Celebration traditions: who needs a reason to celebrate, right? Well, while there is no need for a special motif in the case of a small party amongst friends, you would think that you need some reasoning behind a yearly celebrated festival. Not necessarily. We have compiled a list of the world’s most unusual festivals. While all of them have a theme, understanding why someone would come up with such an idea for a celebration is beyond us, similar to our insane coverage of what to know about Japan before going.
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Let’s take a look.
No. 6: Celebrating the Male Genitals, Japan and Greece
The people of Kawasaki, Japan and Lerissa, Greece, like to show their appreciation of the male genitals each year through a festival. Everything featured in these unique and unusual festivals is phallus-shaped or themed. It is somewhat unclear how these celebrations started out in the first place, but the locals do seem to enjoy themselves.
No. 5: Baby Blessings – With A Twist, Spain
While there’s nothing unusual about the celebration that goes along with blessing a baby, the Spanish have been rather inventive in this department. The locals of Castrillo de Murcia have been engaged in a centuries old festival which involves lying the babies down on a mattress while a man dressed in a devil costume jumps over them. Supposedly, this is meant to cleanse the babies of sin and ensure their good health and luck in life.
See the rest of the world’s most mind-boggling celebration traditions on the following pages:
No. 4: Food Throwing Celebrations, Italy and Spain
The Spaniards and the Italians definitely bring new meaning to the term “food throwing”, as both countries have created festivals revolving around this habit. In Italy, we have the Ivrea Orange Festival while in Spain we find La Tomatina, a tomato throwing competition. Also in Spain, you can find yourself in the midst of a wine war. Each year, the locals of Horo arm themselves with a barrel of wine and prepare for battle.
No. 3: The Naked Festival, Japan
The Naked Festival, or the Hadaka Matsuri as the locals call it, involves thousands of men running on the streets with only a loincloth covering them, trying to touch a naked man, supposedly for good luck. Even though the festival has a spiritual significance what we don’t understand is why you would hold in the January, when it is as cold as it can get.
No. 2: The Monkey Swedish Buffet, Thailand
Monkeys are entitled to have their own celebration as well, right? The locals in a small province in Thailand, Lopburi, go to extreme lengths each year to show their appreciation of the primates. Impressive amounts of fruit and vegetables are laid out for the monkeys to feast themselves. As you can imagine, the entire scene is pretty chaotic, with all the monkeys running around gulping down chunks of food.
No. 1: The Fish Swallowing Celebration, Belgium
What’s so unusual about a festival revolving around eating fish, you might ask? Well, these particular fish are still alive when swollen. But they are soaked in wine, so that should make them go down easier. The festival is held on the last Sunday of February in a small Belgium town, as part of a bigger celebration where residents commemorate an unsuccessful siege.
