Is there a hobby that is common in your country but uncommon most other places?
January 31, 2026
Is there a hobby that is common in your country but uncommon most other places?
8 comments
Becoming a volunteer miller to run a historic windmill is a thing here in the Netherlands with about 1000 historic mills to look after. There are about 1600-1800 hobby millers and a few dozen professionals.
Petanca (petanque) is very popular among older people, you can find petanque fields in parks all over the country. It might be common in a few other countries too, but that’s it.
Playing handball is not exclusive to Germany, but Germany is one of the few countries where it’s one of the top sports.
I also think Rhönrad is a German thing.
The biggest difference between Finland vs other countries will be our national game, pesäpallo.
Inspired by an old Finnish game (“king ball”) and American baseball, it differs fom baseball in a couple of major factors: 1) as pitching is done upwards, it’s not a question of whether the batter will hit the ball, it’s a question of where in the outer field the batter chooses to aim, 2) since hitting the ball outside of the pitch would be so easy, the ball has to hit the ground inside of the pitch if not caught by the outer field players 3) it’s really fast-paced, there’s practically no waiting and strolling around.
The helmets were introduced, as a guy got a ball to his head and got a brain injury in the 90’s.
Is shooting at a wooden bird with a shotgun while being drunk a common hobby?
German “Schützenfest”:
Many villages have a “Schützenverein” (shooter’s club). Once a year they all gather included visitors, march in fake uniforms carrying fake wooden rifles through the village, pick up the king and the queen, go to a festival tent/hall (depending on the region) and celebrate for 1-3 days over a weekend with a lot of alcohol and music.
After the weekend they meet on a field, a wooden bird is lifted several metres into the air and all club members who want to qeue up in a line. The first in line grabs the shotgun (sometimes mounted onto a tripod) and shoots one shot at the birds, then it’s the next one’s turn. The last one shooting down the last remaining part of the wooden bird becomes the next king of the club and chooses a queen. Then there’s party again. One year later it all starts again.
This is a hobby for some, serious business for others and others can’t srand it.
We’re somewhat known for throwing 6 meter long sections of tree-trunk in an attempt to achieve maximum possible height while also flipping the tree trunk.
It’s more a competitive sport thing than something someone does as a hobby, though.
It is not “common” and still viewed as nerdy, but LARP, live action roleplay, is waaay more common in the Nordics than anywhere else. More kids are involved in LARP cthan basketball or tennis. People will know what it is, instead of it being totalky obscure.
At after school clubs (basically daycare but for older kids), I feel like there was always an adult who made styrofoam swords and helped dress the nerdier kids up as elves and goblins.
Playing [Hurling](https://youtu.be/fgEMvRrOCRI), one of our national sports. Players can play in front of tens of thousands of people, in stadiums like [Croke Park](https://img.rasset.ie/0012ac3c-1600.jpg), but don’t get paid a cent. It is completely amateur. They play for the love of the game. So, it is a sort of a hobby.
8 comments
Becoming a volunteer miller to run a historic windmill is a thing here in the Netherlands with about 1000 historic mills to look after. There are about 1600-1800 hobby millers and a few dozen professionals.
Petanca (petanque) is very popular among older people, you can find petanque fields in parks all over the country. It might be common in a few other countries too, but that’s it.
Playing handball is not exclusive to Germany, but Germany is one of the few countries where it’s one of the top sports.
I also think Rhönrad is a German thing.
The biggest difference between Finland vs other countries will be our national game, pesäpallo.
Inspired by an old Finnish game (“king ball”) and American baseball, it differs fom baseball in a couple of major factors: 1) as pitching is done upwards, it’s not a question of whether the batter will hit the ball, it’s a question of where in the outer field the batter chooses to aim, 2) since hitting the ball outside of the pitch would be so easy, the ball has to hit the ground inside of the pitch if not caught by the outer field players 3) it’s really fast-paced, there’s practically no waiting and strolling around.
The helmets were introduced, as a guy got a ball to his head and got a brain injury in the 90’s.
[This part](https://youtu.be/U7KuDbtSq30?si=Jk-0HYWAV0CYiRq6&t=21) of the video shows how it’s decided who gets to start with an inner or outer field turn. (the umpire throws the bat in the air, one guy grabs it, and then they keep putting their hands on top of each other, with the winner being the one who gets the last hold). [Here’s](https://youtu.be/U7KuDbtSq30?si=jpX7H0tzJZK3cdPx&t=230) some gameplay.
Is shooting at a wooden bird with a shotgun while being drunk a common hobby?
German “Schützenfest”:
Many villages have a “Schützenverein” (shooter’s club). Once a year they all gather included visitors, march in fake uniforms carrying fake wooden rifles through the village, pick up the king and the queen, go to a festival tent/hall (depending on the region) and celebrate for 1-3 days over a weekend with a lot of alcohol and music.
After the weekend they meet on a field, a wooden bird is lifted several metres into the air and all club members who want to qeue up in a line. The first in line grabs the shotgun (sometimes mounted onto a tripod) and shoots one shot at the birds, then it’s the next one’s turn. The last one shooting down the last remaining part of the wooden bird becomes the next king of the club and chooses a queen. Then there’s party again. One year later it all starts again.
This is a hobby for some, serious business for others and others can’t srand it.
We’re somewhat known for throwing 6 meter long sections of tree-trunk in an attempt to achieve maximum possible height while also flipping the tree trunk.
It’s more a competitive sport thing than something someone does as a hobby, though.
It is not “common” and still viewed as nerdy, but LARP, live action roleplay, is waaay more common in the Nordics than anywhere else. More kids are involved in LARP cthan basketball or tennis. People will know what it is, instead of it being totalky obscure.
At after school clubs (basically daycare but for older kids), I feel like there was always an adult who made styrofoam swords and helped dress the nerdier kids up as elves and goblins.
Playing [Hurling](https://youtu.be/fgEMvRrOCRI), one of our national sports. Players can play in front of tens of thousands of people, in stadiums like [Croke Park](https://img.rasset.ie/0012ac3c-1600.jpg), but don’t get paid a cent. It is completely amateur. They play for the love of the game. So, it is a sort of a hobby.