[ SECRET POST #2169 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2169 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 078 secrets from Secret Submission Post #310.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[mekkio]

It's that time again. Stupid questions from non-natives.

For those not in the know, do you have a specific question that you've always wanted to ask someone from another country but was too afraid that it sounded stupid? Always wanted to ask an American are "toga parties" like in the movies real? Puzzled about how White Day and Valentine's Day work in Japan but was too afraid to ask a Japanese person about it? Then this thread is for you.

Ask away.

The only rule is no sexist, bigoted and generally mean questions. Play nice.

I won't be opening with asking a question this time because I want everyone out there to ask. So, be brave and be the first to ask a question.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[greenvelvetcake]

Alright, how DO Valentine's Day and White Day work in Japan? I have a vague idea about how one is for the boys and one is for the girls, but that's basically it.

Also, what silly/stupid stereotypes about your home country do you look upon fondly?

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[making_excuses]

Norwegians loving skiing and all things outdoorsy. I find it amusing, and the fact that we either will defend our right to go skiing whenever the fuck we want in Norway and tell outsiders that: Norwegians aren't that outdorsy.

Also the one I get whenever I am in Britain in a pub: You are a Viking you should be able to drink us all under the table.

Actually to be honest I love all stereotypes about Norway, heck we even use em in Norwegian stand up/Tv shows.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[yeahscience]

Valentine's Day and White Day are actually pretty simple, except that I always get it mixed up which is which (and legit had to go check just now). Basically, Valentine's Day (and later White Day) was brought here by chocolate companies, who did a really good job of making it all about the chocolate. So instead of the western traditions of like, dinner dates, cards, etc., it's basically just about confectionery and gifts.

On Valentine's Day, women give chocolate or gifts (but usually chocolate) to men; on White Day, the men return the favor. This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with romantic interest, especially at work, where people give "obligation" chocolate.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[morieris]

I was reading a book about negotiating around the world, and under Peru, it said 'Jokes about the culture are not appreciated'.

It wasn't under any other countries, so I'm curious.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[ginainthekingsroad]

I went to an American university with a reputation as a party school. I attended around 8 parties that could be described as "raucous" over 4 years (normal house parties don't count), but I never went to any frat or sorority parties and lived FAR away from frat row (and well, most of the raucous partying areas in general). But to my knowledge, yes, toga parties do exist but aren't that common. I don't know if they existed before Animal House and that documented it, or if that film created the trend (my guess).

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[yeahscience]

I actually went to the school that Animal House was based on, and I can 100% verify that toga parties were a real thing before that movie.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

They were around before the movie, iirc. My parents went to a school known as a party school [before the movie was filmed] and they had them there.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[al28894]

Dear Americans (or Westeners)...

Say there is a religious holiday that takes place in the same time-frame (or almost) as another religious holiday of a different religion. Do you celebrate both holidays is question? Do you conjugate new holiday words to describe it? Do you or your family visit the houses or families that celebrate the other relious holiday?

Signed,

South-East Asian.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[making_excuses]

Short answer no, long answer not really, at least not in Norway.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[yeahscience]

I am just all over this thread today! A lot of this was discussed in the Jews at Christmas thread/wank yesterday. Basically, it depends on the individual, although more conservative members of any given religion might side-eye someone for celebrating a holiday not their own.

Personally, I'm a Jew and I celebrate Chanukah, and I do not in any way celebrate Christmas (although I don't really side-eye people who do that much, I don't really care what other people do). If someone invites me over for a Christmas party, I'll totally go and have fun, but it's just as much someone else's thing as... IDK, going to someone's baby shower would be. In recent years, I've sometimes had a nice dinner on Christmas Day with my dad, but that's more a "I like to cook and we have the day off" thing. Or when he came to visit me in Japan last year, we celebrated a proper Chanukah and then did a Japanese-style Christmas for the lolz.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[shortysc22]

Depends on the holidays, but I know some people who combine Christmas and Hanukkah traditions if they come from a mixed background. If you watch on the OC, Seth calls it Chrismakkah, but it is very much an individual family basis and I've never seen it really take hold as a national thing.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

From the U.S.: No, unless one has a connection to said different religion (or unless said religious holiday is Christmas, which has become commercialized and generalized to the point that it's practically secular). If one doesn't have friends, family, etc. that celebrate the other religious holiday, then it's considered kind of crass and disrespectful to celebrate it.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

Well there's Chrismukkah (Christmas/Hanukkah)...but I think calling it that's kind of jokey and not widespread.

A lot of interfaith families do celebrate both, though; Jon Stewart (of the Daily Show, who's culturally Jewish) does a riff about how he and his Catholic wife try to get their kids involved in both holidays, but the kids are so much more interested in Christmas (with Santa etc) and Hanukkah can't really compete.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[siofrabunnies]

For religious holidays, people tend to only celebrate the ones associated with their religion. So, no Christians doing Ramadan, for instance. If you're close to someone of another religion, you might give them a token gesture to help them celebrate. Like giving a Muslim person a favorite treat after the fasting for Ramadan was finished, like a small Eid al-Fitr between friends.

In the US (I'm from the midwest), religion is usually seen as a "You stick to yours, I'll stick to mine" kind of thing, and holidays tend to follow suit. Giving out small, secular gifts like candy or decorations is pretty common.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

It depends on the person/their circumstances? Some people only celebrate one or the other, some will attend celebrations for both, some will celebrate one, then do the other the next year - if they have a reason to. Usually they have some connection to the religions whose holidays they'd be celebrating. For example, someone might celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah if they were catholic/christian [or generally not associated with a religion], and someone they were close to was jewish - or vice versa.

However, if someone doesn't have a connection like that? Then they usually only celebrate one, if they decide to even do that.

tl;dr: No, not unless they're celebrating another one with a loved one of that religion.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

Adding to the general responses with my personal anecdotes:

Jew (well, atheist, but raised Jewish and still do at least a token celebration for most of the holidays), from California by way of South Florida here. Of my own accord, I don't celebrate any of the non-Jewish holidays. But if friends have a Christmas party or something, I'll go and have fun. And I've got a bunch of friends coming over for a Channukah party I'm throwing on Friday, most of whom aren't Jewish. Or among my group of mostly atheist-but-raised-in-some-religion friends, there's a tendency to use joking names for a holiday party, like "Chrismahanukwanzaka" or stealing Sienfeld's "Agnostica".

Work events will typically just call it a "holiday" or "winter" party, to be inclusive.

However, if I were invited to an actual religious ceremony, like going to a church for Christmas Mass, I'd politely decline, unless there was some very personal reason to go. Something like a close friend's relative being memorialized or naming ceremony or something. (Do churches even do those at Mass?) Even then, I'd be reluctant. I feel horribly out of place and uncomfortable at religious ceremonies I have no personal connection to.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[kamino_neko]

For Canada:

If you belong to one of the religions in question, you celebrate yours, and ignore the rest, unless you've got friends/family celebrating them, in which case, you get to enjoy more than one holiday.

If you do not belong to one of the religions in question, you can:

Ignore all of them, completely.
Celebrate which ever your friends and/or family are celebrating. (Could be one, could be all, depending just how cosmopolitan your circle is.)
If one of the big Christian ones are involved (Christmas or Easter), go ahead and celebrate the secularized version of that, since you'll have to work to avoid it anyway.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

What's the common etiquette for laughter in Spain? I have an aunt and uncle who went on a trip there and they said they never heard anyone laughing at restaurants or anything, and that people gave them dirty looks whenever they did. Granted they're really loud when they laugh, but is it more proper to Spanish people to not laugh in public or just do so very discreetly? I've been wondering about this because they've mentioned it since they came back and told stories.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

Man I don't know where your aunt and uncle were going, because my experience with Spaniards is that they tend to be a pretty raucous people. It may, however, vary by region; I've been in South and Central Spain, maybe they're more reserved in the North.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[(Anonymous)]

It was probably because they were too loud.

Are your aunt and uncle American? American tourists tend to stand out very easily (big gestures, loud voices even in-doors, a lot of leaning and attention-grabbing postures, etc.)

(To be fair, it's not just American tourists who do this, but they were the first to come to mind.)

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[siofrabunnies]

So, what kind of joke languages are there where you're from? I know about French and Verlan, which is really fun, but I don't know about any others.

I'm from the US, and we have, well, Pig Latin, and I grew up with Dubby, I think it was called. Basically, you repeat each syllable with a 'b' at the beginning, like this: "Stupid questions from non-natives" becomes "Stuboo-pidbid quesbess-tionbuns frombum nonbon-nabay-tivbives."

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[al28894]

Okay, different question, but slightly related.

Whenever you celebrate something, whether it be a party, religious holiday, or some other celebration, do you open your house up to everyone, prepare a GINOURMOUS feast and invite everybody (your relatives, neighbors of different faiths and races, and basically everyone in a 20 house radius) to come and eat and talk?

Sincerely, South-East Asian who's been to a lot of "Open Houses" between friends, relatives, neighbors, and people of different faiths.

And thanks for replying to my first question everybody!

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[making_excuses]

So the British vs American English discussion yesterday (?) made me think, do you guys learn about different accents/dialects in school?

We both learn about different English accents and Norwegian Dialects.

Re: Stupid questions from non-natives (Part Seven)

[perfidiousfate]

Okay, this is late, but -

Directed to people from the UK: which is the 'default' Ireland?

As in, if someone says "I'm going to Ireland next week" do you assume it's the Republic of Ireland or North Ireland? Or does it matter? Which one do you usually quantify?