OT: Ever heard of this "tradition"?

[Amberle3]

I was watching Top 5 and Unwrapped on the food network last night, and between the two shows I overheard some things that made me think that their writers really need to research things more.

First of all, apparently in Canada it's traditional to smear butter on the nose of the birthday child - for luck. Maybe it's a regional thing, because I've sure never heard of this.

Then secondly, they said that outside of the USA almost no one eats peanutbutter. I'm sure that comes as news to the grocery stores here. Any fellow Canadian peanutbutter eaters out there?

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Oh my... smear butter.. nose... ewww gross!! My boys certainly wouldn't appreciate that!!

we do try to avoid PB here but that's b/c little ds is allergic to nuts.... but as soon as he get's cleared (next spring hopefully)we'll have a jar in the house again... I miss my PB!!

that's too funny.... their writers really need to do some research..... that's almost as bad as the thought that we live in igloos and it's always cold up here in Canada!!lol

 

[Debbie]

YUCK! Butter on the nose? Never heard of it. I'm actually off to eat my peanut butter and banana sandwich right now. I can tell you that in Europe earlier this month, everyone ate Nutella on their toast, bread etc. And 25 years ago when my sister and I went to Europe/Britain on a bus trip, I remember calling home just before we came back to ask my parents to bring peanut butter (and cold milk, I think) to the airport when they picked us up.

 

[Scratch42]

No Butter on the nose of DD but have done it to the cat!LOL

As for the Peanut Butter, well let's just say........

Spoon, 1kg Kraft, TV and Voila! Dinner and a movie!LOL

It's amazing isn't it!

Scratch

 

[PhotobearSam]

It's a tradition here...I have had my nose buttered several times...Teachers even did it to us in school...



I agree on the PB...My parents store sells a lot of it.

 

[Mysteria]

Never heard of the butter on the nose thing before today. lol My BF teases me constantly about how many times I have PB&J for lunch though.

Myst

 

[FayeW]

The butter on the nose trick must be an Maritime thing, I had mine buttered every year, well into my teens.

 

[Snowwark]

I've never heard of smearing butter on your nose either! I like butter, but prefer it on my veggies or toast!

Debbie, peanut butter (crunchy) & banana sandwiches are one of my favourites!! Yummy!

BitsnBearsMom, my 4 year old niece has a moderate/borderline severe, peanut allergy. She is with us often, so I keep the PB far away when she's around, and of course, check everything she eats. We watch her like a hawk! Unfortunately, the doctors don't expect her to grow out of it.

 

[mdennylusk]

I've been "buttered" many times. My mom passed it down from her family and got us doing it when we were very young. My sister used to like to wake me up with it and now gets her kids in on it. If you get "buttered" on your birthday, it's supposed to mean good luck for the year. I don't know if it's regional, but my Grandmother was from the Maritimes. I'm a "Base Brat" so my family has been doing it all over the place.

I'm a PB freak. I eat it right out of the container with a spoon or a chunk of chocolate. But when we were living in Germany as kids, you could only find it in the Canadian grocery store.

 

[CindyAnn]

I've never heard of the buttered (EWWW) birthday nose either. I wonder if it's more of a British custom if it's popular in the maritimes? Lots of PB in our house, and fortunately nobody is allergic to it. I think it's probably true that peanut butter isn't very popular outside Canada and the US, though. Most of our European friends and relatives eat nutella and then of course some of the British (and I think Australians?) like their vegemite and marmite. DS had a Belgian teacher in SK and she gave them nutella on bread one day. He came home thrilled to report that he'd had a chocolate sandwich for snack.

 

[Debbie]

Flat Stanley brought us some vegemite from Australia one year. Yuck...only 1 of the kids would touch it. Now the Cadbury chocolate that came was a different matter! lol

 

[peigirl]

We do the butter on the nose for the birthday here and when I was growing up in Nova Scotia.

As for PNB we love it but it is banned from many schools around here.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I haven't heard of the butter thing ... it doesn't sound like its a very common practice. As for the peanut butter ... I love it! Especially on toasted bread with grape jelly! Yum!!

What's vegmite?

 

[totalia]

Rofl. Must be a maritime thing. I've never heard of that before today.

 

[wenabre]

I remember my Aunt putting butter on my nose when I was growing up in Quebec. I don't remember it being necessairly just for my birthday, somethimes she said it was for luck. I just figured it was another weird family thing ( and believe me, you had to know my family )!!

As far as peanut butter goes, I was never allowed it as a child as my British Mother said it was just Americanised ( my apologies ) junk food, I wasn't allowed KD and bologna either. Not to worry though, I became a very good lunch time trader at school.

By the same token, my dear Mom, served up tongue and tripe and 'sweet breads' ( adrenal glands of a sheep) to me.
( that in itself might explain a few things!!)
Wenabre

 

[robsawatsky]

I found this info:

In Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland) the birthday child is ambushed and their nose is greased for good luck. The greased nose makes the child too slippery for bad luck to catch them. This tradition is reputed to be of Scottish decent.

Peanuts and peanut butter are popular items in Canada -- the average Canadian eats 2.7 kg per year!

The average American consumes more than six pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products each year.

To me it appears that Canadians and Americans eat almost exactly the same amount of peanut products.

 

[princess pooh]

I've never had my nose buttered before but I just might try it next year. I could use the good luck

 

[SplashMom]

I've lived in Nova Scotia my whole life (over 40 years!!) and I have never heard of such a strange "tradition". Neither butter nor peanut butter has touched my nose!

 

[SandraC]

No butter on nose....just the BUMPS!

 

[Sillyminny40]

I was born in Toronto. Lived in Ottawa, Wpg, Edmon, Montreal and rural Manitoba. Never even heard of the butter on the nose....
pb is banned in school but we love it.....

We used to bake coins in birthday cakes, that is all.