Here are the weirdest and most ridiculous festivals people celebrate!
11 - "The Naked Man" Festival
We're in Japan for the next stop on our tour of weird holidays.
Each year, thousands of dudes gather in places across the country wearing only a loin cloth
to take part in Hadaka Matsuri….or the naked man festival.
Naked festivals are held in dozens of places throughout Japan every year, usually in the
summer or winter.
On the surface, it may sound like a strange orgiastic ceremony, but it's actually a
fun contest where men try to earn some good luck for the upcoming year.
Fun….is that the right word?
This festival traces its roots back a half century or so and it involves a priest, some
sacred sticks, a wooden measuring box and a bunch of rice.
The priests throw the sticks into the crowd of half naked guys who then battle over them.
Whoever can manage to grab them and hoist them up into the measuring box full of rice,
is blessed with a year of happiness.
Apparently this is a spectator sport that people pay real money to observe.
So if this sounds like your cup of tea and you happen to need some luck, you may just
want to head over when it happens in a Japanese town near you.
10 - Day of the Geese
Day of the Geese, or otherwise known as "Antzar Eguna", is a competition held in the Spanish
fishing town, Lekeitio.
This festival involves trying to pull off the head of a dangling goose on a rope above
the town harbor.
This seemingly barbaric festival dates back at least few hundred years, and has been altered
to be a bit more socially acceptable.
Nowadays, a dead goose is used instead of a live one.
But anyway, the competition involves a dead goose being suspended above the water and
men drive around in boats underneath it.
The guys take turns trying to jump out of their boats and pull the goose off the rope.
But there's a catch...the goose is all greased up.
So the fellas often slide off the goose and into the water.
It's really hard to describe, but if you just watch it, you'll get the idea.
9 - Punch Your Neighbor Festival
At least for a brief period of time, the concept of "love thy neighbor" is rather obsolete
in Bolivia.
Each year, people descend upon the Bolivian city of Matcha to take part in the Tinku Festival.
Tinku roughly translates to "encounter".
Okay, so what the hell is an encounter festival?
Well this spiffy little festival traces its beginnings back to an old religious ceremony
in prehispanic Bolivia.
The whole purpose of this odd ritual was to appease the Goddess of the Earth, Pachamama.
You see, she demanded blood in order for a good harvest.
So people got together and fought to the death.
Which seems totally normal and healthy back in those days.
These days it's not nearly that intense.
The fights usually involves very little bloodshed and are monitored by the cops.
Whether it's done for the sake of tradition, or to settle some kind of feud, I don't
know, but my guess is it's not to appease the earth Goddess or whatever.
8 - Lopburi Monkey Buffet
Each year in Thailand, the people of the Lopburi Province near Bangkok gather to offer up fruit,
veggies, candy and other food items to the local monkey population.
The monkeys, who have apparently taken up residence in the ruins of a 10th century temple,
gladly accept these gifts.
The people of the province, as well as tourists from all over, gather to pile a ton of food
in front of the temples...which seems like a good deal for the 3,000 or so monkeys who
call the ancient ruins home.
The festival dates wayyyyyy back to 1989 as a scheme to attract more tourists.
If you couldn't tell, I'm BEING sarcastic.
To some degree it's worked out pretty well, as thousands of people flock to the city each
year to take part in this monkey buffet.
The Province of Lopburi has a rich history dating back more than 1,000 years.
For centuries it played a vital role in the economy and politics of Thailand.
These days though, it's better known for the temple dwelling monkeys.
Because they live so close to people, and because the locals offer up such delightful
feasts, the monkeys of this region are not startled by people at all.
In fact they have been known to playfully climb on people and snatch any food they have.
So as a quick travel tip...don't pack a picnic when visiting the monkeys unless you
plan on sharing your food.
7 - Be Nasty Day
If you're looking for a convenient way to be really mean to people, or if you're just
naturally mean spirited and don't want to be considered a jerk for at least one day,
then perhaps Be Nasty Day will be of interest to you.
Each year on March 8, it's "Be Nasty Day."
A chance to just be a douche to everyone.
Even after scouring the internet, I couldn't find much about the history of this odd holiday,
but my guess is it's a much more benign version of "The Purge."
After all, passive aggressive people need a way to air their grievances to their peers.
Whether or not you are granted any kind of social immunity is probably up to whoever
you offend on March 8th.
6 - Bean Throwing Day
Each February a Japanese ritual known as Setsubun takes place.
It's an event that marks the lunar calendar's last day before spring, and people all across
Japan go to shrines and temples and throw beans to atone for the past and to bring good
luck for the future.
Apparently, it's custom for celebrities, athletes and other well known public figures
to attend such public events while the "common folk" preform bean throwing ceremonies at
home.
Roasted soybeans are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing
a demon mask, while the people say "Demons out!
Luck in!" and slam the door.
This is still common practice in households but like the celebrities we just mentioned,
many people will attend a shrine or temple's Spring festival where this is done.
The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits
that bring misfortune and bad health with them.
Then, as part of bringing luck in, it's customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for
each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more
for bringing good luck for the year to come.
Now this is something I can get with!
5 - Krampus
Okay I know, Krampus isn't strictly a holiday, but it's a part of holiday folklore and
way too weird to leave off of this list!
As legend has it he's a fearsome creature...half goat half devil.
Feared by children in Eastern Europe, Krampus is rumored to punish boys and girls who misbehave
while good ole St. Nick gives the good children toys.
Seriously imagine for a second that you're a gullible little child and you're told
that Krampus will punish you if you misbehave.
A cross between the devil and an evil goat will punish you.
Seriously, look how weird this thing is!
So much for holiday cheer, right?
The origins and history of Krampus seem to be pretty complex.
By most estimations, he predates Christian tradition and could be derived from the Horned
God of the Witches.
His caricature was given chains when Christianity became more prevalent to symbolize the devil
being bound...or something like that.
Anyway, in parts of Europe where the legend of Krampus lives on, adults sometimes dress
up as this deranged devil-goat hybrid during parades or as a way to play practical jokes
on kids.
Let's give the Europeans some credit here, because an evil goat devil is way more scary
than a lump of coal...well played guys.
4 - Night of the Radishes
Every year, the fine residents of Oaxaca, Mexico take part in a tradition known as "The
Night of the Radishes."
This event dates back to the colonial period when the Spanish first brought radishes over
from China.
The event supposedly began one year during the 19th century when the radish harvest was
especially plentiful.
Some of the radishes just lay there, and instead of being used, they continued to grow.
They morphed into weird shapes that people thought were funny, and someone began to carve
them into even funnier shapes.
So that seemingly innocuous event evolved into a radish carving competition in 1897,
and is now an annual event held around Christmas time.
On average, about 100 contestants gather to carve elaborate designs out of radishes.
The event usually attracts a lot of visitors who can go and check out all the weird and
whacky shapes that contestants carve out of radishes.
Sadly, once the radishes are cut they can't last very long before withering away, so the
carvings only exist for a few hours or so.
3 - La Tomatina
Imagine for a second that you have a proclivity for throwing tomatoes at people just for the
hell of it.
If that describes you in anyway, then perhaps you should visit Bunol, Spain where La Tomatina
is a thing.
Each year in August people get together and engage in a friendly tomato fight.
La Tomatina began in either 1944 or 45, and those most familiar with the obscure tradition
theorize that it began when angry townspeople began hurling tomatoes at city council members.
Apparently, these angry townspeople derived a certain amount of joy from this weird display
of anger because they chose to do it again the next year, and the next year and every
year after that.
Today it's evolved into a fun loving event where people toss tomatoes at each other for
an hour or so.
Interestingly, the city square is usually covered in tomato paste after the fight and
after the fire department washes it away, the streets are completely clean thanks to
the acidity of the tomatoes.
So really, something very mean and negative turned into something fun and ironically,
sanitary.
2 - Japanese Penis Festival
"The Festival of the Steel Phallus" might sound like a weird comic with pornogrpahic
undertones, but it's totally a real thing.
Each year in Japan, people make a trek to Kawasaki to pay homage to the male sex organ.
According to a story from the BBC, this interesting tradition dates back to the 17th century when
ladies of the night would pray to the Gods and ask for protection against STDs.
In keeping with that sentiment, the festival today is meant as a fun and quirky way to
spread HIV awareness and to educate people about safe sex practices.
It's also a chance for people to get really creative with as many penis shaped things
as possible.
There're dick-shaped lollipops, penis masks, a weird penis ride of sorts and this giant
pink dick that's paraded around town.
It all sounds just a little bit insane, but hey, if it helps stop STDs, we're allll
for it!
1 - Nenana Ice Classic
Each year, the people of Nenana, Alaska take part in an interesting contest where they
buy tickets to guess the exact time when the ice on the Tanana River will break.
A wooden tripod is placed on the ice about 300 feet from the shore.
It's attached to a clock that stops as soon as the ice breaks.
The Ice Classic began as an ice betting pool in 1906 with six entries.
After word of the lottery spread to towns along the local railroad by Alaska Railroad
Commission workers, the lottery was opened up to residents of the Alaska and Yukon territories
in 1917.
In 1917, railroad engineers bet $801 on when the ice would break.
In 2009 the prize money was $283,723.
In 2014 the jackpot was a record $363,627.
Since the Classic's beginning in 1906 over 10 million dollars in prize money has been
given away.
The whole purpose of this ice contest is to raise money for charity.
Pffft, it just sounds like a bunch of degenerate gamblers who'll gamble on anything to me!
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