Welcome to #checkin for Saturday, October 24, 2026!
Good evening/afternoon/morning, everyone, and welcome to today's #checkin. I'm feeling much better today and think I'm hopefully done with it, just a bit of cold related stuff is sticking around, but nose spray and tea are helping. My gf arrived today, and we went to a birthday party of a common friend. It was a nice, relaxed evening. We also talked about past birthdays and traditions.
For example, if you are male and unmarried and turn 30 you have to "clean" the stairs of the townhall until a virgin (usually a female) will kiss you and "rescue" you. Usually your friends organize this and gather around. And for women, it's about cleaning the church or another public door handle. The door handle is prepared with toothpaste or other stuff. And in both cases you are given inadequate tools, which might get replaced with better tools throughout the task....
As far as I know these traditions are more of a Northern German thing and the original goal was to help find the guy/girl a partner..
Do you have any quirky birthday rituals in your place/your country/your region?
Greetings… Ahoj! Aloha! Bom dia! Bonjour! Bună! Ciao! G’day! Geia sas! Günaydın, صباح الخير , בוקר טוב 你好! Håfa Adai! Hi! Hei! Hello! Hallo! Hei! Hola! Howdy! Halō! Kamusta! Kia Orana! Kon’nichiwa! Mabuhay! Moi! Namaste! Ni Hao! Neih hou! Pagi! Saluton! Sawasdee! Shwmae! Γειάσας! Talofa!
Checkin Legends
@Aline
@Alexander
@Andreas G
@Nat Weaver 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
@Cats of Commons 💫
@Beej Cobalt
@DeanC
@David Calderon
@Dave Higgins [Main Account]
@davidamerland
@Debbie D. 🇨🇦 🇩🇪
@debo
@Deb Zaccaro-Rojas
@Don Little
@Paul Ferguson
@That Harp Guy
@Guy Geens
@gregg taylor
@Griff Ferrell
@Griff Ferrell
@hackbyte Antifa (friendica) 13HB1
@Humbertiquín
@Holly Jahangiri
@Isaac Kuo
@Jacob C
@Janet Logan 🏳️⚧️
@Alrekr Járnhandr
@Jay Bryant
@John True Connection
@Jess Nut
@Samuel Smith
@Jodi
@John Hummel
@John MacLeod
@Jon Alcibar
@Joseph Teller
@Joyce Donahue
@Karl Auerbach
@Katherine Bond
@Kenny Chaffin
@Klaus Lademann
@Lee Rothstein
@libramoon
@Mark Wollschlager
@Nora Qudus
@Michele Hax
@Pedro Subrosa
@Phil Setnik
@Susan ✶✶✶✶
@randy.galbraith
@Richard
@Rob Anybody
@Rod Mesa
@robb
@sheilanagig
@Phil Landmeier (ᚠ)
@smellsofbikes
@Lisa Stranger
Checkin Hosts, regular and occasional
@Cass
@((( David "Kahomono" Frier )))
@Muse
@Christoph S
@s banerian
@Bob Lai
@Carsten Raddatz
@su ann lim
In Memoriam
@Stan McCann (Uncle Pirate)
We hope you’ll use the hashtag to keep track of the daily post and join in if you’re not on this list. The topic is always open 💕
like this
Jay Bryant
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Joyce Donahue and Rod Mesa like this.
Muse
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Joyce Donahue, Rod Mesa and Lisa Stranger like this.
Jodi
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Rod Mesa and Deb Zaccaro-Rojas like this.
Muse
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Joyce Donahue and Rod Mesa like this.
Christoph S
in reply to Christoph S • • •Rod Mesa likes this.
Jay Bryant
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Muse, Joyce Donahue, Rod Mesa, Deb Zaccaro-Rojas, Lisa Stranger, Carsten Raddatz and Christoph S like this.
Joyce Donahue
in reply to Christoph S • • •No weird traditions here, either, although there's at least one Mexican restaurant in the area where, if you tell them someone at your table has a birthday, they come at dessert time and put a huge oversized sombrero on the person's head and sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish while presenting a piece of cake with a candle.
Once every seven years my birthday falls on Thanksgiving... So that is always a twofer.
like this
Jay Bryant, Brian Fitzgerald, Rod Mesa, Muse, Lisa Stranger, Christoph S and franni like this.
Karl Auerbach
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Rod Mesa, Joyce Donahue, Muse, Lisa Stranger and Christoph S like this.
Mark Wollschlager
in reply to Christoph S • • •I also have the Thanksgiving Curse, every few years, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.
Had a nice day , slept okay, got up and went to a farmers market and picked up some golden beets and baked goods from a long time friend.
Came home and had baked goods for breakfast and then went for a 6.5km walk with Ruby. 64F ( 17C ) and sunny.
Got home and dragged one of my lathes out on the driveway and finished the second of two boxes I started on Wednesday. I do this periodically when the weather is nice, and the mosquito population is down. I roasted the beets and had some on my salad for dinner.
Not a bad day.
like this
Joyce Donahue, Muse, Christoph S and Cass like this.
Rod Mesa
in reply to Christoph S • • •Val has that one too. It can often make the celebration weird.
My brother was born on the 3rd of July, and our folks always celebrated his birthday on the 4th. It took him a while to figure out the big party, cookout and fireworks weren't just for him, which was kinda weird.
Granny's birthday was right after Christmas. Also weird.
My birthday falls on the end of the fiscal year. Did a lot of birthday drinking with accountants over the years.
People think accountants are boring but hoowee boy! Some were so much fun they probably should have been illegal.
Hell, I even married one. She's a hoot, as they used to say. As hot as a pistol. A kick in the pants. The cat's pajamas. The bee's knees. Cool beans.
like this
Joyce Donahue, Muse, Carsten Raddatz and Christoph S like this.
DeanC
in reply to Christoph S • • •Accounting. The only truly exact science.
A cousin of mine was born on Christmas day. She was named Merry Ann. Yes, that is spelled correctly.
like this
Rod Mesa, Lisa Stranger, Carsten Raddatz and Christoph S like this.
Muse
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Rod Mesa, Lisa Stranger, Jon Alcibar and Christoph S like this.
Karl Auerbach
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Muse, Rod Mesa, Jon Alcibar and Christoph S like this.
Lisa Stranger
in reply to Christoph S • • •HS friend was born on Christmas... said he was the best Christmas gift his mother ever got 😏
when I worked in the financial reporting industry, my birthday was at/near the end of the annual reporting period 😵💫 by the time the next paycheck arrived with some fat overtime in it, I was usually recovered enough to enjoy it
w/r/t the original question—I'm in Florida—what's not quirky?
like this
Muse, Rod Mesa, Carsten Raddatz and Christoph S like this.
Carsten Raddatz
in reply to Christoph S • •This Protestant north did away with most such cultural habits.
When I was invited to a turning 30 party as a guest Southerners did this, idea and all, involving many Pikachu hats, preparing a spilly mess of bottle caps and coins and an insufficient broom, involving a cleanup workout by the lucky birthday person in the restaurant's parking lot.
To the point where I was itching to get a broom too and help the poor guy. But we paid for the whole thing, so somebody needs to do the work :D
Anyhow I can personally attest to this guy's willpower and ability to endure nearly infinite long endeavors, distance wise. He'll have no issues finding a partner.
like this
Muse, Rod Mesa, Christoph S, franni and Cass like this.
Joseph Teller
in reply to Christoph S • • •Checking in. No weird traditions in my family or area for birthdays.
I used to have a personal Birthday Tradition, which started when I became legally able to drink, to have an Irish Coffee on my birthday. These days that's not possible, so we do wine instead. I don't do birthday cakes and ice cream as we did when I was a child... or even a dinner out or a Feast like we used to do.
This year and the last few my trad is to have a Greek Style Spinach and Cheese filo based pie that I bake from frozen as part of our dinner.
like this
Christoph S, Rod Mesa and Lisa Stranger like this.
((( David "Kahomono" Frier )))
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Jodi, Rod Mesa, Lisa Stranger, tom grzybow and Muse like this.
Jon Alcibar
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Rod Mesa, Lisa Stranger and tom grzybow like this.
Jodi
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Rod Mesa, Muse and Lisa Stranger like this.
Karl Auerbach
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Rod Mesa, Muse, Cass, Christoph S and Lisa Stranger like this.
Cass
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Christoph S, Lisa Stranger, Brian Fitzgerald and Rod Mesa like this.
Jodi
in reply to Christoph S • • •like this
Rod Mesa, Christoph S, Lisa Stranger, Muse and Brian Fitzgerald like this.
sb
in reply to Christoph S • • •Rod Mesa likes this.