5 weird courtship traditions you've probably never heard of
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May 22, 2018
Love isn't what it used be, especially in the age of Tinder and online dating when relationships begin and end with a text message. From love letters to May trees, here are a few age-old ways of expressing love.
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange/J. Menzel
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High Five: 5 love traditions you've probably never heard of
Many lovers typically exchange roses, sweets, jewelry and other gifts on Valentine's Day — but here are a few unexpected ways of expressing love.
Image: picture-alliance/Helga Lade/B. Siering
Love letters to Juliet
Just like Valentine's Day, Juliet's balcony in the Italian city of Verona is a clever marketing coup. After all, Romeo and Juliet are Shakespeare's fictional characters, and the balcony on "Juliet's house" in Verona was actually added to the building in the 20th century. Still, tourists keep flocking to the location, leaving letters at her doorstep in the hope that it will bring them luck.
Image: cc-by-sa-3.0-C. Suceveanu
Putting up a May tree
According to a German custom, young unmarried men erect a tree in front of the house of the girls they're in love with on May 1. It's usually a young birch decorated with colorful ribbons and a heart with the girl's name. The tree will stand there for one month. If the girl knows which one of her beaus put it up, and if she appreciates the gesture, the admirer may receive a kiss in return.
Image: picture-alliance/Helga Lade/B. Siering
Carving a lovespoon
In the girl's eyes, it's a sign of love, and for her parents, a proof of the fellow's manual skills. The Welsh tradition lovespoon tradition dates back to the 17th century. Dark winter nights and long trips on the sea offered enough time for carving these treasures. Nowadays, the spoons are sought-after gifts.
Image: imago/UIG/Photofusion/K. Morris
Picking flowers
In the middle of the summer, Swedes pick a bunch of flowers not for the person they love, but for themselves. The bouquet must consist of seven different kinds of flowers from seven different fields. It is believed that by putting these flowers under their pillow, young women will dream of the man they will marry one day.
Image: Chris van Swaay
Adding body odor to apple slices
According to this admittedly outdated Austrian custom, women stick an apple slice under their armpit while dancing, and then offer it to a potential boyfriend. He would eat it if the feeling was mutual. What appears to be a rather odd proof of love actually makes sense from a biological perspective, as body odor has been proven to influence sexual attraction.
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange/J. Menzel
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Internet dating is the death of romantic love. Flirting, exchanging shy looks, and stuttering awkward words seem to be a thing of the past. Modern singles browse through dating websites and apps — while forgetting the complicated, but romantic ways in which lovers once used to find each other.
The internet has replaced tradition
If you were searching for love in Finland, for example, you would follow an ancient tradition. In the early morning hours, you would climb up a hill, listening to the winds. Your future lover, so it was believed, would come from the direction in which you heard the first sound. Today, people in Finland don't climb up hills anymore. It seems easier to log on to Tinder.
The custom of resorting to daisies for advice in love was once widespread across Europe. People would say "he loves me, he doesn't love me" while plucking petals to find out if the object of their affection shared their feelings.
Today, people stare at their mobile instead, counting the number of "likes" to find out who "loves me, or loves me not."
Love letters for Juliet
Something that, hopefully, will never be out of fashion are love letters. A hopeful sign is the fact that more than 10,000 love letters are being written in the Italian city of Verona each year. The authors are tourists visiting what has been billed as Juliet's balcony in order to leave their letters at the door of Shakespeare's famous heroine. Like in the good old days, these letters express either sorrow and desperation, or love and hope.
If you want to find out more about some almost forgotten European love traditions, take a look at our High Five ranking by clicking through the gallery above.
