If you thought being single on your birthday was bad enough, just you wait! People in Denmark are traditionally tied to a street pole or a chair and publicly doused with cinnamon from head to toe if they are still unmarried by 25.

Because the nature of their job required them to be on the move constantly, many did not settle down. Nowadays, depending on your age and relationship status, you can be smothered with spices like cinnamon when you are 25 or peppered when you are 30. In fact, being peppered is called Pebersvend for a man and Pebermø for a woman.