20 World Wide Whacky Celebrations.

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

Besides the national festivals and celebrations, many places enjoy 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 a public 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 usually constructed from beer cans, which have been eagerly emptied by the boat builders. The teams run up the riverbed with their feet sticking out of the bottom of their boats. In 1993 the race was cancelled owing to the threat of a once in a blue moon rain storm.

·        Coopers's Hill in Gloucester England is the scene of a whacky contest where the contestants somersault, chase, roll and tumble after a wheel of cheese down a ridiculously steep hill. First aid people must stand by as the result is numerous broken bones, sprains and bruises. No one has ever been able to catch up with the cheese however whoever gets down the hill first is allowed to keep the giant wheel of cheese.

·        In Greater Manchester UK they throw black puddings

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

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

·        In the UK and Finland there are mobile phone throwing championships,

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

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

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

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

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

·        While France has a yearly International Contemporary Mime Festival.

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

·        In the Rocky Mountains there is an annual ball where daughters pledge their purity to their dads. Some do not even permit a kiss before their wedding day and many never dance with anyone other than their father or brothers. Tough luck on all the single guys of the area.

·        Japan hosts the Naked Festival. All male contestants are dressed in oversize diapers and parade through the winter streets. Bystanders throw cold water over the contestants, who drink copious amounts of sake in an effort to stop from freezing.

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

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

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

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

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

·         Melbourne Cup Race Day is celebrated by Australians, 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 Chinese population in a country, there are many countries around the globe where it is celebrated.

While some say festivals express something about the people who celebrate them, I wonder! It is important however, as a universal community we respect without censure, how and what others choose to celebrate. Each festival meets a particular need in the individuals of that nation and becomes an integral part of a way of life. Maybe you can come up with some whacky celebration of your own.