World Wide Unique Festivals

For me if I am looking at going somewhere, I want to know what they are celebrating around the time frame that I am headed there. That way I know if the city will be quiet or if there is something I cannot miss while in town.

Gilroy Garlic Festival

California, USA - July

This festival is the largest festival in California and if you love garlic, it's the place to be.

Noche de los Rabanos - Night of the Radishes

Oaxaca, Mexico - December

Local radishes are brown to monstrous proportions specifically for this festival as local artists then carve/sculpt them into historical scenes.

International Hair Freezing Contest

Yukon, Canada - March

The name explains this contest perfectly - people freeze their hair in weird shapes, using just water and the frigid Canadian air.

Dia los Muertos - Day of the Dead Festival

Mexico - November

The day is focused on family gatherings in remembrance of those who have passed away.

Floating Lantern Festival

Hawaii - May

This annual festival sees 40,000 people gather to release lanterns into the water that honour loved ones and symbolize hope for the future.

Moose Dropping Festival

Talkeetna, Alaska

Using poop from the states animal - the moose- people get into hot air balloons and drop the poop onto targets from the air.

Frozen Dead Guy Days

Nederland, Colorado

In the 80's a local brought his grandfather to the US and kept him cryogenically frozen in his backyard shed. Over the years a festival has grown up around this and now you can enjoy coffin races, a slow-mo parade, and a frozen dead guy lookalike contest.

The Redneck Games

Atlanta

After being called a “bunch of rednecks holding a sporting event” by local media, some of the locals decided to embrace this by creating the annual games which include toilet seat throwing, hubcap hurling, and the armpit serenade.

Underwater Music Festival

Florida, USA - July

Divers, snorkelers and musicians dressed in whimsical nautical costumes come together to mime along to music using specially sculpted underwater musical instruments.

Mud Festival

Boryeong, South Korea - July

This annual festival is one big party with music, inflatables, zip-lining, and a whole host of mud-related activities such as mud wrestling and mud fireworks. Fun fact: this festival started by a local cosmetic producer to market their mineral rich mud products.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival

Cheung Chau, Hong Kong - May

Image towers of sweet buns up to 60 feet high line the streets leading up to race day just for race day to come and watch the competitors climb up the towers, grabbing as many buns as possible in the process.

Kanamara Matsuri Festival

Japan - usually the first Sunday in April

This Shinto religious festival is dedicated to all things phallic. "The legend being that a jealous sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman the demon fell in love with and bit off penises of two young men on their wedding nights. After that the woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, which led to the enshrinement of the item." Enjoy items like shaped lollipops, novelty penis glasses, giant penis statues, vegetable carving workshops, paintings, and more all centered around a penis-venerating shrine which prostitutes would pray for protection from STD's to and now is said to offer divine protections for business prosperity, and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony.

Lopburi Monkey Banquet

Lopburi, Thailand - November

Don't like monkey's? Then stay away as 3,000 monkeys will be attending the "wildest dinner party" where they will be feasting on fruits and vegetables, ice cream and other foods. The monkeys are believed to be decedents of the monkey deity Hanuman and are tokens of good fortune. Some people say that they just do it for tourists and there is no meaning....

Hadaka Matsuri - Naked Festival

Japan - Third Saturday in February

Leave it to the Japanese. This fairly sacred festival features a bunch of guys running around in fundoshi (loincloth) and can be traced back hundreds of years. This annual event that is said to gain the participator good luck for the entire year takes place through our the country but the most famous one is at Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri held at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama.

Konaki Sumo - Sumo of Tears

Japan - April, September, October, and February

Enjoy Sumo wrestling and babies? This is the festival for you! Various temples hold these crying sumo's throughout the year. The goal is to get the baby to cry. If both cry then the loudest crier is the winner. This 400-year old tradition is meant to be a time to pray for the baby's health as the louder the baby cries the more gods' blessings they will get.

Holi - Festival of Colours

India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan - March

This ancient Hindu festival is usually started the night before Holi with Holika Dahan where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil be destroyed the way Holika (the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu) was killed in the fire. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi – a free-for-all festival of colours, where people smear / cover each other in colour.

The Thaipuism - Festival of Piercing

Southern India / Sri Lanka - January or February

The Tamil community of Sri Lanka and India celebrate this Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Murugan (the god of war) on the full moon in January or February. During this festival, devotees will pierce different parts of their body with silver skewers and/or take on other physical burdens to prove their dedication like by pulling tractors with the hooks in their skin.

The Songkran festival

Thailand - April

To celebrate New Year, the world’s largest water gun fight breaks out across Thailand. You are allowed to use to water guns, buckets, and even elephants.

Muharram Mourning

India & Islamic Countries - August/September to September/October

This very important period of mourning in the Shi'a branch of Islam and takes place during the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is to celebrate the death of Muhammad's grandson Hussain who was killed along with 72 warriors at the Battle of Karbala. During this annual festival people go on mourning processions to remember their sacrifice and whip themselves using chains to honour the sacrifice.

Nag Panchami - Snake Worshipping

India, rural areas and some temples - July / August

During the festival, people dance to the music while carrying snakes (even Cobra's) in pots on top of their head in a procession towards the temple. After chants and prayers, the snakes are sprinkled with a mixture of turmeric and red powder. They are then offered a mix of honey and milk before being released into the temple courtyard. Even though some of the most venomous snakes are used in the ritual snake bites are almost unheard of.

El Colacho - Baby Jumping Festival

Castrillo de Murica, Spain

This week long festival from 1620, any baby that was born in the previous 12 months is placed on a mattress in the street while all the adult men dress as the devil of the village take turns jumping over them. It is said to cleanse the babies of their original sin and ensure them safe passage through life, guarding against illness.

Goat Tossing Festival

Manganeses de la Polvorosa, Spain - fourth Sunday of January

Villagers pick a group of young men find a goat, ties it up, and then throws it from the top of the church belfry to be by villagers on the ground. Since 2004 using live goats have been banned so toy goats are not used.

Burning Tar Barrel Festival

Devon, England - November 5 "Guy Fawkes Night"

As soon as the sun goes down barrels of tar are lit and placed upon the back of a carrier. When he can bear it no more he’ll hand off the load to the next willing soul and so and so forth.

La Tomatina

Bunyol, Spain - August or September

Over the course of about 1 hour, the town gets so covered in tomatoes that the fire department has to come in and spray everything down afterwards.

Batalla del Vino Haro

Spain - June

Wine-based competitions with the main event is the Battle of Wine, which is like La Tomatina but with wine.

Kaljakellunta - Beer Floating

Just outside Helsinki, Finland - August

This annual (unofficial) festival has people trying to float down a river of beer in a makeshift raft.

World Toe Wrestling Championships

Ashbourne, UK - August

just like arm wrestling but with feet - toe Wrestling involves two people sitting across from each other with their toes interlocked and ready for battle.

Up-Helly Aa

Lerwick, St Ninian’s Isle, Shetland Islands, Scotland - January

Europe’s biggest fire festival celebrates the end of the Yule season with local men dressing up as Vikings and marching with blazing tourches and burning a replica of a Viking Longboat.

Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling

Cooper’s Hill, Gloucerstershire, UK - May

A large, hefty, Gouda cheese is rolled down Cooper’s Hill, with enthusiastic “cheese chasers” following hot in pursuit. If you cross the finish line at the bottom first though, you win the cheese.

World Bog Snorkelling Championships

Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales - August

People from all over the world come to see how fast they can complete a 120-yard course through a peat bog with snorkels and fins.

Goose Pulling Festival

Germany & Netherlands - Shrove Tuesday

A goose is hung from either a wire or a pole and participants take turns trying to pull its head off. These days only dead geese are allowed to be used in the festivities.

La Pourcaihade - Festival of the Pig

Trie Sur Baise, France

Enjoy sausage eating, piglet racing, best pig outfit competition, and a pig imitation contest all in one place. During the Cri do Cochon (cry of the pig) people do their best to imitate the cries and sounds of pigs throughout various stages of its life.

Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme - Near Death Festival

Las Vievas, Spain

Held annually, hundreds of people attend masses in honor of Saint Marta de Ribarteme, the Patron saint of resurrection. People will be seen being carried to the mass in coffins because they’ve just had a near death experience in the past 12 months and are now showing their gratitude.

Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race

Brawby, UK - June

The puddings featured at this festival aren’t made for eating but for racing across Bob Pond’s and to reduce sogginess, they are first coated in yacht varnish.

Air Guitar World Championships

Finland - August

This event is meant to promote world peace due to the organizers belief: “According to the ideology of the Air Guitar, wars would end, climate change stop and all bad things disappear, if all the people in the world played the Air Guitar.”

Krampusnacht

Germany - December

Krampus (a naughty elf) comes out and give bad children a lump of coal while St. Nicolas gives gifts to well-behaved children.

Busó Festival - Horned Devil Festival

Mohács, Hungary - March

This 18th century started festival involves men dressing up as horned devils and attempt to chase away the winter.

The Battle of Oranges

Ivrea, Italy - February

Every year, the city of Ivrea split into teams and recreate the 1194 revolt against the king but they use fruit instead of guns, creating Italy's biggest food fight.

The Running of the Bulls

Pamplona, Spain - July

Part of the Fiesta San Fermin and features crowds running throug the streets from bulls to the opening of the bull fighting season. The only requirements to participate are that you have to be at least 18 years old and sober.

Entroida

Laza, Spain

Annually this festival will start by people throwing muddy rags at one another while several young men will go up into the mountains and collect fire ants. After collecting dirt sacks filled with them, they bring them back to the town, douse them in vinegar to rile them up a bit, and then throw them in peoples faces as they go through the village.