The world is, as most travelers will say, a very diverse and colorful place. What passes a normal for you may be completely absurd somewhere else in this planet. Culture develops differently in many places, even ones close to where you live. Combined with our love of celebration, it has resulted in a lot of festivals. And since the world is diverse, some festivals are, to us, very strange. When you go to one of these, be sure to take a camera!
1. Mike the Headless Chicken Days – A festival about a headless chicken? Sounds silly, right? The people of Fruita, Colorado, don’t think so. This festival celebrates Mike, a chicken who had his head chopped off but remained living since his brain stem was still there. He lived for 18 months without a head. The festival contains the Chicken Games, a Chicken Recipe Contest, Run Like a Headless Chicken, Chicken Dance, and more! This is celebrated on May 18 and 19.
2. El Colacho – Celebrated on June 8 and 9 in Calacho, Spain, this is otherwise known as the Baby-Jumping Festival and has been around since 1620. Like the name implies, grown men jump over newborn babies to remove evil from them, with the eager parents looking on, giving full approval. They wear costumes similar to what a matador (or Elvis) would wear. Onlookers are also made to participate in the event, so don’t bring your baby along!
3. Pulilan Carabao Festival – This mid-May celebration (14th and 15th of the month) is all about carabaos, or better known as the water buffalo. In this town in the province of Bulacan in the Philippines, carabaos are shaven, oiled, perfumed, decorated, and paraded around town. The day after, they participate in a race. A fitting tribute to these hardworking beasts of burden!
4. Monkey Buffet Festival – This November festival takes place in the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi, Thailand. All of the province’s monkeys are given a huge buffet of fruits and vegetables, to honor Rama, the hero of an epic, who is said to have awarded the province to the Monkey King Hanuman. It’s an all-you-can-eat monkey party!
5. Wisconsin State Chip Throw – A festival about…throwing cow dung?! That’s right! These people from Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, spend the Labor Day weekend flinging crap. Dried cow dung, to be exact. Gloves are prohibited, licking your fingers is not (like you’d even want to!)
6. Testicle Festival – It sounds gross already, right? In Clinton, Montana, the citizens (21 and up only, no kids allowed) drink a lot of beer and munch on Rocky Mountain Oysters. This is just a better name for deep-fried bull testicles. I don’t think I can eat that. They also bet on when a bull is going to poop. This is celebrated for five days, August 1 to 5.
Whew! Those are pretty strange festivals. The people enjoy themselves, though, and that’s what counts at the end. Any festivals in your area that people find weird? Share them with us!
