Festivals are very important to mankind because festivals bring us the feeling of togetherness and unity. Every culture in the world has its own traditions and beliefs that give rise to new thinking and new ideologies which finally evolve into new kind of festivals that people commonly believe and participate in. Though some festivals are really quiet some are really noisy because it involves a lot of people from different parts of the world and when it comes to festivals people are always ready to take a day off at work and participate in the festival to make the most out of the time they have. Let’s checkout some of the most bizarre festivals that people celebrate in different parts of the world.

Thaipusam

If we are talking about bizarre, than nothing is more bizarre than this festival that is celebrated in the southern part of India. Thaipusam is equally popular in Singapore and Malaysia but the level at which it is celebrate in South India is beyond imagination. Thaipusam is a Hindu festival which is celebrated by Tamil community on a full moon day in the month of January or February. The literal meaning of the word Thaipusam means Star at the highest point and the festival is celebrated because on this very day Goddess Parvati gave Murugan a spear so that he can defeat the evil demon Soorapadman. The festival begins where devotees clean themselves by having a bath. They spend most of their time in prayers and prefer to fast that day. Devotees even shave their head and carry kavadi on their head as a symbol of burden. However, mortification of flesh is the main attraction of this festival. It is believed that the greater pain you can endure the greater you will be blessed by the God and therefore devotees pierce their mouth, tongue, cheeks, chest, stomach, and backs with sharp skews and try to pull heavy tractors with the hooks pierced in their body. If you are a faint hearted please stay away from it.

La Tomatina

Do you like tomatoes? Well, if you do than come to Spain and enjoy this bizarre food fight festival better known as La Tomatina. The festival happens on the last Wednesday of August and thousands of people take to the streets and throw tomatoes at each other. Many international tourists also love to participate in this festival and therefore Spain receives a lot of international visitors in August. If you want to join in make sure you don’t wear anything except your undergarments because people will throw tons of tomatoes at each other so that every single person is drenched in tomato pulp. The festival goes on for a week and shopkeepers prefer to wrap up their shops with plastic sheets in order to avoid dirty mess. Women normally wear white dress and men prefer to wear no shirts when they enter this massive tomato battle.

Kanamara Matsuri

Let’s go back to another Asian festival and this one is in Japan. Kanamara Matsuri is an annual Shinto fertility festival where people create giant penis illustrations from every possible object. People worship huge penis idols during the festival because as per the Japanese culture penis stands as a symbol of fertility which is a gateway to the next generation. Normally the festival is celebrated on first Sunday of April but the dates vary as per the Japanese calendar. People prefer to make penis illustrations from various objects like candles, candy, decorations, and vegetables and have a parade throughout the city. Prostitutes offer and pray before these giant penis objects as a way to safeguard themselves from various sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS.

Cheese Rolling and Wake

This festival does not only sound bizarre but stupid as well because there are hundreds of people running behind a single piece of cheese, give me a break.  The Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake is celebrated in Gloucester, United Kingdom. The event takes place on Cooper Hill and thousands of people gather here to watch and participate in the event. The event is very simple where a cheese is rolled from a hill top and participants have to chase it and get it before it reaches the foot of the hill. The tradition is almost 200 years old but now people are very much against it because of the injuries that participants have to bear. Due to safety concerns UK government has cancelled the 2010 Cheese Rolling festival.

Hadaka Matsuri

Another Japanese festival is among the bizarre festivals in the world and this time it is Hadaka Matsuri. The festival is all about getting naked in the public and therefore thousands of men from all over Japan come on the street of their city naked. Well, most of them try to at least wrap a piece of loin cloth around their organs but the festival is almost 500 years old and it is believed in Japan than a man without clothes have more potential to absorb bad evils and omens and anybody that touches the naked man is free from all bad spirits and evils haunting him.

El Colacho

El Colacho is also known as The Devil’s Jump and it is celebrated in Spain where people place their small just born or few months old babies on a mattress and people jump over it. The festival takes place on the streets and therefore anybody who wants to participate can jump over this mattress. Many social activists find this festival dangerous and offensive because it could hurt the babies if the man jumping loses his control but Spanish people believe that it drives off all the sins of their previous life and guard babies against illness and evil spirit.

Boryeong Mud Festival

This one is real muddy festival and if you don’t like to get dirty than stay away from this one because this mud festival in South Korea is all about messing up the people with Boryeong mud which is considered to be very effective for any skin problems. Many international visitors who had skin problems found that they benefited by participating in such festivals, isn’t that bizarre?