Mancation Rituals and Traditions

Written by James Hills Tuesday, 29 July 2008 18:00

We men tend to make things up to give our lives meaning, we do stupid handshakes, code words, even flock to exclusive clubs to make ourselves feel important. So what about mancation rituals? At the risk of making our wives and girlfriends embarrassed, I wanted to share with other guys some of the fun and wacky stuff guys do to celebrate guys weekends or mancations. I had a chance to chat with several experienced guys who love taking mancations. Here are some of the rituals and traditions they shared with me:

Scotch and Cigars

Patric Douglas from Shark Diver shared that fine aged Scotch, 30 years or better and cigars tend to be a favorite post dive ritual with the guys he takes on shark diving expeditions. Other guys also said this was a favorite tradition of theirs, including myself who always looked forward to the Scotch Tasting (Sponsored by the Scottish Games group of course!) during E3 in LA. This was one of my favorite mancation traditions. For one crazy week you could play video games that were not released yet, drink fantastic booze at parties, eat fantastic food, and the booth babes weren't bad either! Best of all, it was fun meeting with friends that only gathered once a year to celebrate their favorite pastime.

Bar Tours

"Back in my pre family days - my buddies and i had one rule on a arriving where-ever - we would not pass a bar without stopping for at least one beer, (it was really all about being polite and graciously accepting the hospitality offered by our host city) ... it could take us over and hour just to get out of the airport!" From Mike Earlywine

Mancation Themes

Jonathan Bacon of Lehi, Utah shares that each year his mancation features a different them and last year was the "Year of the Stache" where each man wore a mustache during the weekend adventure. He also added that all mancations he and his friends take involve a "no shaving" policy. Additionally, Jonathan's mancation traditions also includes one day of shooting. Last year his boss donated an old computer monitor which they shot with a glock and a gun similar to an AK-47.

Gathering at a Favorite Restaurant

Greg Block from San Diego and his friends like to gather at Papa Dan's in Palm Desert and eat tons of antipasta, pizza, and drink pitchers beer, then pick teams for the golf tournament they hold.

Golf, Crazy Hats, Dildos, and Drinking

Dave Clarke of the The Cracked Femur says their mancation tradition is the Poppa Bear Invitational golf tournament. After the first day, the golfer who scores the worst is forced to wear a pink hat and play with pink golf balls. At the end of the mancation, the golfer who spent the most time in the woods wins a prize. Dave describes it as, "a certain “tool” used by women. We nail it to a two-by-four – every dude that has won it has signed it." At the end of the tournament, "we ritually hammer golf balls into either a lake or the ocean… this usually occurs after mass consumption of Evan Williams and MillerLite." Not sure you can beat that one!