Clean Monday marks the start of 40 days of Lent until Easter. Hundreds of people take part in a flour fight in the village of Galaxidi in Greece. It is estimated that around 1,500kg of flour is used in the battle. It gets its bright colours from the food colouring which is added to it!Reuters
Clean Monday marks the start of 40 days of Lent until Easter. Hundreds of people take part in a flour fight in the village of Galaxidi in Greece. It is estimated that around 1,500kg of flour is used in the battle. It gets its bright colours from the food colouring which is added to it!ReutersOne of the major festivals of India, Holi is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of March.Originally Holi was regarded to be the festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land. There are several legends and stories behind Holi. A popular legend says that Holi is remembered for the sacrifice of Holika who burnt herself in fire on this day.ReutersIt is perhaps the largest food fight in the world. Every year on last Wednesday of August, the tiny town of Buñol, Spain, locals and tourists engage in pitched battle using close to 150,000 kilograms of tomatoes. One of the most popular theories of this is that disgruntled townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. Whatever happened to begin the tradition, it was enjoyed so much that it was repeated the next year, and the year after that, and so on.ReutersThe Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire usually occurs on Whit Monday / last Monday in May every year. Cooper’s Hill Nature Reserve, Gloucestershire, England. Thousands of spectators and cheese chasers travel to Gloucestershire to watch as a 7 pound wheel of cheese is rolled from the top of this hill reaching up to 70 mph. The master of ceremonies, dressed in a white suit, announces the launching of the cheese. The chasers then follow the cheese down the slope where the victor is the first person to arrive at the bottom of the hill.ReutersThe Battle of the Oranges is a carnival and festival in the Northern Italian city of Ivrea, which includes a tradition of throwing of oranges between organized groups. It is celebrated three days before Lent by pelting one another with oranges and is the largest food fight in Italy. The story follows that the feudal lord of medieval Ivrea was so stingy that he gave his peasants only one pot of beans every six months. In protest, the villagers would throw the beans into the streets. With time the beans were replaced by oranges, which grow plentifully throughout Southern Italy.ReutersTurkey's national pastime, oil wrestling also known as "grease wrestling," involves men clad in black leather pants carrying wicker bags that contain bottles of olive oil, which they must pour over every inch of their flesh.The event is the oldest, continuously running, sanctioned, sporting competition in the world, and people from all over travel to watch Pehlivan (wrestlers) compete for the winning gold belt and the title of "Chief Pehlivan." The event takes place in July month.ReutersThe provincial capital of Lopburi in Central Thailand is home to countless monkeys that have adapted to life in an urban environment. The monkeys have become such a part of the local culture that there is actually a festival held in their honor – the Lopburi Monkey Festival.The annual festival takes place on the last weekend in November and is a major attraction for locals and foreign visitors alike. Festivities include a monkey ‘tea party’ where macaques tuck into a spread of fruit, eggs, cucumbers and bananas all prepared in their honour.ReutersThe Huntaway is a fun festival featuring contests like the Dog Braking Contest, pig yarding, speed shearing and the main attraction, The Shemozzle. This a special obstacle race for men or women and their dogs, across steep hills, slipery slopes and disgusting food-stops that include sheep eyes, worms, bugs and raw meat, just to name a few.The obstacles of the Shemozzle are evealed to the contestants only 3 minutes before the race so no one can say they are really prepared.Hunterville Huntaway Festival
Festivals bring people closer... they are a reason for celebrations and are often markers of cultural identities, serving to unite entire countries. Just as often, however, festivals are also about smaller geographical spaces... cities, towns, villages or sometimes even small groups of individuals or families.
Either way, they represent our culture and our tradition.
However, there are some festivals - like La Tomatina in Spain - which can get a little messy! So many people are having so much fun squishing tomatoes that sometimes it really doesn't matter if you are covered from head to toe in tomato splatter! This is not the only one too... there are so many fun festivals around the world that are similarly... extravagant, shall we say, in their displays...
Check out some of the most interesting festivals from around the world...
