20 World Wide Whacky Celebrations.


by Wendy Stenberg-Tendys Dr. - Date: 2008-11-07 - Word Count: 844 Share This!

Celebrations and traditions hold a special place in anation. It is a time of national solidarity when the general community andfamilies come together and forget the day to day grind and celebrates aholiday, for a particular purpose. It is a way of expressing the very heart ofthe nation and a time for the people to express themselves.

Besides the national festivals and celebrations, many placesenjoy some whacky celebrations. Here are just 20 whacky festivals:

·       You can run with the bulls in Pamplona, 

·       Or race bulls in Madura. Either contest is apublic bone crunching, horn-goring festival.

·       If you want something quieter, trip over to Alice Springs in the dry heart of Australia.There you will find the Todd Regatta in a riverbed that normally has no water.The boats are bottomless and without paddles, or motors. They are usuallyconstructed from beer cans, which have been eagerly emptied by the boatbuilders. The teams run up the riverbed with their feet sticking out of thebottom of their boats. In 1993 the race was cancelled owing to the threat of aonce in a blue moon rain storm.

·       Coopers's Hill in Gloucester England is thescene of a whacky contest where the contestants somersault, chase, roll andtumble after a wheel of cheese down a ridiculously steep hill. First aid peoplemust stand by as the result is numerous broken bones, sprains and bruises. Noone has ever been able to catch up with the cheese however whoever gets downthe hill first is allowed to keep the giant wheel of cheese.

·       In Greater Manchester UKthey throw black puddings

·       While the Scots are legendary in their abilityto throw large items.

·       The cheese-chasing feat is less daunting thanwhen horses and riders race down a 69 meter slope with a 62 degree angle, knownas Suicide Hill in Washington.

·       In the UKand Finlandthere are mobile phone throwing championships,

·       While in Wisconsin State, USA, there is a championdry cow pad (manure) throwing contest.

·       If you prefer it hot, Finlandis the place for you to compete in the Sauna Bathing Championships. Every 30seconds the heat is turned up, but the contestants must keep their naked bumsfirmly on the wooden seat, while remaining seated in an upright position. Thelast person left in the sauna is the winner.

·       Every August thousands of Spaniards take part inthe La Tomatina festival in Bunol. Truckloads of tomatoes are pulled in eachyear and dumped in the city centre. The people throw tomatoes at each other forthe whole day, but the only rule is that the tomato must be flattened in thehand first, before being thrown. Even elderly grandmothers have been known totake part.

·       In Kawasakithere is a festival where the men carry 12 foot phallus and the women two footversions. No one is quite sure what this festival celebrates.

·       There is a Boryeong Mud Festival on the EastCoast of Korea for fully clad contestants

·       While Francehas a yearly International Contemporary Mime Festival.

·       In Vanuatuthere is the annual land dive on the tropical island of Pentecost to celebrate the endof the yam harvest. The virile young men of the village dive off a 30 metershigh, very rickety looking tower, using home-made vines. The aim is to lettheir shoulders (or heads) brush the ground.  All this in order for the next yamharvest to be a good one. The English Queen Elizabeth witnessed the death ofone of the participants in 1976.

·       In the Rocky Mountainsthere is an annual ball where daughters pledge their purity to their dads. Somedo not even permit a kiss before their wedding day and many never dance withanyone other than their father or brothers. Tough luck on all the single guysof the area.

·       Japanhosts the Naked Festival. All male contestants are dressed in oversize diapersand parade through the winter streets. Bystanders throw cold water over thecontestants, who drink copious amounts of sake in an effort to stop fromfreezing.

Many people take their national holidays with them when theyemigrate. Some celebrations have become so popular, they have been adoptedoutside the immigrant community, by the host country. It is sometimes difficultto assess the origin of a celebration.

·        Easter and Christmas which originated in the Middle East have become worldwide celebrations handed down through thechurches and adopted by commerce.

·        The Munich Beer Festival is also one suchcelebration. Numerous countries now lay claim to their own beer festival

·        Halloween was Irish in its origin. Now many countriesaround the world celebrate Halloween, particularly the United States of America

Other celebrations remain more localized to a particularcommunity inside the host country.

·        Melbourne Cup Race Day is celebrated byAustralians, no matter what country they live in.

·        Thanksgiving is an American harvest festival.Americans all over the world, stop to celebrate this festival.

·        While Chinese New Year is limited to the Chinesepopulation in a country, there are many countries around the globe where it iscelebrated.

While some say festivals express something about the peoplewho celebrate them, I wonder! It is important however, as a universal communitywe respect without censure, how and what others choose to celebrate. Eachfestival meets a particular need in the individuals of that nation and becomesan integral part of a way of life. Maybe you can come up with some whackycelebration of your own.

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