Lisa beschrieb kuerzlich die oesterreichische Gewohnheit, in der Schule Hausschuhe tragen zu muessen. Was sie daran aber wirklich ueberraschte war der Grund warum Lehrer so sehr darauf bestehen: naemlich die Gefahr die Nieren zu ruinieren wenn man nur mit den Socken rumlaeuft. Obwohl ich mich nicht erinnere, diesen genauen Zusammenhang je gehoert zu haben, ueberrascht es mich nicht. Oesterreicher, wie auch Deutsche, haben es ja bekanntlich gern waermer. Man moechte auf keinen Fall kalte Fuesse bekommen, denn es kann doch negative Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheit haben;) Zu Hause haben wir meist immer Hausschuhe getragen. Ausnahme war an extrem heissen Sommertagen. Die meisten Oesterreicher tragen nicht nur selbst Hausschuhe, sondern haben auch welche fuer Gaeste zur Verfuegung. Das hat nun zweierlei Gruende: 1. Wird der Schmutz der Schuhe nicht durch die ganze Wohnung geschleppt. 2. bekommt der Gast keine kalten Fuesse. Jeder der schon mal als Gast bei Oesterreichern eingeladen war hat wahrscheinlich bemerkt, dass man als erstes die Schuhe auszieht sobald man durch die Tuer kommt. Diese Angewohnheit habe ich hier noch nie gesehen: man geht einfach mit den Schuhen durchs ganze Haus und laesst sie an, auch wenn man fuer mehrere Stunden bei jemanden auf Besuch ist.Lisa described recently the Austrian custom of wearing slippers in school. What really surprised her though was the reason teachers were giving for that necessity: namely the connection between ruining the kidneys and running around in socks alone. Although I don't remember ever hearing that, it doesn't surprise me. Austrians - and Germans - like everything warmer. Most Austrians will tell you that getting cold feet will have negative consequences to your health. At home we wore slippers most of the times. The only exemption was during extremely hot summer days. Most Austrians also provide slippers for their guests. There are two reasons for that: 1. The dirt from the shoes is not carried throughout the house. 2. the guest doesn't get cold feet. Everone who has been invited to visit an Austrian at home probably noticed that first thing you enter the house you are supposed to take your shoes off. I never noticed this custom here in the US: you keep your shoes on, even if you are visiting someone for several hours.
7 comments:
I think this is one of those things that varies depending on what region you live in, at least in Germany.
While most people that I know wear house shoes, around here it's normal for guests to keep their outdoor shoes on. I've often asked whether I should take them off, only to be given a funny look and be told "no, that's not necessary". And it's not just me, the other guests all wear their street shoes, too, both here and 70 km from here where my mom lives, so I think it would be fair to say that in Südhessen it's normal to keep your shoes on.
But I've heard other versions from elsewhere in Germany, causing me to come to the conclusion that it's a regional thing.
The idea of being given slippers to wear while visiting sounds so.....welcoming! What a wonderful tradition. The only reason around here that people would be asked to remove their shoes while visiting is to save new carpeting.
In the US it varies too. I remove my shoes almost always (unless the hostess/host insists that I keep them on), but I grew up in MN where there is a lot of snow and mud and gunk almost year round. I also prefer not to wear shoes!
At my own home, I don't usually ask people to remove their shoes, but many do (in Oklahoma). We have hardwood flooring and tile, so it is easier to clean up than if we had carpet.
I think I'd be really self conscious about whether my feet were smelly if I had to take my shoes off!
hi Bek, in Germany - I am from Rhineland - we would never ask a guest to remove his shoes. I live in Southern Germany and here people ask. Like anonymous it should be the guest's option whether he wants to take shoes off or not and of course, muddy shoes should always be taken off. I don't know a single school where you have to take your shoes off. However, in preschool you bring your slippers to wear during the day. /Andrea
Martina: Interesting that it's not automatically done in Germany too.
Victoria: Austrians usually don't have that much carpeting throughout the house like I noticed in the US. My parents were always worried of tracking tiny stones (stuck in your sole) into the house, which can scratch the hardwood floors then.
Maria: I never got too far away from the eastcoast - so everything I know about the US is from that area here:)
Anonymous: I actually never worried about that possible problem;)
Andrea: We had to wear slippers up to 12th grade in school, although in the last year we tried to get around it. We wanted to be differentiated from the little kids.
I second Andrea; in kindergarten we were required to leave a pair of house shoes (and a pair of rubber boots) in our child's cubbyhole. When you arrived, your child had to take off his jacket and outdoor shoes and put on his house shoes. But I think that was mainly because the kids spent most of the time sitting and playing on the floor, so you don't really want people walking on that floor with shoes that have quite possibly walked through dog p**p and other dirty stuff.
Some kids simply had a pair of thick socks with anti-skid rubber profile on the bottom (ABS-Socken - that's what they call them around here).
But I've also never heard of a school that required house shoes.
Post a Comment