In Denmark, unmarried individuals are covered in cinnamon on their 25th birthday as a tradition dating back to spice merchants who never had time to marry. Being unmarried has no stigma and the average age to marry is in the 30s. Denmark has the longest-standing monarchy, more bicycles than cars, and was the first country to approve same-sex unions.
Variety might be the spice of life, but cinnamon is apparently the spice of singleness, at least in Denmark. The Scandinavian nation maintains an age-old tradition in which an unmarried person is covered in cinnamon on her 25th birthday. The story goes that for centuries spice merchants in Denmark were so busy traveling from town to town that they never had time to settle down and get married. Today, however, being sprinkled with cinnamon (and water, to help it stick) is considered a fun birthday prank. There is no social stigma around being unmarried in modern day Denmark. In fact, the average age to marry for women is 32, while for men it is 34.5 years. Even so, if someone remains celibate in their 30s — which is more than likely — friends crack pepper instead of cinnamon and start over.
Entering Denmark:
Denmark boasts the longest-standing monarchy in the world, having begun with a king more than 1,000 years ago.
Denmark has twice as many bicycles as cars and offers more than 7,456 miles (12,000 km) of bicycle lanes.
In 1989, Denmark became the first country to approve same-sex unions, though it stopped calling them “marriages.”
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