Reference

1) n.a (n.d). Up Helly Aa. Retrieved from         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Helly_Aa

2) n.a. (n.d) Up Helly Aa. Retrieved from http://visit.shetland.org/up-helly-aa

3) n.a. (2014) Up Helly Aa fire festival lights up Shetland. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-25917694

4) n.a. (n.d.) Battle of Oranges. Retrieved from http://wikifestivals.com/wiki/battle-oranges

5) n.a. (n.d) Thaipusam 2015. Retrieved from http://publicholidays.com.my/thaipusam/

6) n.a. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tomatina

7) n.a. (n.d.) Festival near of Death Experiences. Retrieved from http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/festivals/near-death-experiences/

8) n.a. (n.d). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_jumping

9) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Buffet_Festival

10) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from https://www.fest300.com/festivals/festival-of-near-death-experiences

11) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://festivalasia.net/festivals/Monkey-Buffet-Festival-2014.html

12) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/03/10-festivals-around-the-world-to-experience-before-you-die/battle-of-the-oranges

13) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/23/oh-baby-spains-baby-jumping-festival

14) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/23/oh-baby-spains-baby-jumping-festival

15) n.a. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/23/oh-baby-spains-baby-jumping-festival

16) n.a. ( Retrieved from http://www.fest300archive.com/festivals/la-tomatina

Bolas de Feugo

What that man is doing? Hold a fire ball with that expression. This is Nejapa tradition which is Bolas de Feugo that celebrated same with our nation day which is 31st August every year at Nejapa, El Salvador.

Once upon a time, people that live at Nejapa were surrounded with eruption of nearby volcano. When all of them wanted to run, they saw great balls of fire spewing out from the volcano and they believe that Son Jeronimo fought with the devils with ball of fire.

They organized their own fire balls and make the festival looks alike a war zone. Two teams of young men paint their faces and throw the fire balls among themselves while the others watch their move.

Do not be shock with this kind of festival because this is their culture.

Up Helly Aa

This is fire festival in Shetland, Scotland that held every January annually or in the middle of winter to mark the end of the yule season. This is Up Helly Aa festival .

This is 'Guizer Jarl' and his squad prepare the festival since February. Interest to join Guizer Jarl? You need to be a part of member of festival for almost 15 years. But only a person will be a committee each year.

All over Shetland held this festival but currently available for ten locations which are  Scalloway, Lerwick, Nesting and Girlsta, Uyeasound, Northmavine, Bressay, Cullivoe, Norwick, the South Mainland and Delting.

Do you know this festival is also a kind of triumphant demonstration of the islander's skills and spirit. 

This festival is for just a day but need to plan it for 364 days with several thousands people to work together to come out with this festival annually.

The next day will be public holiday if they can achieve the target. So, i'll quit from this job. 

Holi

This is the most colorful festival for me because why? You can see it by yourselves through the picture.

Holi Festival is the name for this festival. It is mean festival colors or festival of love. The festival started at India and then spread to the Europe and North America. Malaysia also held this colorful of festival. 

A night before Holi, people gather and celebrate 'Holika Bonfire'. They gather, sing and dance around the fire. Tomorrow morning, the festival of color start ! They  play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and colored water, with some carrying water guns and colored water-filled balloons for their water fight.

This is the powder or known as the weapon for the participant at that day. 

Can you feel the enjoyment of this festival? Everyone can join this festival. Rich or poor. Friend or stranger. Anyone. The fight held at open streets, open park, outside temples and the buildings. There have some people bring along the drums and musical instruments. They play the instruments along their walk and at that moment, the participants automatically dance.

In the afternoon, they go to visit the family. It's similar with every celebration around the world. They will dress up and go to visit their family and friends.

 The words Holi come from 'Holika', the evil sister of of demon king Hiranyakashipu. That's why the night before Holi day, they make a circle surrounding the bonfire. 'Holika' is a reminder of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, of fire that burned Hiranyakashipu.

This is what people called beauty of the culture.

Boryeong Mud Festival

What do you think they're doing? Playing mud? For what? there's lot of question in your mind. For sure.

This is what people known as Boryeong Mud Festival at South Korea and usually the festival held in July annually. The first festival in 1998, in 2007 almost 2.2 million tourist join the festival.

All the mud is taken from Daecheon beach area and the mud is rich with minerals and people used it to cosmetics. 

All of this started when a range of cosmetics produced products based on the mud. So, it is kind of promotion and the festival become one of favorite place for the tourist to come and visit.

This festival held for two weeks straight. 

Thaipusam Festival

What do you think when you looked at this picture? Where is this place? Why there are so many Indian people there? Is it have any festival held there?

This is Thaipusam Festival. This is HIndu celebration that mostly of Tamil community celebrate it on full month in Tamil month of Thai which is January or February. 

Thai + Pusam = Thaipusam

'Thai' is name of full month meanwhile 'Pusam' is name of star. So, they combine it. Thaipusam celebration is for Hindu deity Lord Murugan (youngest son of Shiva and his wife Parvati). It is a day of thanksgiving and paying penance for Lord Murugan. 

Don't be shock when you look at that woman. They call it as 'kavadi'. Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan. Regarding on the picture, the woman just wear a simple one. There have more extreme kavadi. They do like that because they implore for help from the God Murugan. 

48 days before the celebration usually they will fasting and prayer for cleansing themselves. 

Battle of Oranges Festival

Orange is one of favorite fruits for those who love fruits. Orange is for eaten by the human but in Northern Italian city of Ivrea, orange is a kind of weapon during the battle.

BATTLE OF ORANGE FESTIVAL is a tradition festival for Italian people which is they need to throw the orange among themselves. This festival held in February annually. 

The story behind this battle is many centuries ago, there is a city tyrant tried to violate a young girl. She chopped his head off and the whole town celebrated her action. Based on that tragedy, people create a battle with divide themselves into nine combat teams, stage battle (like in a picture). Then, they attack each other by throwing their weapons, orange among themselves.

Don't you ever think why orange had chosen as their weapon? This is because it symbolize the tyrant's castrated testicles. 

psst.

*wear red cap.if not you will be an immediate targets.

  

El Colacho

Please don't be surprised by looking at this picture. This is the real one not just acting. The man that wears yellow and red suit jump up all those adorable babies. This is what they called ' Baby Jumping Festival' or known as El Calacho. This festival just held at Spain. 

This is a traditional festival at Spain since 1620 to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi in the village of Castrillo de Murcia near Burgos. 

There is a man wear the devil costume or known as El Salto del Colacho or simply as El Colacho. El Colacho is a devil jump over the babies born during the previous twelve months of the year that lie on the mattress. 

Before that, this festival do not have specific date. This year the festival held on Thursday 19 June but El Calacho festives on the following Sunday. The man that jump over the babies is to cleanse the infants of original sin and protect them from the spirit of evil.

But no babies were harmed, although there have controversial lax of safety precautions because the man can fell on the babies during he is jumping. Regarding of national crime pastime, so this kind of festival is not the strangest ceremony. 

Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme

What do you think when you looked at the picture? Death ceremony? Well-known people died? For sure you will think like that because there is crowd of people carrying a coffin and there's someone in it.

This is Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme or guide to the Festival of the Near-death Experience in Spain. The event held in 29th July every year at the small town of Las Nieves – or As Neves, as it’s known in the native Galician. 

What the reason they organize this kind of festival? Why there're person in the coffin and the rest bring the coffin on their shoulder and walk around town? This festival want to celebrate the person who had near death experience the previous year. Meanwhile the coffin symbolize as their truncated journey towards the light.

They bring the coffin to the small church and then go down to cemetery and back to the church. After the possession, they celebrated with the fireworks, bands, and plenty of foods and drinks. The rest of the day they just spent with the families with foods and drinks. 

The Monkey Buffet Festival

The Monkey Buffet festival held every 25th November every year at Thailand. All of this started since 1989. The concept for this festival at first is ingenious concept of hotelier based on first feted the monkeys,Yongyuth Kitwattananusont. The main temple for the festival is at Lop Buri, the site of 10th-century Hindu temples built by a Khmer dynasty. Lop Buri is located 180 km away from Bangkok and it is said that Lop Buri was founded over 1000 years ago by King Kalavarnadish who came from region in the northwest in India.

Local people believe that monkey give good fortune for them. In Thailand, they believe that King Rama give a land that known as Lopburi to Hanuman who was the King of Monkey. Based on that reason, local people prepared pound of foods ( fruits and deserts ) every year and let the monkeys eat all of them. This festival attract the tourist to come here every year to join and see their celebration towards all those monkeys.

Not only the monkey be an attraction at that day, there's several local people that wears like a monkey, monkey mask and monkey costumes. There also have music and dancers to make the festival become more happening and let the tourist know about their traditional dance.

For the day, do not take any food on the table or the monkeys will get mad at you because the moment just one per year. So do not disturbed them. Let them free. But the tourist still need to watch out their things because the monkeys love to make a stolen collection. 

La Tomatina

This picture was taken during La Tomatina festival held in past two years at Valencian town of Bunol. This festival held every last Wednesday of August annually. All people around the world will come to Spain just to join this festival.

How this place can come out with such a festival ? Most famous question come out from every tourist who come to this place for the first time. I'm still didn't get any idea the purpose of this festival until i found this article.

All of this started when there were young boys spent their time to attend the parade and they want a place for them at that parade. Their energy during that time made one participant fell off at the place that near with market stall that sell vegetables. After that, people started to pelt each other with the tomatoes.

From that moment, this kind of war be a tradition among people at Bunol even police at that time didn't allowed them. In a year 1957, they started to call musician and so on. Police allowed them but came along with the rules that they need to follow. Year by year, there's lot of modification that had been made by people themselves.

The festival will begin at 10 a.m with "palo jabon" or called as greasy pole. People need to climb a grease pole with a ham on top.

When a person able to drop off the pole, it means the tomato fight will begin. The fight will begin after there is about 11 when a loud shout rings out. The trucks will bring in all the tomatoes. For the participant, it is recommend to wear goggles and gloves because all those tomatoes can give injury for them. After one hour, there will be announcement to end the festival. The road will turn into red because of tomatoes. 'Fire truck' hose will come in and people use the hose to remove the tomato from their body.

Introduction

Welcome to this blog that written about Weird Festival in the world. There's many festival that seems weird for us because every state have different culture that sometimes people cannot understand each other because of difference.

I already listed the festival that look weird for me and maybe our opinion is same. Most of the festival created since long, long time ago. So, every festival have their own history.

We as human that live with them in this world, we need to adapt with their culture. So, it can make our life is harmony.

Please enjoy.