sixteen of the world's strangest festivals in a world rich with culture
there are countless traditions and festivals that we have yet to experience
from Scandinavia to the depths of Asia we explore the world's weirdest
festivals that people partake in annually though they may seem bizarre
they're part of what makes the given culture distinct each tradition is
linked to a deep history that is preserved with the festival's coming
alive each year today we explore these unique and eye-opening festivals that
are bound to be added to your bucket list in life but first before we begin
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ah culture expression tradition sure these next couple festivals might be
weird bizarre or strange but they showcase such a beautiful bout of
diversity and culture that we can't slight them in the least look upon these
next few traditions dear viewer and rejoice and maybe add a couple of these
odd festivals to your bucket list heck why not try them all out number one la
tomatina Spain first we look at a bizarre festival from the Spanish
culture which is sure to leave a stain and a splat the world's biggest food
fight is in banyoles Spain where thousands of people gathered to launch
squash tomatoes at one another the rules ensure that it's a respectful
environment where nobody gets hurt we have to wonder if the whole town is
colored red afterward but we think we know the answer number two Burning Man
USA the next weird festival comes from right in our backyard a strange
occurrence that's American as a festival can be for eight days in the Black Rock
Desert people gather to enjoy a festival of art freedom and self-reliance in this
spiritual experience people forget about their everyday living and form a new and
developed society of fresh principles and values
anecdotes told to us by those who have been we've heard of such strange
traditions from parachuting in every year to trading water for illicit
substances far out dude number three battle of the oranges Italy
much like the Spanish this strange and bizarre celebration of Italian culture
involves pegging each other with food in Avera Italy it's a food fight that
involves chucking oranges at opposing teams the winning team is decided by a
judge and ultimately honored by the town helmets are required as oranges become a
safety hazard same as Spain is the whole town colored orange after this big
battle only those that participate no number for Day of Silence Bali this
traditional Indonesian festival is less weird and more of a showcase of the
culture from which it originates the island of Bali welcomes the new year
with peace and calmness fire travel and entertainment are forbidden traffic and
electricity are shut down for 24 hours to allow self-reflection and meditation
number 5 monkey buffet festival Thailand this festival is fairly odd at least it
sounds pretty odd we're from North America so it's safe to say we don't
encounter a lot of wild monkeys however we were under the impression we weren't
supposed to feed them despite that in Thailand during the monkey buffet
festival 4000 kilos of dishes are served at the temple for thousands of monkeys
this is to honor them as they are said to bring good luck the city of monkeys
ensures each monkey is fed and treated well number 6
el calico baby jumping festival space ah yes he had another odd tradition from
Spain seems things get pretty boring in la piel de toro no we're just kidding
but get a load of this strange Spanish festival the Spanish village of
castrillo de Marika gathers each year where men dressed as Devils jump over 1
year old babies a ritual to protect them from bad luck and rid them of sin we can
only pray that none of these men mess up deals meal number 7 Thai possum the
Hindu piercing festival this Hindu tradition sounds like it hurts but
really who are we to judge and you know the old saying don't knock it until you
try it nevertheless in Malaysia and Singapore Hindus pierced their whole
bodies to show devotion to religion and cleanse their sins more than 1 million
people take part annually number 8 Pikachu festival Japan we remember a
time when Pokemon was all the rage kids used to trade cards in the playgrounds
except the energy cards nobody needed those and we used to compare who had the
coolest Pokemon it seems the Japanese never got over
this fad as every year they take part in a tradition called the Pikachu festival
the famous anime cartoon character is the subject of a parade where over 1,000
performers take the streets dressed as Pikachu fans show their devotion every
year in Yokohama Japan number 9 for young mud festival Korea ever seen mud
wrestling have you ever thought to yourself what a lowly rednecks sport I
would never be caught dead doing something so filthy
well first lighten up and second you must not be Korean attracting the
largest amount of international visitors as far as Korean festivals this mud
mania includes obstacles slides wrestling and even a mud bath all coming
together for an electric atmosphere number 10 the Songkran festival Thailand
alright remember when we went back to the days when Pokemon was all the rage
it was like two points ago come on keep up
anyway those were also the days when we'd have huge water gunfights in the
summer we remember turning from kids to elite water gun warriors sneaking
through the jungles and using tactics to gain the upper hand on the enemy well if
that all sounds fun then you should try all that but ride on an elephant ladies
and gentlemen welcome to the world's biggest water gun fight during the
Songkran festival the entire country of Thailand aims super-soakers at each
other to bring in the new year some even using buckets or elephants yes
you heard that right elephants is it cheating if the elephant
sprays you with its trunk number eleven festival of Holi India have you ever
been to a paint party maybe a club where you danced all night and smear each
other with paint if any of what we just said appeals to you maybe check out the
festival of Holi in India the people of India are engulfed with colored powder
to celebrate the triumph of good over evil the festival of colours involves
smearing and throwing an array of colors creating an inviting atmosphere for all
ages yes that means you too you're an age aren't you number twelve
wife-carrying World Championships Finland we were confused when we heard
this title - but turns out the tradition follows the name - a team the husbands
of Finland compete in a wife carrying competition where they carry them over
253 metres there are obstacles along the way such as an ice pool a true test of
marital bonds number 13 Kanna Mara Matsuri festival Japan children avert
your eyes because this one is about to get dirty it's the wacky Japanese again
with their strange tradition honoring everything phallic there are wieners
shaped lollipops Wiener shaped glasses giant Wiener shaped statues the wieners
are endless why Japan would do a festival honoring wieners is beyond us
but then again most of what Japan does goes over our head number 14 air guitar
world championships Finland ever get down on yourself because you want to be
a rock star but a really musically challenged are you so unable to play an
instrument that even if you had to save your life you still wouldn't be able to
don't worry Finland has you covered every year in
August the people of Finland gather together to rock out just songs
instruments the organizers state that the event is to promote world peace even
going as far as to say according to the ideology of the air guitar wars would
end climate change would stop and all bad things disappear if all the people
in the world played the air guitar that's definitely a good sentiment
number 15 world bog snorkeling championships LAN worded Wells Wales
alright so we're going to leave Finland and Japan alone for a while and instead
focus on this frankly kind of gross festival in Wales apparently every
August the people of LAN worded Wells in Wales will gather together for the world
bog snorkeling championships this is a tradition in which competitors armed
with snorkeling gear compete to see who can make it through a 120 yard peat bog
the fastest the event has been described as intense hmm this is one thing you
definitely couldn't do in Florida the snake and alligator related deaths would
be through the roof number 16 international hair freezing contest
Yukon Canada ah yes good old Canada home of maple syrup
hockey and free health care it's also the home of brutal unforgiving winters
that make you wish for summer to return after this festival is done at least if
you head up to the Yukon one of Canada's territories during March you'll be able
to compete in the International hair freezing contest it's pretty much what
the name implies you freeze your hair into strange bizarre and odd shapes
and we assume you're judged based on wackiness the competitors of this
competition are described as fierce fighters and that's just as well because
what the heck else are you supposed to do in the Yukon and that's it are there
any festivals we forgot got a cool festival story you want to share let us
know in the comments section below all about your crazy festival
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