Some of the craziest ways to show love from different countries and eras

Have you ever committed follies for the sake of love? Maybe they were making some crazy gift or striking the imagination of the chosen one with an enchanting act? Even so, you will still lose in the marathon of extreme antics that has been going on for centuries and covers different corners of the planet. Here is an overview of the craziest things ever done for the sake of loved ones.

In ancient Greece, love was treated very freely and even same-sex romances were not condemned. But the Hellenes were especially sensitive to women. This is evidenced by a cute custom common in the 9th-13th centuries BC. Men threw apples at the object of love if they wanted to show their feelings. A strange tradition can have two explanations.

Some historians believe that it's all about the so-called "apple of discord" because of which the Trojan War broke out. According to legend, the apple was supposed to go to the most beautiful goddess and Hera, Athena and Aphrodite began to fight for it. So the apple became a symbol of the first beauty and throwing a fruit, and even with a hit in the head, could be considered an excellent compliment.

The second version says that a militant girl Atalanta once lived in Greece. She chose suitors by competing with them in running. The loser under the harsh conditions of the competition was waiting for death from the spear of the beauty. But a guy named Hippomenes knew something about beauties. He scattered golden apples on the path of Atalanta. When she saw the treasures, she immediately forgot about the competition and began to collect them. As a result, she lost the race and became the wife of a cunning Greek.

Vikings were harsh, but romantic people. To show his love for the girl, the warrior sang mannsong love songs to her and whipped her in the face with a bouquet of wildflowers. Most likely, it happened at the same time, to enhance the effect. Whatever songs were not suitable for such a case — the text had to be unique. Therefore, the most gifted men composed the song themselves. But the untalented had to turn to professional poets and singers — skalds.

In Iceland, poetry was considered a serious instrument of seduction. Therefore, the skalds, as the most knowledgeable in this matter, were forbidden on pain of death to dedicate poems to other women on their own behalf. Of course, a simple warrior with an axe and a disheveled red beard will not have the slightest chance against an expert heartthrob.

In a small and cramped Europe, many exotic love customs got along. Take, for example, the Welsh with their "love spoons". These residents of the British Isles on their first date gave the lady of the heart a huge wooden spoon. The craft, reaching a length of 1 meter, was intricately decorated with symbols and patterns. A guy from Wales was talking on the surface of a spoon about all his feelings and torments.

The Celtic knot denoted eternal love, the dragon — the obligation to protect faithfully, the flower — loyalty to the grave. When the custom of cutting spoons appeared, no one knows. But the earliest specimen found by scientists was made in 1667. If a couple found family happiness, the spoon was kept at home as a family heirloom.

In the same 17th century, Protestant boys performed incredible feats in the name of love. In England, a couple who were going to get married were put in the same bed. At the same time, touching each other was strictly forbidden. To strengthen the morality of lovers, sometimes they were sewn up in underwear, and a bag of rags was placed between them. The man who withstood the temptation was considered worthy to be the spouse of a girl.

All these apples, spoons and miracles of abstinence seem like trifles compared to the love custom of the inhabitants of Taiwan.  Back in the first half of the 19th century, the men of the Atayal people gave their ladies the hearts of dried heads of enemies. It was a visual way to show the valor of the cavalier and his suitability as a defender of the hearth.

For the heart of the beauty, there were real competitions for the removal of enemy heads. Especially popular girls received presents in whole bundles, like dried garlic. After the wedding, the newlyweds covered their faces with black tattoos. It was incredibly difficult to hide the marital status of the atayal man — this is not an engagement ring or even a stamp in your passport.

One of the most famous love stories of the 19th century was the tragedy of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. The mad genius cut off part of his ear during a quarrel with his friend Paul Gauguin. For some reason, the artist decided that there was no need for good to disappear, packed the ear in an envelope and sent it to his favorite brothel.

The letter was addressed to a maid named Gabrielle. Van Gogh had long been in love with this person, and he sent a part of his body to her as a gift as the most valuable thing he had. Biographers and psychiatrists are still studying the details of this story. They cannot come to a common opinion for more than a century. Someone thinks that the madness of the artist is to blame, and someone is sure that it was a thoughtful performance.

The beautiful song "A Million Scarlet Roses", performed by Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, is not just a romantic fantasy on the theme of unrequited love. The hit of the 80s is dedicated to the love story of the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. He was in love with the French actress-chansonnier Marguerite de Sevres. When the star arrived on tour in Georgia, an incredible gift was waiting for her.

Pirosmani spent all his money and ordered 9 carts with roses. Flowers were brought in the morning under the windows of the hotel room de Sevres. It is not known whether all the roses were scarlet — there might not be so many in Tbilisi. But the fact that there were a huge number of them was confirmed by dozens of eyewitnesses.

Flowers are nice to give and, of course, to receive. But every man at least once in his life has heard from a lady: "Well, why, it would be better to buy something necessary." Men all over the world are familiar with this phenomenon, except the Papuans of New Guinea. Practical people live in the jungle of this tropical island. Men come to the lady of the heart with... a pig.

The girls are happy to get a simple pig instead of inedible and rapidly withering flowers. For Papuans, a pig is a pet, food, family member and the main currency. In some tribes, women breastfeed piglets, along with babies. The good old custom of hunters and gatherers arose centuries ago and is still relevant.

But Papuans, like all over the world, have inflation. Therefore, now in the villages it is not limited to one animal. To interest the chosen one and her family, sometimes they give a whole herd of pigs.  Now 10 animals are considered an acceptable sign of attention.

There used to be many other love traditions in the world that could make even a modern person blush.