Throwing cinnamon at a 25-year-old: A tradition in Denmark 

In Denmark, if you turn 25 and are unmarried, be ready to get covered in a cloud of cinnamon. You must be wondering if it is some kind of a punishment, right? The answer is no. It is just a long-standing tradition. If you are still single at 25, your family and friends would first splash water on you and will then cover you from head to toe in cinnamon. If you cross 30 and are still single, the level of torture increases. The cinnamon is replaced by pepper. They may also mix it with eggs to help stick the spices better.  

When did it all begin? 
According to Danes, the tradition dates hundreds of years back to when salesmen selling spices would travel around but in the process would be left single. They would hardly be in one place long enough to find a good partner for themselves. These male salesmen were called pepper dudes (Pebersvends) and their female counterparts were called pepper maidens (Pebermø).  

Significance of the custom 
If you thought this was kind of a punishment for being single, you are wrong. It is just a fun custom that friends and family of these people prank them with. 

Also, there is no judging. In the Danish culture, people don’t really judge others who have not settled down by 25. In fact, there is no rush for early marriage among Danes. This you can easily tell from the average age of getting married here. For men, the average age to get married is around 34 years while that for women is 32 years. So, by that standard, many people would end up facing the brunt of this practice.  

Curious traditions of Denmark 

• If this custom gives you some negative vibes about the country, do not overthink, Danes are among the happiest people in the world.  
• “No one is better than the other” in Denmark and this unofficial law is called "Janteloven". Janteloven plays a key part in the Danish culture where everyone is accepted as equal.  
• Danish flag is the oldest flag in the world. Do you know a flag is flown outside a window to indicate that someone who lives in that house is having a birthday? And the one with the birthday would bring a cake for everyone else unlike the other way round.  
• Painting hard-boiled eggs in Easter colours, going on an egg hunt, and rolling eggs downhill are some of the traditions followed on Easter.  
• On the New Year Eve, Dans would stand on chair or anything right before the clock strikes 12. It is tradition to actually ‘jump’ into the New year. 
• If you are graduating from high school in Denmark, be ready for a big celebration. Every graduating class gets on a big open truck. The truck would drive all over their city to visit the home of each student in the class with lot of music, honking, and dancing.  
• Most people cycle to work in this country.