{"id":15674,"date":"2022-03-23T09:47:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T09:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/?p=15674"},"modified":"2023-04-26T12:38:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T12:38:58","slug":"the-worlds-most-bizarre-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/the-worlds-most-bizarre-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"The world\u2019s most BIZARRE festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approx read: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">mins<\/span><\/span><h2 id=\"festivals-are-all-about-celebr\">Festivals are all about celebration. And what better aspect of human culture to celebrate than the urge to get a bit strange. That\u2019s why from Ireland to Thailand, locals routinely get together to revel in unique cultural customs they\u2019ve developed that set them apart from their neighbours.<\/h2>\n<h3 id=\"whether-it\u2019s-cheese-rolling-\">Whether it\u2019s cheese rolling in England or baby jumping in Spain, these festivals defy imitation and highlight the humour, traditions and uniqueness of the communities that celebrate them.<\/h3>\n<p>So read on for the world\u2019s most bizarre festivals.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"baby-jumping-festival-el-colac\">Baby jumping festival, El Colacho, Castrillo de Murcia, Spain<\/h4>\n<p>Dating back to the 17th century in its current form, this \u2018unorthodox\u2019 Baptism ceremony involves costumed men leaping over rows of babies born in the previous year. Yes, real babies. The roots of the festival are murky and may incorporate pre-existing pagan traditions, but as its fame has grown the willing parents presenting their new offspring has expanded beyond the village of El Colacho and can often include those who have travelled to Spain especially for the festivities. Thankfully, no injuries have ever been reported.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BgZiAO3euvU<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"cooper\u2019s-hill-cheese-rolling\">Cooper\u2019s Hill Cheese-rolling and Wake, Gloucestershire, England<\/h4>\n<p>Chasing a three-to-four kilo of Double Gloucester cheese down a hill sounds like a whimsical lark for children. Yeah, it very much depends on the hill. Cooper\u2019s Hill, near the market town of Gloucester, has been responsible for a multitude of injuries, concussions and hospital visits due to its extreme steepness. In fact, the annual event now operates unofficially after support was withdrawn in 2009 because of said injuries. Of course, with notoriety comes attention and the event has been attended by a growing assortment of international participants in recent years.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Watch a Downhill Cheese-Chasing Competition in Britain | National Geographic\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cvuktushEhY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"lopburi-monkey-banquet-lopburi\">Lopburi Monkey Banquet, Lopburi province, Thailand<\/h4>\n<p>Thailand\u2019s macaques are hardly reticent to grab a snack from unsuspecting locals when backs are turned, but during the Monkey Banquet, held in Lopburi province, they\u2019re more than welcome to indulge to their heart\u2019s content. The Monkey Festival, of which the banquet is one part, was founded by a local businessman in the 1980s and involves a veritable buffet of fresh fruit and other foods being laid out for the primates to feast on. Of course, as word has spread of this unique festival, tourists have flocked in greater numbers to witness it first-hand.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Lopburi Monkey Festival | National Geographic\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J9ki0mK6NQ0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"wife-carrying-world-championsh\">Wife-Carrying World Championship, Sonkaj\u00e4rvi, Finland<\/h4>\n<p>Any competition with a rule stating \u201cAll participants must enjoy themselves\u201d probably doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously and the Wife Carrying World Championship, in the northern Savonia region of Finland, certainly fits that bill. \u2018Wives\u2019 &#8211; in reality, any woman willing to be carried by a man &#8211; must weigh at least 49 kilos (or be weighed down with a rucksack to even out the contest) as the male participants struggle around an obstacle course in the fastest time they can manage. Partners can opt for one of three carrying styles: piggy back, fireman\u2019s carry, or \u2018Estonian-style\u2019 with the wife upside on her partner\u2019s back with her legs over the neck and shoulders. Any questions?<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Finland hosts wife-carrying world championships\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/p7IM9f16QZ4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"the-irish-redhead-convention-c\">The Irish Redhead Convention, Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland<\/h4>\n<p>Only two per cent of the world\u2019s population is redheaded, whereas Ireland has a whopping 10 per cent with the ginger gene. But during the three-day festival to celebrate redheads, held in Cork, that number must swell to record-breaking proportions. The convention includes a crowning ceremony for the king and queen of the year, prizes awarded for \u201cmost freckles per square inch\u201d and \u201cthe world\u2019s greatest ginger beard\u201d. Sadly, the author of this piece is yet to claim his crown. Sigh<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Irish Redhead Convention 2015\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xnDEtA1AP7o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Festivals are all about celebration. And what better aspect of human culture to celebrate than the urge to get a bit strange. That\u2019s why from Ireland to Thailand, locals routinely get together to revel in unique cultural customs they\u2019ve developed that set them apart from their neighbours. Whether it\u2019s cheese rolling in England or baby [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":15678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1064,298],"tags":[1305,685],"class_list":["post-15674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solo-travel","category-travel-tips","tag-festivals","tag-stay-safe-at-festivals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15679,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15674\/revisions\/15679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}