Every year thousands of people gather to take part in, or witness
bizarre festivals. Many of these festivals are ancient but some are
much more modern. While they are all extremely different, they have one
thing in common: they are totally weird. If you wish to mention other
festivals that you know of, be sure to do so in the comments. NOTE: Some images may be Not Safe For Work.
10
La Tomatina
On the last Wednesday of August every year in the town of Buñol in
the Valencia region of Spain, 9,000 locals and 20,000 – 40,000
foreigners descend on the town to throw tomatoes at each other in honor
of the Virgin Mary and St. Louis Bertrand. This tradition has been
around since the 1940s, though it was briefly suppressed under the reign
of Franco. The festival starts with a person attempting to scale a
greased pole to capture a cooked ham. Once the ham is taken down from
the pole, water canons are fired at the participants and over 100 tons
of tomatoes are dumped into the streets for throwing. Women are
expected to wear white and men to wear no shirts. Anyone caught wearing
a shirt inevitably has it ripped off – including women and especially
tourists who tend to be the main target of locals.
9
Cheese Rolling Festival
The Cheese Rolling Festival is held every May in Cooper’s Hill,
Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom. The festival involves an official
tossing a cheese down the extremely steep hill, after which hundreds of
people begin to run down the hill (risking life and limb) in order to
catch the cheese. Each year the event results in casualties and for
this reason children are not allowed to participate, though oftentimes
boys from the local town will join in anyway. For the children, there
is an uphill race. Women and men race separately in the main event.
8
Bonfires of Saint John
The Bonfires of Saint John is a popular festival in Spain held on the
19th to the 24th of June. The strange festival involves the lighting
of bonfires (frequently fueled by old furniture). The locals share hot
chocolate whilst watching the bonfires. But then it gets weird. The
children of the villages then take turns in running through the fires.
The entire week is filled with festivities including fireworks displays
and eighty-six women and eighty-six young girls are elected the
“Beauties” of the bonfires. These “beauties” preside over the festival
as Queens.
7
Goat Tossing Festival
The Spanish certainly like their odd festivals. Every year on the
fourth Sunday in January, the locals of a small town named Manganeses de
la Polvorosa gather together for the goat tossing festival, in honor of
St Vincent de Paul, their patron saint. The festival has been around
for so long that no one knows when it started. It involves a young man
who finds a goat in the village, ties it up, and takes it to the top of
the local Church belfry. He then tosses the goat over the side and it
falls 50 feet where it is (hopefully) caught by villagers holding up a
sheet of tarpaulin. The village officials banned the event but it
continues regardless. Various animal rights agencies have complained
about it – though their complaints have also been ignored.
6
Hadaka Matsuri
Hadaka Matsuri is a Japanese festival in which the participants are
all but naked. The festival is celebrated many times throughout the
year in various parts of Japan and those involved usually wear a type of
traditional loin cloth. Some of those involved go completely naked
which is not frowned on at all – in fact it is considered healthy. The
festivals often involve the use of mud (for entertainment) and there are
often separate women’s and men’s festivals. In some towns special
festivals are held for children – as a rite of passage, but sometimes
children participate in the adult festival. The festival has its
origins as a religious event, but these days the religious aspects are
virtually forgotten.
El Colacho
Dating from 1620, El Colacho (or baby jumping) is a festival in Spain
held every year on the feast of Corpus Christi. The festival involves
the laying on mattresses all babies born in the previous twelve months.
The adult men of the village of Castrillo de Murcia then dress up as
devils and take turns jumping over the babies. The festival often
results in injuries (usually of the adults) and it is believed that the
jumping rids the babies of original sin – a bizarre kind of baptism.
Pope Benedict XVI has recently asked the local priests to distance
themselves from the festival as it is dangerous and contrary to the
Catholic religion.
4
Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme
Every year in Las Nieves, Spain, people who have suffered a near
death experience in the previous year get together to attend Mass in
celebration of Saint Marta de Ribarteme, the Patron Saint of
resurrection. But here is the twist: they turn up at Mass carrying a
coffin, or being carried in a coffin. After Mass, the coffins all
proceed to the top of a nearby hill with a statue of the saint. Despite
the somberness of the event, people light fireworks and shopkeepers
fill the streets to sell religious objects.
3
Goose Clubbing Festival
Until recently, an annual festival was held in Germany in which a
goose was tied by its feet to a post and then clubbed by the local men
until its head came off. As a result of complaints from animal rights
activists, the festival-goers now hit a goose which has previously been
killed. A very similar event occurs in Spain (surprise surprise) every
year in which a man hangs from the goose until the head comes off.
Again the goose is killed prior to the event which dates back 350 years.
The Spanish festival is called Antzar Eguna.
2
Kanamara Matsuri
Every year in spring, the festival of Kanamara Matsuri (The Steel
Phallus) is held in Kawasaki, Japan. It is a Shinto fertility festival
and, as you would expect, it involves a rather large penis statue.
During the festival, people can buy candies, vegetables, and gifts in
the shape of a phallus. The festival was very popular amongst
prostitutes who thought that participation would help to prevent them
getting sexually transmitted diseases.
1
Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival (celebrated mostly by Tamils) held in
January/February each year to celebrate the birth of Murugan (the son of
gods Shiva and Parvati). The participants shave their heads and
perform a pilgrimage, at the end of which they shove very sharp skewers
through their tongues or cheeks. Some of the practitioners put hooks
into their back and pull heavy objects like tractors. The aim is to
cause as much pain as possible – the more you endure, the more
“blessings” you receive from the gods. The festival is popular in
India, but the largest celebrations take place in Singapore and
Malaysia, where it is a public holiday.
Source : listverse
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