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People Share 30 Really Weird Things They Witnessed Or Had To Do While Visiting Somebody’s House Due To The Owners’ Culture, Religion Or Beliefs
People often say "my house is my fortress", but sometimes they mean completely different things by these simple words. Especially when people who are not quite familiar with their traditions or beliefs come over to their house.
For sure, traditions are simply wonderful, but there are particular situations when what is completely familiar to one person seems absolutely strange and weird to another. This, by the way, concerns not only traditions, but also religion and culture.
There is a popular thread on Reddit where people discuss the strange things they had to do in other people's houses in order to comply with the owners' cultural or religious requirements. The thread is quite extensive - to date it has over 33.4K upvotes and over 16.0K different comments.
Bored Panda has compiled a curated list for you with the most interesting and weird things from this thread. By the way, we also have our own tradition - everyone who reads the list must vote for their favorite items, and even better - leave a comment. So, traditions are traditions - they need to be obeyed, if you know what we mean...
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I used to have a job that rented a lot of houses and properties in Southern California. Part of my job was meeting with property owners and to close a deal with them. One day I go to this man's house in laguna Beach, as in his house was ON the beach. I was meeting with an insanely wealthy but also insanely nice Asian man who I had met a couple of times before and we had somewhat of a work type relationship. As i begin to bring up the deal to be made, he suggests we walk to the beach first, (I was ready to get home, it was Saturday) so we start walking, talking about life etc. He then proceeded to hold my hand, interlocked finger style, for the whole walk. I was originally wielded out by it but when I brought it up to a coworker he said it's just a part of their culture. He also made me wear his personal house slippers to be allowed entry into his home. Just cultural differences but it still cracks me up that the most romantic beach walk I've ever had in my life was with an 75 yo something man millionaire.
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#2
I didn't personally experience this because I left the one time they tried to force me but my friend's parents mainly her super ultra Christian preacher stepfather made her shower with a bathing suit on because he believed the only time you should be naked is when changing or to reproduce/when a man wants sex otherwise you'll be too "tempted by your own lust." and "nakedness invites the devil in." This poor girl hadn't bathed naked in years and we were in middle school. She never smelled cause she would rub soap through the bathing suit but she had yeast infections all the time if I remember right.
I started inviting her to my house as often as I could just so she could properly shower. Unfortunately her life hasn't been easy. We haven't spoken in years but I think about her sometimes. Her parents were raising her to be the "perfect" Christian housewife. They monitored everything she did. She developed a horrible eating disorder because they told her no one would love her if she was even chubby and that she was "letting the devil win" if she ever indulged. She was expected to "take care of the house" despite being the youngest child as according to them god designed women to be housewives. They refused to let her attend sex ed and basically told her when the time comes her futures husband's pleasure is the only thing that matters, that he will teach her what to do. They refused to even let her use tampons because they believe it would "deflower" her. She was always happy to be able to use them instead of bulky pads, I gave her the locker combo for my locker and showed her a little baggie of tampons she could get whenever she needed them. She was scared her controlling parents would check her locker and find them (they did regularly check it, her mom was a coach at the school) so they stayed in mine.
I ended up having to teach her sex Ed and encouraged her to eat more. The encouragement didn't work that great so instead I would bring her smoothies loaded with as many vitamins and calories that I could hide in it. I'm talking I using heavy cream instead of milk type thing. She had it in her head that smoothies couldn't possibly have a lot of calories. I know it's not right to purposely deceive someone into eating something but she was literally fainting from just walking because her body was so weak. I was a kid who didn't have any other resources to help, she did seem to get a little better once I started giving her the smoothies.
She ended up lashing out at her parents, having risky sex, and ultimately ended up in a car wreck that caused pretty extensive brain damage. The wreck killed 2 other people, my old friend was still in highschool and a teacher had been driving while texting on the way to school. Her seat beat failed and she went through the windshield but somehow survived. She had a long road to recovery but has gained most function back from what I've heard. Her childhood was tragic and very damaging but I love seeing the cute pictures of her with her girlfriend living far away from her awful family. We drifted apart when I moved away.
#3
I had a good friend who's family were wealthy and very big on some weird sort of gift giving.
Basically there were two things:
1. You could not give them a present, no gifts at birthdays, Christmas, etc. If you gave them a gift they would either politely refuse or donate it
2. You always received a gift if you went to their house, even if it was for an afternoon.
I remember going to my friends house when I was 8 or 9 (1998/1999) and them giving me a playstation and each time I went over they'd give me a new game, which continued until they gave me a Nintendo game cube. Very weird, and it wasn't because I was poor, we lived in the same area etc.
This recently repeated itself when I visited my friends house (now lives with his own family) and when I was leaving his wife was trying to give me a bottle of scotch and my daughter a f*****g Nintendo switch.
Edit. They were middle eastern, not really sure what religion, his dad was a property developer and investor, this was in Australia Sydney. It just felt awkward after awhile.
Edit 2. Told my mate about this and he answer some of the questions for you all:
1. His family are part of the house of Saud but are not in the part that has any power or line of success unless like the other 10,000 people die. His last name isn't saud so this was news to me, but he made it clear it means nothing unless you are part of the inner circle.
2. The gift giving thing was/is part of their family custom and they weren't/did not expect you to refuse.
3. The didn't accept gifts because they just purchased anything they wanted and they made their children do chores to earn items so they had an appreciation for money.
4. The gifts while expensive for most didn't really register, as spending a few hundred bucks wouldn't make a dent, they also regifted tons of s**t, he said they probably had like 30 playstations in their cupboard.
5. His family also didn't want kids to be jealous of their son, because being a Arab in Australia was already pretty s**t.
6. He has a cupboard like his parents house, he doesn't have gaming consoles normally, as when he gets those he normally sells them, because hey why not.
7. He isn't accepting applications for new friends.
#4
Not sit on the furniture because only the males were allowed to. Kneel facing the wall while the 3 males in the house stood behind me and prayed in a cadence that got louder and louder until they were screaming about how to wear makeup is to create attraction, to create attraction is to create lust and to create lust is to SIN. I was 18 and wearing makeup. Legit I thought I was about to be beheaded.
Wondering Alice 2 years ago
How terrifying is that? Unsure what religion this was, but don't most have something about how to treat guests?
#5
I was kicked out of a elementary school friend’s birthday party because another friend and I played “witches” in her treehouse. She was Southern Baptist. There was a literal cauldron in her treehouse, I stand by my decision.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
If you have caldroun and are an advocate for equal rights, you’re a witch
#6
In secondary school, my best friend’s family were very devout Christians. For some reason, her mother would not let me use the toilet in their house. Their porcelain thrones were for Christian a***s only. Hardly Christ-like if you ask me.
When my friend moved away, we would write to each other, and her mother read all the letters. She told me I couldn’t sign off my letters by saying things like “Lots of love!” or “Love you loads!” because it was lesbian. Uh, okay, Susan, take a day off.
#7
When meeting my Finnish fiancées’ family, I was invited to a sauna with her brother. No clothes allowed. 10/10 would sweat with my boy again
#8
I don't play with this group anymore, but had 3 "friends" who would regularly come over to game. I was the first of us to own a house, so it made sense for me to host.
One Christmas, the group all brings Christmas gifts for each other. They didn't tell me they were exchanging gifts at my house, and no one got a gift for me either. I was sad because I realized then that I wasn't their friend but rather a tool for them to play D&D.
#9
When I lived in Antwerp (Belgium), I once was stopped by an elderly, woman on the street. She was asking for help inside her house. Guiding me through a house where the temperature was way too hot, she stopped at every radiator and asked me to turn them down. In the end we went to the kitchen, where some jewish women and children were watching me silently while I was putting all the burning gas stoves on a low heat. Then she showed me out, thanked me and closed the door.
In Antwerp there is a big community of hasidic jews, I can imagine this was during sabbath.
#10
I grew up in a highly Mormon area, so most of my friends in school were Mormon, and I was occasionally invited into their more intimate Holiday celebrations for example.
One year, they gave me bags of food and drove me to a random house, then told me I had to go in and Deliver the bags to the people inside (A big family who currently have no means of financial support) as a secret Santa.
It was a wonderful gesture, but I felt really awkward being asked to do this in a stranger’s house, but they asked me to do it for the expressed reason that I was a stranger, and they wouldn’t know who had donated the food.
The Queen Of Upper Butt Crack 2 years ago
My mom used to work in homeware going to people's houses and quickly realized some didnt have enough or sometimes anything to eat. On the weekend she would often make healthy muffins, homemade baked beans, all kinds of things and bring them to the seniors who needed it. Not sure what went wrong but the company said workers were not allowed to bring or give food to clients. My mom and I would make up boxes ( canned goods, fresh veg, canned milk, oatmeal kinda stuff ) and I would drive to the house, knock on the door and I would ask if I could leave this box of groceries for them to use. I felt really awkward, especially the first time. I learned to do it quick, get the groceries in quick, wish them a good day and zoop off in my car .
#11
Went to a friends house for dinner a lovely meal. The whole family cleaned their plates of food then turned them over and ate dessert on the back of their plates like it was the most normal thing in the world. I copied them just to be polite.
Thomas E S Thomas 2 years ago
It's not as strange as you would think. Traditional dishes have a bowl on the back.
#12
Okay, this doesn’t really compare to a lot of these other stories, but after my first year at university I went to visit a new friend for a weekend over the summer. Her parents lived about 45 minutes away from my parents, so we thought it would be fun.
Her house was a partially hoarded mess, which honestly wasn’t the weirdest part (my parents were borderline hoarders themselves). The house had 3 bedrooms upstairs for their family of six. But none of the kids’ bedrooms had doors - all removed off the hinges. My friend thought it was no big deal, her dad had taken them off ages ago, etc. not as some sort of punishment or anything like that. This is in a house with 3 teenaged/or college aged girls. I was totally creeped out by it.
The other weird thing was when 6 of us (me, friend, a couple of siblings and her parents) loaded into the car to travel to some event that was a pretty long drive away (maybe an hour?) and I started chatting to my friend. She looked at me shocked, like I had committed a mortal sin, and quietly whispered to me that you’re not supposed to talk in the car. Ever. Everyone but Dad, who was driving, obediently whipped out a book and started reading. They offered me one but my carsick a*s couldn’t handle that, so I just stared out the window. It was so bizarre. Again, she acted like she had no clue this was weird and unique to her little family.
(The more I reflect on it and the things she told me over the years, the more it feels like she grew up in an abusive household ruled by a man who imposed weird, controlling rules upon the entire household that no one challenged. Dad was the brilliant, benevolent leader.)
#13
I went over to my friends house to play D&D in high-school, and my friends mom mad lunch for the 7 of us. It was really good. We were just playing D&D and eating tacos, and after we all finished the lunch, everyone started pulling out cash. I was super confused.
My friend turned to me and asked, "Do you have your $5?"
So apparently we were supposed to pay for the meal. I was incredibly embarrassed. One of my other friends ended up paying for me. I never played D&D at that house ever again...
Edit: This happened in SoCal. They were just a standard American household as far as I was aware. The food was homemade. D&D is Dungeons and Dragons. It's a role-playing game. Also, I can confirm that my friend was not taking the money. I literally saw him give it to his mom.
lenka 2 years ago
This is weird, but with a disclaimer... a friend of mine in Uni was pretty broke. She lived at home with her mum and siblings. They had no money but they did have a very cool basement which was a great place to hang out, study, chill etc. The rest of us lived in dorms or shoebox units. As a result, almost all of our social events where hosted at her place - except her family couldn't afford to feed all of us all the time. Her mum always made us food, so anytime any of us had a meal there we would always give money.
#14
I remember going to my swedish friends house.
And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate.
That s**t was f*****g wild.
SerumSeven 2 years ago
If someone shows up at my house, they're not leaving until I've at least made them a sandwich.
#15
As a Greek, i had to challenge the house host to a sword duel because he was a Turk and i had the moral obligation to do so
#16
I work for the ambulance service and I was asked to take my shoes off before attending to their mother in cardiac arrest. Politely reminded them that there was a time and place
ThatBoredDolphin 2 years ago
Bruh… if there was a fire, would they make sure the pillows were perfectly straight before leaving ???🙄🙄🙄
#17
I was prohibited from going to the lobby of the house or get out of the room without giving a warning first because I was prohibited to meet the wife of the host since I am a man. I was 10 years old by the way.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
Oh the horror, an innocent 10 y.o might turn the wife into the devil 😱/s
#18
I used to mentor a girl from Uganda. I walked in on her family discussing the marriage of their daughter (older sister of my mentee) to the son of the other family. They were debating how many cows and dollars she was worth. Women are not allowed to be in the room when it the trading happens. It was my first day as her mentor and I walked in the front door and suddenly I was smack dab right in the room with a bunch of huge guys that were having the discussion of this girl’s worth. It was bonkers.
#19
My family is Catholic, Im not. They believe in God but really only go to church once in a while and just wanted me to believe and be a good person as the bare minimum. I'm not religious but I humor them.
Anyways, once when I was younger, There was a kid whose father was friends with my father and my dad and I got asked to come over for dinner. Sounds fine. There are other people there for dinner too. My dad and I thought it was weird. Prolly a dinner party and he forgot to mention.
Meet the guy's son. Cool kid at first glance. Massive gamer, has modern consoles (for the time) gaming PC, had a Scar L airsoft rifle. We hit it off. Same with the other kids.
Then in the middle of playing, the guys son turns off the TV and ps3 and starts telling us, "alright guys, gather around and we're gonna do a quiz on the word of God and talk about why you should be saved by praying to him and following his teachings."
I'm like "nope.jpg" and fake a stomach ache to get out of it. Go to the bathroom and the guys son tells me "hey don't want you feeling left out." Then proceeds to slide me the packet; yes packet, and a pencil from under the bathroom door and he tells me "make sure before you come out, you finish it and turn it in so I can check it."
Luckily, my dad faked a call from my mom saying she wasn't feeling well and went to grab me. We both got out hella quick. Turns out, it was all some sort of recruitment thing going on for a church of this specific sect of Christianity or something. My dad felt off after being told that he was going to be taught the true values of God and he was expected to force/teach these values to his family. At the time, it all felt like a fever dream.
Never could find that kid on FB or any other social media. So maybe he never existed at all haha.
Wondering Alice 2 years ago
Sympathy on this one. My sister and I were stoping with relatives when a distant cousin woke me up to ask about my relationship with Jesus. My sister snuck out and phoned my dad. I have no idea what was said when my day came to get us in the early hours of the morning. He just said "may we never mention that again". Our family are regular church goers. My dad is church treasure - but luckily for us, he found it very creepy behaviour.
#20
I went over to a friend's house for a sleepover and when I changed into my pajamas her mom started demanding I put something else on and throw my pajamas out. I was really confused, she was yelling about how my pajamas were sinful and bore signs of the devil! I ended up just calling my mom to take me home because I was so uncomfortable, but that woman just kept scolding us for allowing me to wear satantic symbols.
The symbols on my pajamas? Peace signs. She said they were broken crosses, so clearly a sign of the devil.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
In what part did it ever suggest that the cross was the best thing to happen to Jesus?
#21
i had a neighborhood friend that i played on the street with and at school sometimes. her mom and dad always told me i wasn’t allowed to be in the same room as my friends older brothers because seeing young women was a sin for unmarried men. i was 10 at the most. the youngest of her older brothers was 16. when i was asked by my friend to sleep over for her birthday i was told by her and her mother that i needed to remain in my friends bedroom. her mother would bring us food and drinks and take us to go to the bathroom whenever it was safe. i told my sister about it the next day and she told me i wasn’t allowed to go near their house or my friend again. to this day i still don’t know if it was actually due to culture/religion or if maybe they just had a really f****n weird family.
#22
Late to the game, but here goes.
I had a friend growing up whose parents didn’t allow any snacks in the house. Every time he invited me over to spend the night, I was expected to bring boxes of snack food because it could be allowed if brought in by an outsider.
And yes, his parents would partake, too.
So there was junior high school aged Higestache bringing boxes of snacks for an entire family to have a ‘cheat night’ at my expense.
#23
Dated a Lebanese guy.. On Christmas we had to drive around and visit all the aunts and uncles and sisters and brothers and so on.. At the first house I was offered a glass of coke and I kindly refused (coke makes me bloated and I wee a lot). I was told by my boyfriend that's it's rude. I had to finish each coke at every house, and if I finished it too soon, I would get a refill. I almost died that day. Also all the woman were mostly standing in the kitchen, did not really mingle with the men.
#24
Drinking only milk for dinner.
Don’t get me wrong, I like milk and will freely drink it at times but one time at my high school girlfriends house I had dinner. I was helping set the table and her mom started to pour milk in all the glasses. Not wanting to be rude and ask for soda or something I simply said “I’ll just have water”. She replied with “the Bible says milk is served with supper”
No clue if this is a thing or not. It was the first and last time I’ve ever heard it but the memory has stuck with me 20+ years later.
Edit 1: sorry to all the people who got scammed thinking it was a story about drinking only milk without food. There was food (don’t remember what) but I see how the first line can seem otherwise.
Edit 2: thank you everyone mentioning/ quoting the McPoyles. I’ve never heard of them and have only seen a few episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Now I have something new to watch.
#25
My friends father was a Geordie and his grandad was Scottish. Each hogmanay it was my job to leave their house and re enter bearing a gift of coal. This was my task as I was the only one there with dark hair.
So that's a thing.
Edit: spelling of Hogmanay.
Wondering Alice 2 years ago
Everyone I knew as a kid did this. First footer (first person to enter house on new years) is decided in advance. Preferably someone dark haired, but if someone has been lucky in the year they trump. They are given to bring over the door bread coal and coins. Must enter with right foot first. In our street, also wine or whiskey as the men from different houses would all meet outside and share a drink before returning to first foot. Everyone indoors waits for their return to start singing aul Lang syne. Now I still do this, but my husband hates to leave the party so we all go out together and just make sure who comes in first.
#26
When the host has been saying grace for 5 straight minutes and we're all still holding hands in a big circle as if we're trying to summon a spirit, it feels pretty weird.
*Displayname*=idk 2 years ago
Went to my boyfriends house and this happened but only lasted maybe two minutes. I never really prayed before eating (this was maybe right before 6th grade) and they did weird hand motions and just tried to copy to be nice. To this day I remember being so embarrassed.
#27
I grew up in the crazy religious house and since Santa Claus was secular, he was completely removed from anything to do with our Christmas. Instead we celebrated Christmas like an actual birthday party complete with cake and singing happy birthday to Jesus
EDIT: For all the people correctly describing Santa Claus as St. Nick (religious figure), my family believed Catholics were going to hell because praying to Saints is akin to praying to an idol or false god. Secular was probably the incorrect word, but they definitely saw St Nick and the Santa Claus character as a threat to "real" Christmas.
Jayne Kyra 2 years ago
In Slovakia, St Nicolaus (Svätý Mikuláš), visits houses on the night of 5th December to deposit sweets, nuts, and fruits into boots, coal for bad kids. Baby Jesus (Ježiško) visits on the even of 24th December.
#28
Must have ice cream after dinner, even a spoonful was enough. My friend invited me for a sleepover and his dad took out a small bucket of ice cream, turns out they have a separate freezer just for ice cream. Friend's mom didn't want any so she just took a spoonful from her husband. His dad would offer me ice cream whenever he can. We went for a drive and his dad saw a Dairy Queen we went there and spent an hour inside trying every kind of ice cream they had.
His mom wasn't any different but it was with making sure the meal was balance, doesn't matter if you ate a dozen fried chicken but you better eat a lot of vegetables with it.
I thought that they probably grew up poor and ice cream was a luxury his dad never had and maybe his mom wasn't able to eat much.
My paternal grandma was unwilling to let a guest go home without eating anything.
#29
i am reminded of the story on Reddit where a girl went to her boyfriend's parents' house to meet them, and they had a ritual where they gather around a table and savagely consume an entire orange, skin and all. She didn't do it, and she upset the entire family. I think it's my favorite story from Reddit.
#30
I once went to have dinner with a girl from uni who came from a super nice but very religious family. Her dad turned out the be the pastor. Absolutely no problem being silent while they’re praying before dinner, however after dinner the whole family got their bibles out, and asked me politely, which my favourite verse was so we could read it together. Eh…?
What do you think ?
Izzy Curer 2 years ago (edited)
I'm an adult, and haven't lived in my home state for over a decade. Returning home is always a bit of a culture shock. A few years ago, I was stunned to find out my own parents, as well as my siblings, don't believe in evolution. Blew my mind. I clearly remember specific conversations we've had about fossils, or dinosaurs, or things happening millions of years ago, or whatever, with no mention at all that evolution wasn't just what we all believed. My dad is a huge rock hound, and loves fossils. Fossil hunting is one our favorite things to do together. But the topic of deep time got innocently brought up a few years ago while I was home for a visit, probably talking about rocks or something, and everybody suddenly got really quiet after something I'd said. My dad asked if I actually believed in 'that stuff'. I was like, "uh... yeah, you ...dont?" No. No, they didn't. None of them did. They actually made fun of me a little bit for my outlandish beliefs. I feel like I've slipped into an alternate timeline, here. It's just bizarre, because I thought all the stuff I'd learned about natural history came from them. Apparently not. I don't think the timescale is the issue, or even the idea that the landscape has changed, considering there used to be a sea where my folks live, and my dad loves to find seashell fossils. I think it's just the idea of evolution itself, because it's that hot-button word that they've been told so many times is evil. I actually have no idea what they believe. So it's a house where there are rocks and fossils everywhere, but nobody is allowed to talk about what they are.
Nicole Herron 2 years ago
I concur with the other comments. You don't even have to include me but don't make it awkward. Any culture and religion knows how to treat people nicely.
Izzy Curer 2 years ago (edited)
I'm an adult, and haven't lived in my home state for over a decade. Returning home is always a bit of a culture shock. A few years ago, I was stunned to find out my own parents, as well as my siblings, don't believe in evolution. Blew my mind. I clearly remember specific conversations we've had about fossils, or dinosaurs, or things happening millions of years ago, or whatever, with no mention at all that evolution wasn't just what we all believed. My dad is a huge rock hound, and loves fossils. Fossil hunting is one our favorite things to do together. But the topic of deep time got innocently brought up a few years ago while I was home for a visit, probably talking about rocks or something, and everybody suddenly got really quiet after something I'd said. My dad asked if I actually believed in 'that stuff'. I was like, "uh... yeah, you ...dont?" No. No, they didn't. None of them did. They actually made fun of me a little bit for my outlandish beliefs. I feel like I've slipped into an alternate timeline, here. It's just bizarre, because I thought all the stuff I'd learned about natural history came from them. Apparently not. I don't think the timescale is the issue, or even the idea that the landscape has changed, considering there used to be a sea where my folks live, and my dad loves to find seashell fossils. I think it's just the idea of evolution itself, because it's that hot-button word that they've been told so many times is evil. I actually have no idea what they believe. So it's a house where there are rocks and fossils everywhere, but nobody is allowed to talk about what they are.
Nicole Herron 2 years ago
I concur with the other comments. You don't even have to include me but don't make it awkward. Any culture and religion knows how to treat people nicely.
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