Just like the doner kebab, George may be popular with Englishmen but his origins are more likely to be Turkish. Details of his birth are uncertain but most sources suggest he was either born in Cappadocia, now in Turkey, or in Lydda, Palestine. The saint was likely to have had wealthy Greek parents, so (if you insist on comparing him to a kebab) maybe he should be thought of as a gyro rather than a doner. Saint George grew up to fight in the Roman army and quickly rose through the ranks. Unfortunately when Diocletian, the Emperor at the time, decided to arrest all Christian soldiers, George refused to renounce his faith and was sadly decapitated.

Saint George is the patron saint of many different countries, among them Bulgaria, Greece and Ethiopia (and he likes them all just as much as he likes England). Aside from countries, George is also patron saint of things as diverse as scouts, horses and syphilis. Interestingly, whereas scouts are happy to parade through town in honour of Saint George, people with syphilis tend to keep quiet about it.

In Georgia, there are 365 churches named after Saint George. In their version of the story, rather than being executed for his Christianity, George fell in battle and was chopped into 365 pieces, which were then distributed around the country. Presumably, this would have to have been done at random to avoid arguments between the churches – some bits of dead saint are clearly preferable to other bits of dead saint, and it might’ve caused problems if someone felt cheated when their portion arrived.

The Georgians believe that Saint George appeared (in one piece) during the Battle of Didgori and helped them to victory over the Turkish army. Strangely, they’re not alone in receiving military support from the ancient saint – George is said to have once appeared to help the Maltese fight, and in Portugal (where he is also patron saint) they credit the country’s success in the Battle of Aljubarrota to the violent ghost.

It’s impossible to talk about Saint George without also mentioning the dragon incident. While the basics of the legend sound honourable enough – killing a dragon and saving a town – the specifics don’t paint the saint in a particularly flattering light. The story goes that a town was being terrorised by a dragon and they could only keep it away by offering it sheep. Apparently, this dragon wasn’t too fussy about his dinner because, when they ran out of sheep, the townsfolk took the unusual decision of offering it their children instead. George didn’t feel the need to intervene in this process until, one day, the town chose to sacrifice a princess. At that point, Saint George decided things had gone far enough – he injured the dragon with his spear, then took it back to the town and used it to frighten everyone into becoming Christian. After that he killed the dragon, even though it was already very badly hurt and no longer a threat to anyone. So that wasn’t very nice of him, was it?

There’s a chance that Saint George didn’t really kill a dragon at all; some think it was simply an escaped crocodile (although that doesn’t explain why the people in the town were feeding it their children). In some countries, the dragon isn’t even a crocodile – it’s a metaphor. In Sweden, for example, the dragon is used to represent an invading army, with warrior George slaying it and saving the country/princess.

In Ferrara in Italy, they pretend to believe that the dragon lived in the river Po which flows through the province. Here again the dragon is used as a metaphor, this time to represent the powerful river and its frequent floods. It’s unclear exactly what Saint George did to “kill” this dragon – perhaps he dug a series of drainage channels or something like that. Whatever method he used, this interpretation of the legend seems to celebrate George less for his courage and more for his skill as a civil engineer.

Photo credits: Levan Verdzeuli photography

The flying bells | France

In France, and the Netherlands and Belgium, there is a really sweet story that gets told to children at Easter time. It is said that all the church bells fly away on the Thursday before Easter (or the Saturday, if you are Dutch or Flemish) to go to Rome for a few days. This is a way of explaining why the bells are silent, in mourning for Jesus, for a few days.

Not only do the bells fly to Rome, they also return with gifts of eggs, chocolate rabbits and other Easter paraphernalia! It’s reminiscent of the story of Santa Claus, however we all know that is real, whereas believing bells can fly is simply ridiculous. I mean, wouldn’t they make an awful noise when they fly off?! People would definitely notice that!

The eternal flame | Greece

Easter is a really big deal in Greece, as it is in many countries. The Greeks do all the things you would expect – special food, special church services, festivals, fireworks, eggs (red ones specifically, to represent Christ’s blood) – but they also have something others do not – the eternal flame! (To be clear, I do not believe this eternal flame has any association with the Bangles song of the same name.)

The eternal flame is an actual, real flame, brought all the way from Jerusalem to Greece by military jet on Easter Saturday. This is a really big deal. The ceremony is even televised, and if the weather’s bad, well, let’s just say tensions run high! Once the flame is safely in Greece, the hundreds of priests that have been waiting at the airport light their lanterns with the flame and take them back to their respective churches.

This flame plays a big part in the hugely popular Resurrection service (it’s so popular that many churches actually overflow). Everyone heads to their local church before midnight where they wait in darkness and in silent prayer holding unlit candles; the only light comes from the lantern at the altar. At midnight the priest lights the main church candle with the eternal flame in the lantern and cries out “Christos Anesti”, which means “Christ is risen”.

The priest takes the candle to the people closest to him and they light their candles with it and pass it back until everyone has a lit candle. The congregation will say to each other “Christos Anesti” to which the response is “Alithos Anesti” which means “he is truly risen”. Then everyone disperses, slowly, protecting their flame, back to their homes. When they get there they make a cross on their door using the smoke from the flame to ensure their home will be blessed for the year.

Chocolate bilbies | Australia

Last year wasn’t a good one for the Easter bunny in Australia. His popularity is waning, but who on earth can dislike the Easter bunny? Bilbies, that’s who! The bilby is a native Australian animal; it’s a marsupial that can grow to around the same size as a rabbit. They have long ears, a long muzzle, soft silky fur and a pouch like a kangaroo.

The problem is that rabbits (who were introduced to Australia years ago) are eating away the bilbies’ habitats. Poor things! Last year, it was estimated that there were only 600 left in the wild. Take a moment to think about how big Australia is… 600 suddenly seems like a very, very small number, doesn’t it? So last year, a campaign was developed to replace the Easter bunny with the Easter bilby, in a bid to raise the little guy’s profile. It seems to be working as he has been embraced by many schools and chocolate manufacturers too. Long live the Easter bilby!

Splash, whip and spritz | Slovakia

Well, this is possibly the strangest of our Easter traditions, but let’s safely appreciate it from a distance now, because I do believe it is dying out (much to the relief of Slovak girls). On Easter Monday, a mob of males (usually young men) make their way round to the homes of the females in their lives.

Firstly they try to get them wet, either by dunking them in a pond (NO, thank you), throwing a bucket of water over them (again – NO, thank you) or more commonly these days, asking the host for a cup, filling it with water then throwing it in her face! (I see this is the best option, but it still wouldn’t go down well with me.) It’s thought to be all the more amusing if you can soak the girl off-guard. There’s an incentive to get up early on Easter morning, if you don’t you might just get an unusual wakeup call!

The second part of this delightful tradition involves lightly whipping the legs of the lady with a special willow whip adorned with ribbons. It used to be the case that each victim added a ribbon to the whip so by the end of the day you could see how many women the man had err… harassed? Terrorised? Irritated? I’m not sure what to call it to be honest! Thirdly, and this must come as a relief, the guy spritzes the girl with perfume. That bit is OK, I suppose…

I don’t think this Easter ritual is particularly popular with women, however sometimes they do play along; running, hiding, squealing in mock protest. However, it’s definitely popular with males; not only do they get to be nasty boys, they get a treat in return! When calling at the homes of their victims, it’s traditional that they are greeted with a chocolate egg, a shot of alcohol or a kiss! That’s a flaming cheek in my book! You’re lucky if the mob visits you early on in the day, because by the end of it, they are drunk and very rowdy!

But riddle me this, I hear you cry – what is the point of all this? I think it has something to do with bestowing health, radiance and beauty upon the woman, as the willow is selected because it is one of the first trees to respond to spring and is considered to be beautiful. Please, if you have any further information on this strange tradition, please do get in touch!

A butter lamb | Poland

Moulding things into chicks, rabbits and lambs for Easter is normal. We do it with chocolate. Poland really likes the lamb, however. They have sugar lambs, lamb cakes (no, not a meat cake – just a cake decorated with a little lamb) and butter lambs. By this I mean a lamb made entirely of butter.

These lambs can be bought ready-made in the supermarket, in which case they are quite small, but they can also be bought, handmade, from delis or made from scratch at home, in which case they can be really quite big. That’s a lot of butter. I believe making them at home is quite a complex affair; making sure the butter is at the right temperature to mould, sculpting a lamb’s face, getting a fur texture… I wouldn’t even know where to start!

Sometimes the lambs are intricately decorated and they wear a ribbon sash or a little cross. The butter lamb makes up part of a basket of food that is taken to church on Easter Saturday to be blessed. Each item of food is representative of something: eggs represent the resurrection, salt represents tears and purification, ham represents joy and abundance, horseradish represents the bitter sacrifice of Christ and lamb (or the butter lamb) represents Christ himself, gentle and mild.

Photo credits: Stefan Thiesen, valeyoshino, Klearchos Kapoutsis, mikecogh, Opusztaszer, quinn.anya, Ben Garney and waitscm

Denmark

This tradition isn’t one for those with green eyes, and if your fiancé is intending to invite their ex… a Danish wedding may not be for you! During the celebrations, the groom will disappear, at which point the male guests will all kiss the bride. When the groom returns the bride then disappears, only for the girls to all kiss her new husband! Another tradition involves the guests cutting the groom’s socks and tie with scissors. I’m not sure if this is related to the earlier kissing/disappearing acts but it would make sense…

Sweden

Before the wedding, the bride’s mother gives her a gold coin to pop into her right shoe. And her dad gives her a silver coin to slip into her left shoe. This old custom is supposed to symbolise the bride never going without. I can’t help thinking however that this would be mighty uncomfortable for the bride… Who wants to hobble down the aisle?!

Czech Republic

The close friends of a traditional Czech bride plant a tree in her garden, the day before the wedding, and decorate it using ribbons and painted eggshells. It is believed that the bride will live as long as the tree. I wouldn’t trust my friends with this. They would probably “trim” its roots, or overwater it. The tree would be dead by the time I came back from my honeymoon… which wouldn’t bode well for me!

Russia

At the start of the reception, a relative, or close friend, makes a toast to the bridegroom. But instead of raising a glass, the party-goers throw their glasses to the floor! If the glass breaks then it is considered good luck! Let’s hope they don’t use their best stuff!

Germany

Now this German tradition is genius! If you are getting married soon, take it on board! In the run up to the big day, the friends and family create a wedding newspaper, filled with pictures, stories and anecdotes about the engaged couple. This newspaper is then sold at the wedding reception to help fund the honeymoon! Brilliant!

Turkey

This one is a bit like the throwing of the bouquet, in a way. Before the bride goes down the aisle, the young single ladies write their names on the soles of the her shoes. At the end of the night, after all the dancing, the bride checks her shoes. The name that has been rubbed off the most indicates the next person to get married! Surely if you were really desperate to take a husband, you’d write your name where the ball of the foot goes. The toe would be no good!

Greece

In Greece, the pomegranate symbolises fertility and good luck so it is not uncommon to have them as ornaments in the home. (I have, in fact, brought a delightful ceramic pomegranate back from Greece before. But it wasn’t that lucky… I smashed it on the plane.) So seeing as they symbolise luck and fertility, it’s not hard to understand why they would play a part in a wedding ceremony. As well as throwing the bouquet, the bride also launches a pomegranate, smashing it to the ground, releasing its lucky seeds.

Lithuania

In the UK, tiered fruitcakes are standard at a wedding. In Lithuania, they have a far more exciting affair. They have a pastry/cookie type thing that is made in the shape of a Christmas tree, not just a flat Christmas tree but a 3D one! The cake tree, or sakotis as it is more correctly known, can be decorated with fresh flowers and herbs, and sometimes has a light put inside it so it glows in a magical fashion!

Photo credits: spaceodissey, Pot Noodle, radioedit, acme, stevendepolo and Sven Teschke

Anyway, I thought I’d do a follow-up, so you can also further regale your friends and family at meal times! Check back here each day this week for a new food!

Saffron

Originates from Greece and southwest Asia

There are probably a few things you know about saffron already – that it’s more expensive gram-for-gram than gold, and that it’s yellow. But did you know it comes from a crocus? Yes, that lovely spring flower! I can read your minds – you’re wondering whether it’s possible to harvest some saffron from the local park/garden, aren’t you? Well, no! Not only do I not condone stealing, but it’s almost certainly going to be the wrong sort of crocus (there are over 70 different species of crocus and saffron is specific to just one of them.)

The cultivation of saffron has been going on for thousands of years, and it’s no surprise that the ancient Egyptians loved a bit of it (they did seem to have had expensive tastes). They used it for medicinal reasons, as did most. Apparently, Pliny the Elder listed 20 remedies that involved saffron; it seems saffron could pretty much cure anything! These days, however, it’s mainly used for flavouring and colouring.

Around 90% of all saffron produced now comes from Iran and the reason it is so expensive is because it has to be harvested by hand. Not only that, but each tiny purple flower yields very little spice. So, in the three weeks during autumn that the saffron crocus blooms, each flower is picked and their stigmas are carefully removed. The stigma is the female section of the plant (remember your science lessons?) and the bit that is actually the saffron. The stigmas are dried, packaged and then sold.

If you still can’t quite understand just why this is this is the most expensive spice in the world then think about this: each flower has three stigmas… To make one pound of saffron 225,000 stigmas are needed. That’s 75,000 flowers that need to be picked and dissected by hand to make one pound of spice. Amazing!

Photo credits: たね (会話, Moka2002n, Guillaume Paumier and staciabriggs

Every day until Christmas Day, we will explain where and why a Christmas tradition came about. Today, pantomimes!

Pantomimes | Greece

Let’s really have a think about pantomimes… How weird are they!? There’s cross dressing, audience participation, bizarre make-up and classic lines that are used no matter what the story is, such as “He’s behind you!” (Why the characters are unable to turn round in a timely or accurate fashion, I will never know.)

The word pantomime is Greek and roughly translates to “imitating actor”. Unsurprisingly, this genre started in ancient Greece and was very popular in Rome too, although it has always been looked down upon by the literary snobs for its base humour and general silliness! Over time the pantomime has evolved, due to various European influences, into what we see today.

But for many years certain elements have remained the same, and some of these elements are what tie panto to Christmas time. For instance, the gender role reversal occurs because during ancient Roman Saturnalia festivals (which took place between 17th and 23rd December), it was usual for the natural order of things to be reversed. So kings would become paupers and men would become women etc!

Traditionally, pantomimes began their run on what we know to be Boxing Day, to celebrate midwinter and other winter festivals. As time has gone on, however, pantomimes have started to show before Christmas, as Christmas is now the most prominent winter festival.

Photo credits: anemoneprojectors

USA – the electoral college

Let’s start with an obvious one… After all, if it weren’t for the US election, we probably wouldn’t be writing this post and I’d be looking at photos of cats in funny positions instead…

There are two votes in the US presidential elections – the popular vote and the electoral collage vote. What’s that all about? Well, the first one is obvious – people from the various states vote for who they want to be president. If more people vote for one guy than the other guy, then that guy wins and the other guy doesn’t. But that’s not actually the whole story…

You see, instead of directly electing their president, Americans are actually voting for electors in the electoral college… Confusing, I know! People who vote for one guy, are actually voting for another guy who has pledged to vote for that guy…

Each state in the US is designated a certain number of electors in the college, based on how many representatives and senators it has in the Congress. Each state has two senators, and a number of representatives which is proportionate to the population of that state, based on census figures.

For example, California has the most number of electors (55) because it has two senators and 53 representatives. The states with the smallest populations – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming – have only three electors (two senators and only one representative each).

This map shows how many electoral votes each US state currently has, including the changes between the 2000 and 2010 censuses:

Apparently, the electoral college was conceived as a compromise between the president being elected by congress and by the people. However, I think it might have been conceived just to confuse people…

Now, here’s where it gets even more confusing – electors in the electoral college are not required by law to vote for the candidates they pledged to vote for. Thankfully, however, in the overwhelming majority of cases, each elector has voted as pledged.

If one guy wins the popular vote, it’s not a guarantee that they will then become president. For example, in 2000, George W. Bush received 500,000 votes fewer than Al Gore, but ended up winning the electoral college by five votes, and therefore became president!

The popular vote takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November (like today, for example) and the electoral college votes in December, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday. They meet in their state capitals and cast a vote for president and vice-president.

Space – an extraterrestrial ballot

Yes, people in outer space can vote too. No, not aliens… (Although, it is fair to assume that, if intelligent life exists elsewhere, they’d have come up with democracy by now! Or, maybe even something better…) I’m talking about American astronauts, who can vote in today’s election in a digital ballot provided by Nasa.

Space voting was first authorised in 1997, when a Texas state law allowed astronaut David Wolf to cast his ballot from the Russian Space Station Mir. However, since then, only a handful of astronauts have actually voted from space. Indeed, the two Americans currently aboard the International Space Station have already cast absentee ballots on Earth (in Russia, to be precise…)

Makes you wonder why they bothered…

Vatican City – the papal conclave

(If you’ve read Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, you may as well skip this one…)

Yes, believe it or not, the pope is also elected. Not by your average person-on-the-street, though. The pope is elected by the College of Cardinals, which is made up of all the cardinals in the Catholic Church, who travel to Rome from all over the world for the occasion.

The papacy is a lifetime job; once you’re elected, you’re in for life. When a pope dies, the Church enters a period known as Sede Vacante (which is Latin for “the seat is vacant”). During this time, the College of Cardinals is put in charge of the Holy See, and the official coat of arms is changed so that a special umbrella (known as an umbraculum) covers the keys instead of the papal tiara.

After at least 15 days, the College of Cardinals meets to elect the new pope. But the nature of their meeting is somewhat unusual… The cardinals are locked up in the Sistine Chapel until they manage to elect a successor from their number! The meeting is known as a papal conclave (from the Latin “cum clave”, meaning “with a key”).

During the conclave, the cardinals are sworn to secrecy. They’re not allowed to communicate with the outside world at all, and face excommunication if they break their silence. Once safely locked up, a series of different votes are held until one of the cardinals receives at least two-thirds of the vote. This process can last days, weeks and even months! The longest conclave lasted for nearly three years!

After each vote, the ballot papers are burned. The smoke from the burning ballot papers is released through a chimney, with black smoke signalling that no pope has yet been selected. The smoke used to be blackened using damp straw but, since 1963, colouring chemicals have been used instead. If no one’s received at least two-thirds of the vote after three days of voting, the cardinals take a one-day break for prayer and “informal discussion”.

Once a pope has finally received a majority vote, the ballot papers are burned again. This time, however, they release white smoke, signalling to the world that a new pope has been found. Before the new pope’s identity is revealed to the world, he’s asked, “By what name do you wish to be called?” They’re then able to choose a name. For example, the current pope was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, but choose to be known as Benedict XVI as pope.

The brand-new pope is then dressed up in his official robes, led to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and announced with a cry of “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum… habemus papam!” (“I announce to you a great joy… we have a pope!”

You can find a far more detailed, step-by-step explanation of the papal election here, on the BBC News website.

Egypt – a blindfolded five-year-old-boy

This is another papal election but, unlike the Catholic one, this happened very recently. The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (which we’ll shorten to just “Coptic pope” from here on, as life is just too short) is the leader of the Coptic Church of Alexandria, which is headquatered in Cairo, Egypt.

The previous pope, Shenouda III of Alexandria (who, by the way, is the Coptic Church’s 117th pope), died on 17th March this year. After a coptic pope dies, his seat is temporarily filled by an acting pope, who oversees the post until the papal election. An election, by the way, which involves a blindfolded five-year-old boy…

A list of three possible candidates are selected by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church. Since the rules were changed in 1957, the candidates must be monks of at least 40 years of age with at least 15 years of monastic service under their holy belts. The names of the three candidates are written on three separate pieces of paper, which are then placed in a chalice on the altar of St. Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo.

Here’s where the blindfolded five-year-old boy comes into it (you didn’t forget about him, did you?)… Once the names are placed in the box, a boy of five is selected from the congregation, blindfolded and then told to pick a piece of paper out of the chalice. The boy, unable to see what he’s doing, is said to be guided by the hand of God, meaning the new Coptic pope is selected by “Divine Choice”.

Maybe the US could take a few tips from the Coptics…

Ancient Sparta – the Shout

The last voting system on my list is very easily the strangest. Sparta was an ancient city-state in Greece that existed from the 10th century BC to 146 BC (so, a long time ago, basically). One part of the ancient Spartan style of government was the Appella or Demos, which was an assembly of the people that met once a month. Any Spartan citizen aged over 30 was free to stand for the Appella. They would then have to submit themselves to the Shout…

The Shout was basically a form of range voting, where people would shout to show their support for the various candidates. The candidates would walk in front of the crowd in a random order, while a group of impartial evaluators, sitting in another room with writing tablets, would listen to see which candidates garnered the loudest shouts and applause. If you made the crowd shout and clap the loudest, you were the winner!

This method is still alive today (although, not in any actual, political context, obviously) in the shape of clap-o-meters or applause meters.

Photo credits: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0), U.S. Embassy Jakarta, Indonesia (CC BY-ND 2.0, Diliff (CC BY-SA 3.0), Thalion77 (CC BY-SA 2.5, Maus-Trauden (GNU GPL) and Marek Kośniowski (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Oatman, Arizona, USA

Imagine being kidnapped by Native Americans for five years and having a blue tattoo permanently inked onto your face. Well, that was the fate of poor Olive Oatman, who the town of Oatman, Arizona, was named after. Oatman was once a thriving mining town and a favourite destination of Hollywood actor Clark Gable, who stopped off there while on his honeymoon. Major fires, the shutting down of the town’s gold mining operations and the rebuilding of Route 66 led to a massive decline in population.

Despite a handful of residents remaining, Oatman is now classed as a ghost town. It remains popular with the burro community however and visitors will find many wild burros roaming its streets, all hoping to be fed ‘burro chow’.

Kayakoy, Turkey

Built on the site of the ancient city of Carmylessus, Kayakoy in Turkey was once home to thousands of Greek Christians. In 1923, its residents were shipped off to Greece due to a population exchange agreement between the two countries.

Unsurprisingly, the Turks that were transferred back to Kayakoy weren’t too happy about the situation, and within a year the town was deserted and remains so to this day. Visiting Kayakoy today is an eerie yet fascinating experience. Stripped bare of people and possessions, the town’s churches, museum and hundreds of houses all still remain, waiting to be explored.

Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii definitely has a ghostly quality to it. Having been buried under layers of ash with no air or moisture for nearly 1,700 years, Pompeii is remarkably well-preserved. Key buildings in the city include the amphitheatre and Basilica, and there have even been plaster casts made of the victims of the disaster.

Spinalonga, Crete

Its last residents were members of a leper colony, who even had their own ‘leper’s entrance’ to the island – Dante’s Gate. Spinalonga has been unoccupied for nearly 50 years now, but the abandoned leper colony, fortress and numerous pebbly beaches mean that many tourists still come and visit this intriguing place.

Bodie, California, USA

Time to bust out the Stetson because in Bodie you really will feel like you’ve stepped back in time and landed in America’s Wild West. One of California’s most famous gold rush towns, Bodie experienced a population boom in the late 1870s.

During its heyday, some 65 saloons could be found along its main street, and barroom brawls and shoot-outs were regular occurrences. In true boomtown fashion however, Bodie’s popularity was not to last and residents gradually moved away to more prosperous towns. Now a designated National Historic Landmark, Bodie remains frozen in a state of arrested decay, and around 100 buildings still exist for visitors to explore.

Steelpan – Trinidad and Tobago

Is this not the happiest sound in the world?! It’s pretty hard to not at least do a little wiggle when listening to a steel band! And before you ask, it IS called a steelpan, not a steeldrum. Although it is made from a steel drum.

The pan was invented in the 30s, which makes it a relatively new instrument- compared to the drum, flute, violin etc which have all been around for hundreds of years. However steelpans really took off in the 1940s during the war. The American bases in Trinidad meant there was a greater need for oil and the 55 gallon waste drums started being used for percussion. It was soon discovered that if the flat tops of the drums were indented, different notes could be produced. And by varying the length of the drum’s ‘skirt’ (by cutting an amount off of the barrel) scales could be made- enabling bass pans and treble pans to be created! Before long whole bands were formed, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force even have their own steel orchestra! Check out the video – imagine our forces doing this!

Marimba – Mexico

I defy you not to start humming ‘Sway’ after reading this… “When marimba rhythms start to play…”

I will confess, that despite singing along to this song for years, I didn’t actually know what a marimba was. Well it’s a big Mexican xylophone of sorts. Traditionally the key bars are made from Honduras rosewood as it’s very hard but for outdoor players (street performers, marching bands etc) the bars can be made out of synthetic materials to prevent the wood warping due to wet or humid weather.

It has a nice wobbly/buzzy kind of sound which is created by the use of resonators under the bars. These are traditionally made from gourdes. That’s right, pumpkins and such the like. Weird huh! However nowadays Mexicans are more likely to drill a hole, in their more sophisticated wooden resonators, and cover it with sheep skin to give their performance that extra buzz!

Bouzouki – Greece

I can’t actually listen to this YouTube clip. It reminds me so much of holidays I start to salivate for a stuffed vine leaf and imagine myself either in a restaurant by the sea feeding a stray cat, or on an airport transfer, tired yet excited for the holiday to come. Oh the smell of the heat! And fig trees! Sand between my toes! Sticky sun lotion, Feta cheese with orgegano… I digress.

The Bouzouki is a type of long-necked lute. Its origins are in Turkey but it is in Greece that it really advanced and that it was was taken to heart. Bouzouki-like instruments have been around since Ancient Greek times, so the fact their sound is still prevalent now says something about their popularity! These instruments are carefully crafted, and sometimes their makers even set their sights on a young tree years before they use it to make their instrument!

Cajon – Peru

No, it’s not just a box! The Peruvian Cajon is a box-like drum played whilst sitting upon it. The drum found its way to Peru via the slaves of Central and West Africa in the 18th century. There are two ideas as to how these unusually shaped drums came about; one is that the slaves, missing their boxy musical instruments from Africa, found what was close to hand- cod-fish shipping crates- and developed them. The other theory centres around the Spanish colonial ban on music in mainly African areas (how cruel). To avoid their instruments being taken away from them, the slaves used items that could be disguised as seats or stools, or would sometimes even take a draw out of a dresser!

As time went on, and the ban was lifted, the Cajon became more sophisticated. Nowadays, it has rubber feet, screws at the top to adjust the sound, and some even have guitar strings to give a rattley sort of sound. Best box ever, right?

Alphorn – Switzerland

Although I had heard of an alphorn, I’d never really thought about them before… they are HUGE! About 12 feet on average. Nor had I heard one being played, not a big fan of the Sound of Music you see. It really is an entrancing, impressive sound.

Use of the Alphorn in Switzerland goes back nearly two thousand years and it was originally used to signal the start of daily activities on the mountains by shepherds and cowherds. For example ‘It’s time to be milked now!’ to the cows and ‘Bed down now’ to the sheep. Also shepherds would play simplistic tunes to each other over the valleys as a way to say ‘Everything is ok over here.’ There were even melodies calling people to council meetings, and men to war. These melodies were passed down through generations.

It is the conical bore of the instrument that allows the sound to travel so far, over hills and mountains. Although the horns worked really well as a form of communication… a mobile phone works better. Let’s be honest. So nowadays, the alphorn is merely played for pleasure!