India is known as the land of festivals. And the official festival season in the country has begun. With a string of upcoming ones that will be celebrated over the next three to four months, there is a general air of excitement and happiness.
While we know of the world celebrating Diwali, Christmas, and even Holi, a few holidays and festivals in the world are unique and unheard of. Some are spent lighting fireworks, decorating homes, and making assortments, while some have a different significance altogether.
Let’s check some interesting ones:
1. Night of The Radishes, Mexico
We all have been a part of Halloween once, where carved pumpkins are a staple. But this festival celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico, has people picking up radishes and carving them into different scenes and objects.
It is celebrated on 23rd December every year.
2. Melon Day, Turkmenistan
The people of Turkmenistan celebrate the second Sunday of every August as Melon Day, honoring the fruit. The Turkmenbashi, a type of muskmelon is extremely popular and the festival aims to spread awareness regarding the fruit’s intake and its advantages of having them.
3. Mud Festival, South Korea
If one doesn’t mind getting muddy from top to toe, the Mud Festival in South Korea is your place to be in July. With activities ranging from mud-wrestling to zip-lining, thousands of people from around the world flock here for the muddy delight.
4. Giant Lantern Festival, The Phillippines
With lanterns as huge as 40 feet in diameter and 4000 light bulbs in tow, this Filipino festival is one to watch out for.
Held every year on the Saturday prior to Christmas, the festival is a competition of parols-huge decorative lanterns. Mostly made in the shape of a star, they represent the star that led the three wise men to Jesus.
5. Inti Raymi, Peru
Known as the Sun Festival, Inti Raymi is a traditional religious holiday celebrated on June 24th, the winter solstice.
A man is chosen to portray an emperor and is carried on a golden throne to Sacsayhuamán. There he asks for the sun’s blessings for the new months ahead.
The festival is one of Peru’s biggest attractions every year, with a lot of partying, celebration, and color on display.
6. Cheung Chau Bun Festival, China
Held on the Cheung Chau island of Hong Kong, the day marks the eighth day of the fourth month on the Chinese calendar, around the same time as Buddha’s birthday.
The festival is a huge demonstration of Chinese culture, especially showing off a humungous display of buns! Kwok Kam Kee is the official bun supplier of the festival, making over 60,000 buns for the festival each year.
Celebrations include dragon and lion dances along with a parade of floats in which some children dress up as important Chinese figures and are suspended above the crowd using steel frames, looking like they are floating.
7. Santa Run, Wales
This is exactly how it sounds.
Around 5000 people, all dressed up as Santa run a long-distance run, of approx. 7 km. This is organized by charity, and all proceeds go into gifting the needy with Christmas gifts.
Sources:
https://blog.theclymb.com/out-there/8-unique-holiday-celebrations-around-world/
27 Interesting Holidays and Celebrations From Around the World
