Socks and boxes for 25 year olds

In Germany, ladies who turn 25 receive a wreath of boxes and men a wreath of socks. Here you can find out why.

For special birthdays there are some funny customs. For example in Northern Germany, where «spinsters» are sometimes jokingly called «old boxes», «bachelors» on the other hand «old socks». This has led to the development of the box wreath for unmarried women celebrating their 25th birthday. The wreath is made by good friends from empty boxes (e.g. perfume boxes) and is attached to the house or apartment door of the bachelor woman who has become an «old box» (smile). There it hangs for up to four weeks. But the moments when it is hung and detached are celebrated: with a cheerful party, in which one toasts to the life as a single.

The wreath of socks, on the other hand, is intended for bachelors (or «old socks»). There are rather small wreaths, on which a few socks are hung, but there are also almost endless garlands, on which countless socks are hung. With these garlands you can decorate the whole apartment or even the house and the garden. In 2014 a sock wreath made in Halverde (D) measured 6066 meters and counted 69'152 socks.