I’m from Georgia—the backwoods, farming part of Georgia. (Atlanta makes me feel like I’m in outer space.) My grandmother’s yard was nothing but green rolling hills, flocks of annoying chickens and guineas, and the ever-present dinner guests who were wearing camouflage overalls and spitting tobacco. It’s endearing, truly… except for the tobacco part.
However, I didn’t realize how odd some of our traditions are until my husband and I lived in Colorado for a year. Whether it was our accent or simply saying, “Yes, ma’am,” we were pegged as foreigners within seconds of meeting someone. It’s almost as if the South is its own country, its culture and dialect distinct enough to stand alone.
With full validation and a few chuckles, I can attest to these 15 Southern traditions that people find confusing.
1. No wearing white after Labor Day
Nobody in my brick-and-mortar country church would be caught dead wearing white after Labor Day. It’s just a rule… for no valid reason (in my opinion). But my grandmother, Bonnie Sue, is convinced that once the cold air arrives, white isn’t fashionable. It’s a pure, lively color reserved for greener times of the year, like Spring and Summer. (I wear white after Labor Day all the time… just don’t tell her that.)
2. Nearly worshipping college football
In South Eastern Conference (SEC) football territory, this sport is nearly worshipped. People have gotten into physical altercations over their favorite sports teams without any inebriated encouragement. For whatever reason, us Southern folks will go broke paying for a signed University of Georgia letterman jacket. (Fun fact: I was named after Peyton Manning when he was playing for the University of Tennessee, a tough contender in the SEC Conference. Go figure!)
3. Drinking so much sweet tea
I know why we put two full cups of pure sugar in our tea—because it tastes so good. It’s highly likely for household folks (like mine) to guzzle a gallon of it each week. Will we get Diabetes? It’s likely. But the Lord never said anything about being drunk on sweet tea. Nah, it’s just the wine and Jack Daniels you gotta watch out for.
4. Using words like “yonder” and “fixing to”
My husband and I made friends from Washington (the state) while in Colorado, and when I said something was “over yonder,” they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. They had no clue what I was saying. But in their defense, I’m not even sure if “yonder” has found its way to Webster’s Dictionary. But just for kicks, if you aren’t from the South, saying something is “over yonder” simply means something is “over there.” It helps to point to the spot you’re referencing when using this phrase. (Bonus word: the “fixing” in “fixing to” means “going to.” We aren’t actually fixing anything.)
5. Saying, “Yes, ma’am” and “No, ma’am” like it’s going out of style
It’s actually never going out of style in the South to say “Yes, ma’am” and “No, ma’am.” The same goes for “Yes, sir” and “No, sir.” One of the biggest lectures I ever received from my mother was not saying, “Yes, ma’am” to one of my elders. It’s a sign of respect, almost a way of admitting “You’re the one with the wisdom and knowledge. I’m all ears for whatever you have to say.” Though this is odd in other places, as it seemed to be in Colorado, most outsiders find it endearing.
6. Men holding the door for women
“Where I’m from, if a guy holds the door for you, it’s creepy,” said one of my northeastern friends. In the South, a guy isn’t hitting on you if he holds the door for you or does anything else that seems old-school chivalrous. In fact, while I was in college (in North Georgia), I got caught in a rainstorm walking back to my dorm. A guy got out of the passenger seat of his friend’s car and told his buddy to drive on. He escorted me back to my dorm with an umbrella, was very kind and casual in conversation, and wanted nothing more from his gesture than to ensure I wasn’t freezing cold from the rain. I never heard from him again. No creepy DMs or stalking. Chivalry isn’t dead down here, ladies! Take heart!
7. Men calling women “sweetheart”
Again, chivalry isn’t dead in the South. If a man calls you sweetheart—no matter your age or his age—there’s no need for alarm. This isn’t his way of seeing if you’re romantically interested in him. This is simply him confirming that you are a woman to be respected and protected. It’s more of a confirmation of his masculinity and desire to recognize that he would defend you if need be.
8. Talking so slow
The classic Southern “drawl” originally hails from the British Isles, where people rarely pronounced their “r’s.” This often puts a lull at the end of words, almost like they are unfinished. Maybe that’s why we loop all our words together, kind of like cursive writing for the voice.
9. Folks treating high school football like the Olympics
Similar to SEC football, Southerners treat high school football as though it were the Olympics. Kenny Chesney even has a hit song about it—The Boys of Fall. No matter which high school you go to in the South, if it’s a Friday night, you’re in your favorite player’s jersey, you have his number painted in glitter on your face, and you’re going to the local IHOP or Waffle House after the game.
10. Monogramming everything
While I was so happy to marry my husband, I had to get rid of 75% of my leather boots. Why? They were all monogrammed in big, bright stitches with my maiden name. I’m not sure why we Southern women feel the need to plaster our name all over everything—as if one day we will forget our own names—but we do. Heck, on your wedding day, we’ll gift you an old-fashioned monogrammed hankie with your new last name.
11. Treating a light snow flurry like an apocalypse
If even a few flurries dust the ground, everything shuts down. You’re not going to school. You’re not going to work unless you’re a doctor. All the bread and milk will be bought from the grocery store. I think it’s because we don’t know how to drive in snow and do everything we can to stay holed up in our homes until the “blizzard” melts away. Either way, you would drive through our small towns thinking an apocalypse had happened. But no, it was just a few snow flurries.
12. Family land staying under the matriarch
Matriarchs are a big thing in the South. Whoever the oldest woman is will be the one delving out family heirlooms and family land to whomever she pleases. She’s typically a bit of a bear, the kind of woman whose husband knows his place is in the shadows, biting his tongue so long as she keeps making those homemade blueberry cobblers. But if you want to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner and see your baby girls sport her famous homemade dresses, you’d better say “Yes, ma’am” and swallow every bit of turnip greens she dumps on your plate.
13. Considering blood relatives as your siblings
It doesn’t matter if they are your first cousin or tenth cousin, as long as they are so-and-so’s descendants by blood, they are your ride-or-die family, to be treated like an identical twin. While I’m not a big proponent of the concept that “blood is thicker than water,” it seems to be a way of life in the South. I’ve actually gotten into a few terse arguments with blood relatives over this one. After all, my fourth cousin, let alone my first cousin, doesn’t even know when my birthday is. (But we’ll argue about that one at Sunday dinner, okay?)
14. Feeding the pastor forever
I wish I had a dollar for every Southern preacher I’ve heard chuckle then say, “You ladies are gonna have to stop feeding me. The pants I wore when I started preaching here don’t fit no more.” It’s precious, though. Homemade pies, fried chicken, and slow-boiled greens are a love language for ladies of the South, and they sure love loving their pastors with these foods. Why we don’t gift him a new Bible commentary or a weekend getaway when he and his wife have been serving non-stop, I don’t know. Carbs over cruises, right?
15. Taking cultural pride seriously
I’ll be honest—most of us Southerners will admit to the inherent evils that plagued southern states roughly two centuries ago, but we seek to restore our reputation with Southern hospitality that welcomes all. While lots of big city folks—like New Yorkers and San Franciscans—find our amiableness a bit weird or over-the-top, we find their social distance disheartening. Today, we are honored to live in a part of the country that values the slower way of life and honors faith, family, and country.
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