Birthday traditions can be very weird in some places of the world. But in most, they’re quite interesting and fun to participate in.

Here is the west, our concept of birthday is to make a cake, light some candles, make a wish, and blow the candles in hopes of making the wish come true someday.

This tradition is also present in a lot of other cultures throughout the world. But it’s always fun to know more about how other people are celebrating their birthdays in their very own traditions.

By no means is the following list an accurate representation of every household and every birthday party, but it’s important to know and recognize a particular tradition.

So, without further ado, here is a list of the 8 interesting birthday traditions around the world.

1. Canada: Dipping the Nose in Butter

The US neighbor to the north has some very strange traditions. But it also has some very interesting ones. In the case of birthday celebrations, the birthday boy or girl can get messy sometimes by being surprised by their loved ones by getting their nose dipped in butter.

This tradition is supposed to protect the celebrant from unwanted bad luck and in some cases evil spirits. They say that the tradition, the butter, gets worse as you grow older. However, it is a tradition that they respect, cherish, and continue despite the butter claims.

2. Germany: Sweeping the Streets of City Hall

Germany has one of the strangest traditions when it comes to celebrating birthdays while being single.

As soon as German single man turn 30 years of age, the tradition kicks in and the celebrant is supposed to sweep the streets of their local city hall while their friends continuously toss more garbage on him.

The folklore behind it says that the celebrant is meant to be embarrassed until he meets a woman to spend his life with. This act also is meant to continue until he finds the love of his life.

3. Ireland: Hit The Deck With the Head

A tradition exclusive to the wacky Irish is hit the deck with the head.This one is quite strange as we’re betting on the idea that the Irish were pretty wasted when coming up with this one.

Seeing as they came up with this idea on your usual Tuesday morning in Ireland, it’s time to explain what hit the deck with the head is.

Folklore says that this one is exclusively done with children, while grown men tend to mess around and do it as well. Every time a child celebrates their birthday, it is held by their feet and their head bumps the floor, once for every year of their life.

The folklore behind it is that it’s meant for good luck and you can say that other cultures would take issue with it. But we love it none the less.

4. Jamaica: Another Ambush

Just like in Canada, Jamaicans are pretty wacky when it comes to ambushing their friends for a birthday.

The tradition in Jamaica says that the celebratory boy or girl, or grown men or woman, is supposed to be flowered and turned white by surprise. They mostly ambush them at a previously organized party and they love every bit of it.

5. Bonus Tradition: Renting a Limo

This one isn’t exclusive to any one culture and is considered quite modern and universal.

But regardless, hiring a limo for your birthday is quite possibly the best way to celebrate it. What better way for you and your most loved ones to celebrate the night then to ride in a luxury limousine?

It can be quite fun and exciting to get into a limo for the first time, seeing as this is something that we don’t tend to do on a normal day. So, if you’re interested in limo service for your upcoming birthday, then make sure to visit kitchenerlimousines.com.

6. Mexico: Pinata

A tradition that everyone knows and recognizes, the piñata is quite possibly the most interesting and fun one out of any on this list. Even if you live nowhere near to Mexico, chances are you’ve either had a piñata for your birthday or know someone that did.

The piñata was simply the best possible way to celebrate a birthday and eat candy afterward. It is exclusively meant for children since they’re supposed to be blindfolded and whack a piñata with a broomstick or a baseball bat until candy starts flying everywhere.

We’re betting that any kid out there would trade their cake for a piñata in a heartbeat.

7. Vietnam: Happy New Year?

The Vietnamese have quite possibly one of the strangest, but equally interesting, traditions when it comes to celebrating birthdays.

Although Vietnam is starting to adopt the western style of celebrations, a large portion of the population celebrates their birthday on New Year’s Day.

This is called “Tet”, and it is a traditions where every person in the country is one year older on New Year’s Day. If you ask Vietnamese people, they’ll tell you that they don’t even know their birthday.

This is very strange but also very interesting. The cultural beliefs of the Vietnamese are that they celebrate death, rather than birth. And while the wealthier neighborhoods and those more into western culture do celebrate normal birthdays like in the west, the majority leaves it for New Year’s Day.

8. China: Starting from One

Whenever a baby is born in China, it is one year old and not zero. His first birthday is celebrated as the baby is now two years old, instead of one.

China has different counting of birthday unlike Europe, North America, and even the rest of Asia. Whenever the baby is one month old, the parents throw a huge ginger party. In old China, babies rarely survived the first month. So, whenever a baby turns one month old, they celebrate like it’s their birthday.

During the one-month celebration, the parents also reveal the gender and the name of the baby as per culture.