 Things You Shouldn't Do In Their Country. So you cannot do this in your country.

0points

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Note: this post originally had 47 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

In your opinion, how important is it to follow local taboos when visiting another country?

Paul Rabit 1 week ago

This would have been a better article if they specified the country of the taboo in question.

29points

Ellinor 1 week ago

Best way to not be hated in France : When you enter a room, say "Bonjour". It doesn't have to be to each person, but in general. And in waiting rooms, we don't do small talk. We say "Bonjour", go sit, and sh*t up.

12points

Alexandra 1 week ago

And if you don't, they will tell you you should in no uncertain terms, Seen it happen. It was humiliating, on both sides.

Júlia Fortes 1 week ago

In my country if you make eye contact with someone (even if its a stranger) you need to smile and nod (kinda like a way of saying good morning/afternoon/evening without saying it), its considered rude if you dont And also, if you're waiting in the crosswalk and a car lets you pass, you need to raise your hand to say thank (also valid if you're inside the car in a crossroad)

8points

Barry 1 week ago

I also live in Canada

3points

Ron Man 1 week ago

This would have been better if so many of these weren't just single word answers with no context or country listed.

David Beaulieu 1 week ago

I was thinking of starting a website that just farms reddit for content. You find posts and then you just pretend they are your site's content. But that is frowned upon where I live.

Katie Allen 1 week ago

Some guy from the middle east asked me right after he met me why I wasn't married. I told him that question is considered rude in the US. His IMMEDIATE response was to ask me again.

Many people have suffered from ignoring the local customs and taboos in the countries they visited.

Widdershins66 1 week ago

When in Rome...

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

SlightlyTarnished 1 week ago

Jihana 1 week ago

Then don't read it? I think it was very interesting.

10points

“Mowing Your Lawn On A Sunday”: 30 Taboo Things Other Countries Don’t Think Twice About

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