Top 6 Weirdest Festivals in the World
People from around the world celebrate the weirdest and funniest things. For example, Mexicans have an entire festival dedicated to radishes, Americans organize an event dedicated to duct tape, and Finns carry their wives, in order to test marital bonds. Here are some of the most unusual festivals that take place around the globe.
1. Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme – Las Nives, Spain
Photo by Jose-Moreno Maria Garcia
During this strange festival, people are carried around the village in coffins, because they’ve just had a near death experience in the past 12 months and are now showing their gratitude. Once the bizarre coffin-carrying part of the festivities comes to an end, the almost-dead rise and start telling people about their extraordinary near-death experiences. Then, everyone dances and celebrates life.
2. World Toe Wrestling Championships – UK
Toe wrestling involves two opponents sitting opposite each other and placing their feet on a ‘toedium’. Toes interlocked, they wrestle with both feet until one contender’s foot is forced to touch the side of the frame. The revenues go to charity every year.
3. Night of the Radishes – Oaxaca, Mexico
Photo by Travis
The legendary Night of the Radishes is celebrated the night before Christmas Eve, on December 23. Locals present their most elaborate and inventive radish carvings and the best pieces of art receive cash prizes. The events took place every year for the last 117 years, since 1897.
4. Wife Carrying World Championships –Sonkajärvi, Finland
Photo by Visit Lakeland
This annual celebration requires Finnish husbands to carry their wives along a 253.5 meter long course, with one of the rules stating that “All the participants must have fun”. One of the obstacles of the race is an icy pool, but the prize is worthy: the winner gets the wife’s weight in beer.
5. Duct Tape Festival — Ohio, USA
This three-day event celebrates duct tape, its enthusiasts and its wacky and fun uses. The festival also honors the history and heritage of the city that is proclaimed the “Duck Tape Capital” of the world—Avon, Ohio—the home of Duck brand duct tape.The festival includes a duct tape fashion show, duct tape statues, and a parade with duct tape floats.
6. World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship – Dorset, UK
Contestants are given one hour to eat as many spiky leaves as they can. They are served two-foot-long stalks of nettles from which they must pluck and eat the leaves. The bare stalks are then measured and the winner is the one with the greatest accumulated length. The championship has separate men’s and women’s sections and even began to attract competitors from Canada or Australia.
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Mike Dragan is the cofounder and CEO of Oveit and works daily on providing better tools for live experiences. Mike has a background in computer science and loves building digital products.