Weird and Other Holidays From Around The World In Different Countries

Why I want to talk about holidays or more than holidays when out there, there are more funny stuff or events that happening which we never know or heard before. Things that never come a cross our mind. Yeah! why not share about weird holidays that occur almost everyday around the world . Many of these holidays are considered fairly fun and light hearted or have religious aspects of faith attached to the celebration but some of them can be down right weird holidays if we explore them a bit further. Yeah! why not take a look at eight (8) weird holidays that occur around the world.

3 Things Why I Creates This.

• First, Not many people can afford traveling to different parts of the world just to see these events.

• Second, We don't have to go there to see it even though it will be extra bonus if we can go there and see for ourselves.

• Third, Learn to appreciate the many different cultures. Not to condemn or to judge but learn to accept, to enlarge our understanding about others. They maybe different from us in terms of languages, cultures or tradition but wherever we are, we must learn to accept/live together.

La Tomatina

Yeah! as you guess it, it is the biggest food fight in the world. Its normally occurs each August in Spain. La Tomatina can be consider as one of weird holidays that ever happen in Spain. La Tomatina involves throwing, smacking, tossing and barraging friends and strangers alike with overripe tomatoes, Oops! Did I say overripe Tomatoes? Yup, that's right with overripe Tomatoes, in the streets of the town of Bunol. It takes about a week-long holidays or festival where everyone enjoy themselves with food fight. The Apex or climax of this event is when some climbing a greased pole to retrieve the ham set on top.. There are rules involved but in truth, it is every man for himself. After two hours or so of a tomato throwing and bombardment, fire-fighters clean the crowds and streets down by spraying gallons of water over the tomato covered participant. How this holidays/festivals started no one knows exactly. But is said to honor the town's patron saint. 

Another events that also occurs in Spain, The Pamplona Bull running. The purpose of the bull running is to transfer bulls from Santo Domingo through walled-off streets of Spain to the Bull ring where matadors will later fight the bull for victorious glory. Lots of people will be crowded and join in participate as a runners who will sign up in advance for an exceptionally dangerous event of racing ahead of bulls in the hopes of avoiding injury along the way. This sheer luck or purely crazy. The popularity of this weird holiday of such kind has reduced safety and increased danger. Possible death and injuries could likely happen. The risk is there.

Ivrea Carnaval

To rival La Tomatina, Italy has a food throwing event of its own. The town of Ivrea battles things out with oranges, replicating a battle held in 1194 that begin with a brave maiden slicing off the head of the town's count. The count made it his duty to sleep with every new bride but the weird holiday gives more of a nod to the heroin than the villain. Violetta, the married, revolted against the count's right of the first night and decapitated him with a sword to save her pride and fidelity. She then waved the count's head about and set fire to his castle. The result of Violetta's actions was a revolt of stone throwing townspeople against the count's troops.  The oranges used in the modern day re-enactment of the battle are the excess of Italy's production quota. The good townspeople of Ivrea help the European Economic Community maintain orange prices by destroying the excess.

"The Songkran Festival"

This Weird Festival or holidays started with massive water fight where people throw water at each other including shoot at strangers with water guns. Whereas in Spain and Italy, people made messed with each other by throwing/toss tomatoes or oranges, in Thailand, this festival are called "Songkran" which is the Thai New Year celebrations. This act of throwing water to people or strangers or companion can be considered a kindly act or good gestures during Songkran. It is a sign of respect dating back to tradtional New Year celebrations. Bear in mine also, in Thailand in the month of August temperatures can reach well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it kinda refreshing to be splash with water since it will be very hot at that time. Phew!

Coming next, another weird holidays, "Semana Santa" (or Holy Week) revolve around re-enacting the death of Jesus Christ by whipping and crucifying a live human being around the Catholic holiday of Easter. These 150 year old celebration cannot be missed by thousand of spectators in and around surrounding areas. Bear in mind, for certain individuals or person, this events like crucifixion is not strange to them but is a great honor to be whipped and crucified. While others consider using live person to re-enact in details the scene can be painful and cruel. How bizarre this weird holiday it can be, it depends on whom you consult with and to which level of celebration you are referring to. whatever it is, people treated this holiday as a wonderful event.

Puck Fair

In Ireland, there is a holiday celebration of honoring someone or somebody. But in this old kind of tradition, this honoring centered on a goat. What a goat? Yes, that's right. An animal been chosen to be given an auspicious honor. Ireland's oldest fair is called Puck Fair and is held every year in Kilorglin. This weird holidays celebrated out of respect of a beast that centuries ago escaped from a herd and therefore alerted villagers of impending raid and pilage.  How this event started was not certain. The crown King Puck lasted for 3 glorious days and after that the town went back to normal routine.    

Hadaka Matsuri

This events in Japan is been celebrated with large group of men stripped down to loincloths. These naked man went public that take them to the street in the middle of frigid January in a rite of purification. There so many forms of rituals throughout the month in which Hadaka Matsuri holidays in Japan. Some involve drinking copious amounts of sake, removing all clothing and passing on evil as well as gaining good luck by touching a man designated the scapegoat of the year. While men in loincloths will jump into a mud puddle together and attempt to mark up everyone with the dirt. Others will douse themselves with cold water. This events normally separates the men from the boys

Now talking about celebration, this weird holidays that we gonna talk about will be kinda offenses to people especially outside Japan and its culture. But in this so called japan society, it is honor to be involve with such intense celebration. This events mostly representing abundance, fertility and prosperity. It certainly raises a few eyesbrows, as penis worship is the main perception taken from this weird holiday. The main venue this events take place in Komaki, north of Nagoya City. An immense wooded phallus is given place of honor and paraded around the streets while Shinto priests play music. The Phalluses paraded are very much symbolic and the holiday is one of the honor and respect.

The largest tug-of-war festival in the world can sometimes seem like a scene out of Gulliver's Travels, what which its massive rope and the correspondingly Lilliputian sized humans crawling around it. The rope itself (which measures 196 meters in length, 1,56 meters in diameter and 40 tons in weight) is so big that, for people to grab on, it has smaller ropes extending from the main body. The competition lasts for 30 minutes and the winning side is the one which has pulled the other team a total of 30 meters.

In all these samplings of what some might consider weird holidays, the important things to remember is that those who believe in the origins of the celebrations or purpose of the ceremonies and events do not think the holidays in question strange at all. What is bizarre is often a matter of perception alone or dependant on each individuals and beliefs.