When the occasion for feasting or celebration draws near most cultural perform it in style, especially a day or time of significance that recurs at regular intervals. It could be of cultural performances, exhibitions, competitions, or Revelry. Here's some of world's weird but funny festivals.
La TomatinaPerhaps the world's biggest food fight, La Tomatina is a tomato-throwing festival held in the Valencian town of Bunol on the last Wednesday of August. An estimated 150,000 tomatoes are flung at participants each year.
Though you might expect the cleanup to be laborious, all of those squashed tomatoes in the streets provide a highly effective disinfectant: The cobblestone roads are cleansed by the acidity of the tomatoes.
Wife-Carrying World ChampionshipEvery year in Sonkajarvi, Finland, men gather for one of the strangest sports events on the planet: the Wife-Carrying World Championship. Yes, this is a real competition. Men are required to carry a wife (who doesn't have to be their own wife) through an obstacle course, and the winner gets paid his wife's weight in beer.
Naki SumoThis might take the cake as the most bizarre cause for celebration in the world: Japan's Baby-Crying Sumo Contest. The "Naki Sumo" competition consists of two sumo wrestlers holding babies, trying to make their opponent's baby cry. Held at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, the contest has been an annual event for at least 400 years. That's a lot of generations of crying babies!
Moose Dropping FestivalThis festival is pretty much just what it sounds like: a celebration of moose poop. Held in Talkeetna, Alaska, the event involves collecting moose droppings, baking them in the oven (ewww!) and spraying them in varnish. The balls of excrement are then used in various competitions, such as "nugget"-tossing. Another game involves dropping the droppings on the town from a balloon, with the aim of hitting a painted target on the ground. And you thought getting hit by bird droppings was embarrassing!
International Festival of Worm CharmingYou've probably heard of snake charming, but have you heard of worm charming? Every year in May, the village of Blackawton, England, hosts the International Worm Charming Festival. Worm charming involves competitors doing whatever they need to do to get worms to come out of the ground without digging or forking.
Monkey Buffet FestivalDon't worry, the monkeys aren't in the buffet here. Rather, the buffet is for the monkeys. The Monkey Buffet Festival, held in Lopburi, Thailand, involves serving up a five-star buffet meal for local monkeys. Around 3,000 monkeys feast on almost 9,000 pounds of fruits, vegetables and cakes, elegantly laid out for them on tables and picnic blankets. Needless to say, it's a good day to be a monkey!
Cooper's Hill Cheese-RollingWhat better way to spend an evening than falling down a grassy hillside after a rolling wheel of cheese? That's the idea behind the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, England. It's a race to see who can get to the bottom of the hill the fastest. Competitors are supposed to try to catch the cheese, but that's unlikely, as the rolling wheel can reach speeds up to 70 mph, potentially injuring spectators.
World Bog Snorkeling ChampionshipYou've perhaps tried snorkeling while on vacation near a coral reef. This is not that. The World Bog Snorkelling Championship, held at the dense Waen Rhydd peat bog near Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales, involves competitors racing through a filled trench cut through a peat bog. Snorkel gear is used, but don't expect any great underwater views in the murky water.
El ColachoThis odd Spanish holiday is yet another event held at the expense of helpless infants. It involves grown men dressed up like the devil leaping over babies laying on mattresses in the street. Needless to say, the strange event is a nervous one for parents and children alike.
Yorkshire Pudding Boat RaceYes, that's a boat made out of an actual human-sized pudding. The vessels for the Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race are baked from Yorkshire's special recipe involving flour, water and eggs. Human contestants jump inside their surprisingly stable “canoes” and paddle the edible vehicles down a river. Sure, why not?
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