8 Unusual Festivals from around the World ...

Photo Credit: filmmaker in japan

Being dressed in nothing but a loincloth in January? No thanks! But I would really like to visit this Japanese festival and witness thousands of men doing so! This ritual is taking place all over Japan and is supposed to bring a sort of a purification or soul-cleansing to its participants.

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Would you let a person dressed in a devil costume try to jump over your baby? Probably not, right? Well, a lot of people certainly don’t share your fears because this baby-jumping festival has been taking place since 1620! Placing babies on a mattress and having people dressed like the devil jump over them is believed to cleanse babies from sins and is supposed to bring them good health and luck. Although this does sound interesting, I wouldn’t dare watch it.

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Very popular in Greece and Japan, fertility festivals often involve parading a giant penis around so think well before you show the holiday pictures to your elderly family members. Celebrating fertility and good harvest, these festivals are definitely a fun thing to go check out with your girl friends. So get your camera ready and be prepared to touch or even kiss the giant male genitals replica, eat a lot of phallus shaped candies or sit on the phallus shaped throne!

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If your life is lacking color you should definitely pack some old clothes and visit this one! Holi festivals takes place in the beginning of spring and, since it involves playing with both wet colors and colorful dust called gulal, I can freely say it gives the phrase “splash of colors” a very literal meaning. Be careful of what you eat and drink during the festival because it traditionally involves a feast where all the food and drinks served contain a local cannabis-like herb.

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With an orange-throwing festival happening once a year, people from Ivrea, Italy, certainly don’t need any anger management therapy. Throwing soft, ripe oranges represents the 1194 battle with Frederic Barbarossa a local historic event worth celebrating. You’ll get to practice your swing by entering the battle zone, see warriors in their traditional battle armors and experience a one of a kind medieval-style fun!

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Spanish festival called Fiesta de Santa Marta Ribarteme celebrates the ones who have managed to escape the Grim Reaper’s deadly grip. People who had a near-death experience are laid in coffins, carried around the church and in the cemetery where offers are made for Santa Marta, the patron of resurrection.

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From swapping wives to swimming in icy-cold water, Finland is definitely world’s number one country for the number of weird competitions and festivities! Want to see how tough you are? Then join their ant-nest sitting competition! This festivity involves placing your bare “rear end” on the ant nest and trying keep it there for as long as possible while the whole colony of ants takes turns in expressing their displease for ruining their home and blocking their only exit. Uhm… well… you certainly won’t see me competing!

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If you find yourself in the Spanish city Buñol in the last Wednesday of August, definitely remember not to wear your good clothes and be prepared to experience the biggest food-fight in your life! So, if Italian tradition of throwing ripe oranges isn’t exactly your idea of a good time, you still might want to consider a good ol’ fashion Spanish tomato fight.

Weird or interesting? What do you think about these unusual festivities? Would you like to visit some of these festivals and which one would that be? I know I would! But I’m not sure if I’d be prepared to participate in some of them… Would you be prepared to sit on an ant nest, touch a giant phallus or have your baby jumped over by a guy dressed like the devil?

Top Photo Credit: Montanaro Maurizio™