New Year ’s Eve customs from all over the world

Since New Year’s Eve is just around the corner I decided to look up a few customs from other countries.

 

Italy

Women in Italy wear new red underwear on the 31th of December, which they have to throw away the next day. This is supposed to bring love in the New Year. To get money, Italians traditionally eat lentils. In the past they used to throw old things such as plates and furniture out of the window, which was quite dangerous for passing people.

 

Brazil

Snow is falling in Brazil, as people throw toilet paper and paper shreds out of the windows to cover the streets in white. Some meet at the beach and leave flowers and presents.

 

Spain

In Spain and Mexico you get twelve wishes on New Year’s Eve. At midnight you have to eat twelve grapes – one at every bell stroke – and wish for things. If you are too slow  you are going to have bad luck in the new year.

 

Japan

At the turn of the year the Japanese clean their entire house. Then at midnight the bells chime 108 times to get rid of the 108 bad things and 108 desires from the last year. People also eat Soba-Noodles because they think that they bring a long and prosperous life.

 

Australia

The only typical Australian custom is probably collecting kisses at midnight. You have to kiss as many people as possible and since Australians celebrate on the streets there are a lot of People around to kiss. ;) 

 

Introduction to my blog

Hey! I have just realised that I didn’t introduce myself to you yet! I am a 21 year old girl studying “Transcultural Communication” at the University of Graz. For my English course I was told to set up a blog. There will be some guided posts but other than that I can write about whatever I want.

A little bit more about myself: I am from a town called Saalfelden in the province of Salzburg. I live in a ski area and in winter there are lots of tourists, which makes the otherwise quiet and sometimes boring area lively. Even though I live here I do not like skying or snowboarding very much. Maybe I will tell you the reason for that in another post. ;) In my spare time I love to  read, go for a jog or spend time with my friends. I am obsessed with an awful lot of TV series and I love Karaoke. There is a lot more to tell but I think that is enough for now.
Have a good day!

Krampus tradition in Austria

 I have recently seen a video on Youtube that is about Christoph Waltz talking to Jimmy Fallon about the Krampus tradition in Austria.  That's why I want to talk to you about this topic.

 

Here's the Video:

 

 



 

For anyone who doesn't know what a Krampus is:

Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes.  He also carries bundles of birch branches.

 

Traditionally, St. Nikolaus is always accompanied by Krampus. Nikolaus gives presents to the well-behaved kids, whereas Krampus frightens or even punishes the naughty ones. When I was younger Nikolaus and Krampus sometimes came to our house on the 6^th of December, fortunately I always got presents from Nikolaus. Another part of the tradition are Krampusläufe (Krampus runs), where big groups of Krampal – as we call them in the area I live in -  run through the town to show off their scary masks and do a show. This aspect of the tradition I like because it’s exciting to watch. After that there is a free run, where barriers are taken away and Krampal run around scaring or whipping people. That is the part that bothers me because sometimes theses events get quite brutal. Some of these guys who dress up as the hairy monsters tend to get ridiculously drunk before the Krampuslauf. Then during the event they abuse the power and anonymity they get with their masks on and sometimes seriously hurt people with their whips. I am not saying that is how it is everywhere, but I have experienced it that way. Especially young people love the adrenaline rush they get when they are chased by Krampal, even I kind of enjoyed it when I was younger, but the older I get the more dangerous I find these events. I know it is an old tradition in Austria, but it would be way more fun – for me at least – if I didn’t have to be so terrified of them.

What a good blog looks like

Long time no see!

Today I decided to look at a few blogs from fellow SUK students to see what a good blog should look like. I have found some amazing blogs and it is really interesting to read about other people’s opinions. That is why I’ve come up with three important points on how a good blog should look like:

1.       Write about something that interests you

I think the hard thing about blogging is finding a topic you want to write about. The blogs I have looked at contained posts about things the writers were interested in and you could definitely feel that when reading.  

2.      Check your grammar and spelling

If you want to have a good blog it is crucial that you check your spelling and grammar, otherwise people won’t take your point of view seriously or are just not motivated to keep reading. I can definitely say that a lot of errors put you off doing that.

3.      Structure and length

Another important thing is to structure your blog well. Posts are a lot easier to read if they have paragraphs and if the font size and font colour is appropriate. Different backgrounds and pictures are nice, but too many of them can be distracting. A good heading makes people want to read your blogpost and that is why you have to think of something that will catch the reader’s attention.

These are three points that I think are important. I will definitely try and keep them in mind, when writing my next blogpost!  

About Theresa

Hello!

Today I want to introduce you to Theresa! To be honest didn’t know her at all before interviewing her. Theresa is from Vorarlberg and according to her she has a pretty strong dialect. She is THE biggest bookworm! Can you believe that she read over 500 books in the last 5 years? So awesome! She has read so many books that she can’t decide what her favourite one is. I have also learnt that Theresa has a sister, who is crazy about sports and therefore she hardly ever sees her. I can’t wait to get to know her better!