1. A dive from a very high height
   The term New Englanders use for skinnydipping
2. A winter swimming event, usually held for charity
   The Maine version of skin-diving

This winter swimming event might seem crazy, but people across the Northern U.S. have made the Polar Bear Plunge an annual ritual. One of the largest plunges takes place in Long Beach, New York, on Super Bowl Sunday. Since 1998, this event has raised significant funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

1. By setting a Wicker Man on fire
   They go pumpkin picking.
2. By wrapping their gourds in colorful scarves
   They eat jam and bread in celebration of Saint Autumn's Day.

Native to North America, pumpkins are a uniquely Yankee foodstuff. Although other cuisines use pumpkin in savory recipes, Americans mostly eat it in soup and pie form. Nonetheless, fall pumpkin picking is an important American ritual, as it helps families get ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

1. It's a three-tier all-white cake topped by an edible gold crown.
   It's a royal purple cake with white and gold icing.
2. It's a green, gold and purple cake with a tiny plastic baby hidden somewhere in its center.
   It's a red and gold four-tier cake with a gold coin baked into its batter.

King cakes are a Mardi Gras tradition! Made of brioche dough and decorated with royal Mardi Gras colors, king cakes also contain baby figurines. According to Louisiana superstition, the person who finds the baby in their slice of cake will be blessed with good luck.

1. A coat rack
   A ladder
2. An indoor tree
   A chandelier

Every spring, many Southerners choose to decorate their trees with Easter eggs. This tradition is German in origin, but Americans have made it their own by using indoor trees rather than outdoor trees, and by using plastic eggs in lieu of the real kind.

1. Bean soup, codfish balls, brown bread, Waldorf salad and apple pie
   Bean and ham stew, crab cakes, cornbread, green beans and ice cream
2. Baked beans, Parker House rolls, frankfurters, slaw and corn pudding
   Three-bean salad, lobster rolls, creamed corn, peas and pumpkin pie

A centuries-old tradition, Maine's bean suppahs are community meals that often take place at churches. The menu for a bean suppah is usually filled with foodstuffs that grow easily in Maine, such as yellow-eye or navy beans, corn and cabbage.

1. 8 p.m.
   7 p.m.
2. 6 p.m.
   9 p.m.

While most Americans think it's normal to eat dinner at 6 p.m., the rest of the world does not agree! Most Europeans dine at 8 p.m., while people in Spain eat dinner between 9 p.m. and midnight.

1. Tamale pie
   Chili con carne
2. Beer can chicken
   Fajitas

American dads love chili con carne. Many of them enjoy celebrating this flavorful Tex-Mex stew via competitive chili cook-offs. Hundreds of chili cook-offs are held across the United States each year, some of them judged by professional chefs.

1. A marathon that's usually performed by women wearing mud masks
   Slang for the practice of plowing one's fields
2. A foot race with a number of obstacles, including a mud pit
   A poker move that involves going all-in on a low pair, such as twos

It's unclear when mud runs began, but they've become one of the most popular types of American races. Participants have to slog through several obstacles, including a mud pit. Perhaps because of their ridiculous nature, mud runs attract more families than other types of races or marathons.

1. A small hostess gift, such as a plant or bottle of wine
   A side dish or dessert
2. Fresh flowers
   A gift for the children

While a gift for the children or a side dish might be welcomed by your hosts, most Americans don't bring such things with them when they dine at each other's homes. Instead, Americans bring a "hostess gift," which is usually an inexpensive decoration or edible present.

1. Creamed onions, oyster and cornbread stuffing and hasty pudding
   Gingered cranberry sauce, glazed carrots and venison
2. Clam dip, apple cider and cheddar biscuits
   Bacon-wrapped scallops, stuffed mushrooms and blueberry pie

New England's Thanksgiving dishes reflect this region's colonial roots. Creamed onions originated in England, while oyster stuffing is a Pilgrim tradition that stems from New England's plentiful seafood. Hasty pudding, a type of corn dessert, was also invented by the Pilgrims.

1. Their window sills
   Their roofs
2. Their porch ceilings
   Their doorsteps

In the Carolina Low Country, some people believe that ghosts, or "haints," can't cross water. They paint their porch ceilings blue, in simulation of water, to prevent these spirits from entering their homes. Outside of South Carolina, many Southerners have taken up this practice.

1. Big Monday
   November Madness
2. Black Friday
   Giving Tuesday

Retailers have been holding day after Thanksgiving sales on the day after Thanksgiving since the early '50s, but this event only recently became known as Black Friday. Although stores advertise Black Friday as if it's a well-established tradition, it didn't become the busiest shopping day of the year until 2005.

1. The Second Line
   Parade Plus
2. Jamboree-ing
   Getting marchy

The Second Line is a custom that originated in New Orleans. It sanctions the practice of bystanders joining parades after the official parade performers have passed by. An African-American tradition, members of the Second Line usually parade in African-based dance styles.

1. Pork and sauerkraut
   A Philly cheesesteak sandwich with potato salad and chips
2. Smoked herring fishcakes with potato leek soup
   Bacon and apple pancakes with knockwurst

The cuisine of Pennsylvania has been heavily influenced by the culinary traditions of the Dutch and German immigrants who settled there. Hence, Pennsylvanians often eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day, as Dutch folklore holds that this will bring them prosperity.

1. It's slang for the Fourth of July.
   It's the unofficial term for Dec. 1, the day when most Americans put up Christmas lights.
2. It's the day when you decorate loved one's graves.
   It's what Gen Z kids call the day before the last day of school.

Rural Southern communities, especially in Alabama, observe "Decoration Day" on the same date as Memorial Day. For this holiday, Southerners clean their loved one's graves, placing flowers by their headstones.

1. Massachusetts
   Utah
2. Arkansas
   Nebraska

Utah's largely Mormon population has traditionally frowned on alcohol consumption. Because of this, Utah restaurants that serve alcohol are required to put up a "Zion curtain" partition that screens bartenders from the sight of patrons. Zion curtain laws were partially reformed in 2017.

1. Feng shui
   Salting
2. Burning sage
   Cleansing with crystals

Burning sage, or "smudging," was invented by several Native American groups, including the Lakota, Chumash and Cahuilla peoples. It involves directing sage smoke through all the rooms of a house, in order to cleanse it of bad energies. Recent studies have found that sage smoke is antibacterial.

1. Glazed ham, potato salad, Jello salad, deviled eggs and sweet tea
   Green onion risotto, arugula salad and pineapple upside-down cake
2. Quiche, waffles, biscuits and fruit salad
   Fried chicken, pasta salad, stewed greens and boiled peanuts

Although many Americans don't care for them, Southerners are quite fond of deviled eggs. They eat them on Easter, alongside other dishes that generally aren't served hot, such as Jello salad, potato salad and ham.

1. The Rio Grande
   Colorado River
2. The Mississippi River
   Red River

Southerners rarely get to enjoy a white Christmas, so they have to find novel ways to celebrate the holiday. On Christmas Eve, many Cajuns light bonfires along the Mississippi River, in the belief that this will "light the way" for Santa.

1. "Noodling" means "eating noodles," right?
   To "noodle" is to mess around on a guitar.
2. It refers to the art of catching a catfish with your arm.
   "Noodling" is a synonym for meddling.

Mostly practiced in the Southern U.S., "noodling" is a type of fishing that involves catching catfish without any gear or equipment. To perform it, the noodler puts their hand near a catfish hole. When the catfish swims out, it gets impaled on the noodler's arm.

1. Ballet
   Vogueing
2. Country line dancing
   Swing dancing

A uniquely American dance form, country line dancing is the descendant of contra folk dancing. Its participants line up and perform pre-planned moves while facing in the same direction. In the '80s, specific country line dances were invented for hit country songs, such as "Achy Breaky Heart."

1. It's a pomegranate and blood orange salad served with poppyseed dressing.
   It's a slang term for French fries served with nacho toppings.
2. It's not a salad at all. Instead, it's a California coffee drink made from bubble tea and espresso.
   It's a salad made of pasta, pineapples, mandarin oranges, Cool Whip and marshmallow topping.

Frog eye salad hails from Utah, but has spread to surrounding states, including California, New Mexico and Arizona. It's a sweet pasta salad made from acini di pepe pasta, canned fruit, marshmallows and (sometimes) egg yolks. While its name is less than appetizing, this unique recipe has many fans.

1. Performing stomp dances
   Holding a pow wow
2. Visiting a sweat lodge
   Going on a vision quest

A religious tradition of the Plains Indians, sweat lodges are used for healing ceremonies. In 2009, the Angel Valley Retreat Center caused the deaths of three people by conducting a fraudulent sweat lodge event. The Lakota Nation subsequently sued them.

1. Stockings
   A skirt
2. A hat
   Riding boots

According to USA Today, when the first Kentucky Derby was held at Churchhill Downs, its managers contacted local women's clubs and invited them to attend while wearing their fanciest outfits. Decades later, this tradition continues, with hats featuring roses being especially favored by attendees.

1. A tremoring
   A catamaran
2. A shivaree
   A midnight gloaming

A folk custom that takes the form of a rude wedding night serenade, shivarees are a Midwestern frontier tradition. They're not intended to be hostile; instead, they're a sort of community prank on newlyweds.

1. Being given a job interview or wedding gift
   Staying at someone else's home for more than a day
2. Being given a job interview or an especially expensive birthday present
   Someone writing you a letter of recommendation

In an ideal world, Americans would write thank-you notes for all of the above occasions. However, in the modern era, the occasions seen as most deserving of a thank-you note are being given a wedding gift or being granted a job interview, as these are both potentially life-changing events.

1. "Fame"
   "The Wizard of Oz"
2. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"
   "Hocus Pocus"

Thanks to its huge cult following, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is longest-running release in film history. After hitting the big screen in 1975, this classic film spurred fans to turn attending it into a ritual, complete with costumes and scripted audience responses.

1. It's what Southerners call a Sunday dinner that features spring lamb, peas and new potatoes.
   It's slang term for the act of sowing peas.
2. It's a Roman Catholic ritual honoring the Virgin Mary as the Queen of May.
   It's a spring beauty pageant that's held annually in the Northeast.

Many Roman Catholic Americans still celebrate May crowning, a spring ritual celebrating the Virgin Mary. Held on May 1, it involves young girls marching in procession while carrying flowers, which they use to adorn a statue of Mary. For the rest of May, these flowers are continually replaced.

1. Meandering
   Zooming
2. Chilling
   Cruising

Cruising first became popular in the '40s, when it started to be common for American teenagers to have their own cars. It quickly evolved into its own culture, with special cruising "strips" being designated as especially fun cruising sites. Today, some cities still have laws against cruising.

1. No, and that sounds gross!
   Are you talking about a berry-picking party? If so, yes.
2. I have no idea what that is, so no.
   Yeah! It's basically a guitar and banjo jam.

According to the Washington Post, a picking party is a gathering "where people use musical instruments to speak to each other." Common in states where country and bluegrass music are played, picking parties continue to be popular across the U.S.

1. The Day of the Dead
   Walpurgis Night
2. All Saints Day
   Hungry Ghost Festival

Also known as El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2. In Aztec tradition, it's believed that this is the day when the gates of heaven are open and the dead can visit their families. Participants serve their loved one's favorite food, so that they can "dine" together.

1. Olives
   Spam
2. Asparagus
   Tuna

Spam sushi was invented by Japanese-American internment camp prisoners during World War II, but spread quickly across Hawaii, thanks to the large military presence in the Aloha State at the time. Called Spam musubi, Spam sushi is still a popular snack today.

1. Coachella
   Stagecoach
2. Bonnaroo
   Burning Man

Burning Man is an annual arts event that draws tens of thousands of people. Held in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, this summer festival is deeply infused with radical politics. Although many celebrities now attend it, Burning Man still has a vibrant underground culture.

1. A stag party
   A tailgate party
2. A sporty pre-funk
   A football soirée

A pre-game festivity, tailgate parties originally took place in football stadium parking lots. Their name stems from the fact that food and beverages are often served on the tailgates of participating vehicles. Today, tailgate parties occur at all sorts of events, including concerts and weddings.

1. St. Patrick's Day
   Shrove Tuesday
2. Easter
   Groundhog Day

Held on February 2, Groundhog Day has its roots in Pennsylvania Dutch superstition. As folklore has it, if a groundhog sees its shadow on this day, winter will last for another six weeks. The 1993 comedy "Groundhog Day" helped popularize this holiday.