The most interesting holidays of the peoples of the world. The most unusual holidays on earth
Traveling the world for a good tourist means not only seeing local sights, but also immersing yourself in different cultures, observing customs, and perhaps adopting something. It is especially lucky when your visit coincides with a local holiday, annual festival or other event. This makes it possible to better understand how the indigenous people live, and even participate in the general fun with them.
The world is full of amazing events and celebrations. Some of them are so strange that they seem to be from a different reality. In this article, we will review 6 of the most unusual and crazy holidays in the world (or at least 6 of them). So let's go!
Cooperschild Cheese Race is an interesting and unusual event in Gloucester, England, UK
Who said the British are boring? Perhaps this person does not know about the annual event, when the British let a head of cheese roll down the mountain for fun. This massive sports festival takes place on the last Monday of May near the city of Gloucester, in Gloucestershire, England. The essence of the entertainment is simple: a head of cheese weighing about four kilograms is allowed to roll down a very steep hill, and the participants must run after it. The first one to cross the finish line and grab the cheese is the winner, who gets the prize, the actual cheese to chase.
Cheese race winner. 
"Boring" English audience.
As you may have guessed, very few of the participants are able to run downhill. By the end of the race, some of them get various injuries, such as sprains or fractures. Sometimes the speed with which the cheese rolls reaches 150 kilometers per hour, which is already dangerous for the audience. Therefore, during the competition at the foot of the hill, ambulances are on duty.
Holi - a bright holiday of colors and spring, India, Nepal
Holi is an ancient Hindu holiday, also known as the "Festival of Colors" or "Spring Festival". It is traditionally held after the full moon in early March in several Hindu countries such as India, Nepal. Within a few years, this colorful original festival was "exported" to other countries. Now in many cities the celebration of Holi - an unusual way to welcome spring.
Preparation for the holiday begins at night on the full moon. Bonfires are burning on the streets, which purify the air from evil spirits and bad vibrations. This symbolizes the destruction of Holika, the evil deity after whom the festival is named. And in the morning the streets are filled with people, and the fun begins. Everyone throws colored powders, douses themselves with water, sings and dances. Prohibitions are lifted and, most importantly, caste distinctions are erased.
The holiday was a success and the photos are good. 
Look also, as they note, and read the legend of the origin of the "Festival of Colors".
La Tomatina - a modern unforgettable holiday in the city of Bunol, Spain
If you like battles with the colors of Holi, then don't miss the massive international holiday with tomato wars. La Tomatina is a holiday with an unknown origin, which is celebrated annually on the last Wednesday of August in the city of Bunol, Spain, and lasts a week. The main feature of the festival is tomatoes as a "weapon".
The celebration begins in the morning when someone climbs a pole covered in soap and collects the prize, a dry-cured pork ham hung on top. And then the fun madness begins. Approximately 150,000 tomatoes are distributed among 20,000 participants who throw them at friends, enemies and just strangers who are also participating in the fight. After a terrible battle, which lasts exactly an hour, happy "bloody" people disperse along the red streets.
Oktoberfest is a fun beer festival in Munich, Germany
Who hasn't heard of the famous Oktoberfest? Thousands of liters of German beer, the best Bavarian cuisine, traditional costumes, folk music, many attractions, beautiful women and drunken men. Not a holiday but dream for beer lovers.
Oktoberfest takes place every year between mid-September and early October and is celebrated for about 16 days in Theresienwiese Meadow in the center of Munich. The festival was first held in honor of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghaus on October 12, 1810. Since then, more than 6 million visitors from all over the world have taken part in this traditional German festival every year.
The festival begins with the opening of the first cask of Oktoberfest beer by the Mayor, mayor of the city, shouting "O'zapft is!", which translates as "Open!". And immediately, from that moment on, hundreds of waitresses dressed in traditional costumes carry beer mugs among the visitors. The challenge is to eat and drink until you drop, saving face.
Night view of Oktoberfest.
Colorful girl. 
Places for rest.
Burning Man is an unusual holiday in Nevada, USA
Burning Man, which literally translates as "burning man", is hard to describe in words. This annual event takes place in Black Rock City, Nevada, USA. In reality, such a city does not exist, but every year it is specially rebuilt for this summer holiday. When Burning Man ends, the city disappears completely.
View of the city from a bird's eye view.
The holiday begins on the last Monday of August and lasts seven days. During the celebration, it is not allowed to buy or sell anything for money, so the participants completely provide themselves with water, food, lodging, and so on, in order to survive during these seven days filled with art, music and fire. For almost a week, installations, sculptures and works of art of all kinds, often of fantastic sizes, stand in the desert. Participants walk in a variety of costumes of animals, objects, characters of art. DJs are constantly playing music, and artists give unforgettable performances.
Sculpture "Embrace". 
The main attribute of Burning Man is a giant wooden sculpture in the shape of a man, which is burned on Saturday night.
Burning Man Skeleton. 
This event has a specific purpose: to condemn the modern way of life, which is limited by social norms, the rules of conduct that society requires. Therefore, at the festival it is not difficult to find people who dress as they please, including those who are not dressed at all.
The desert even has entertainment for every taste.
Yoga? Please! 
Fights!
Bowling in the desert? Why not.
San Fermin - the most dangerous and crazy holiday in Pamplona, Spain
The San Fermin Festival is one of the most famous in Europe and the world, and certainly one of the craziest. It takes place annually from July 6 to July 14 in the city of Pamplona and is dedicated to the holy martyr Saint Fermin. In the holiday, traditions and customs are closely intertwined with music and alcohol.
The holiday has its roots in the Middle Ages, but the writer Ernest Hemingway popularized San Fermin, immortalizing it in the novel The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta). That is why in July in Pamplona a huge number of travelers from all over the world.
"What's crazy?" - you ask. During the festival, there is a Spanish national custom, when from July 7 to 16 every day at 8 am the encierro with wild bulls begins. The essence of the encierro: 12 angry bulls are released from the corral, from which the participants must run through the narrow streets to the square. The distance of the race is 875 meters. It is strictly forbidden to participate while intoxicated. And without it, there is a chance to suffer from the horns of a bull or fall to the ground in front of him. By the way, in the second option, the chances of surviving are much greater. Especially if you grab your head with your hands, group and not move. When running bulls see an obstacle in front of them, they try to jump over it. Lying on the ground, one can only hope that they will succeed, because they weigh about 600 kilograms each!
We all know such holidays as the new year, the eighth of March, and all those others that are or were days off. However, there are many more international holidays than we think.
We all know such holidays as the new year, the eighth of March, and all those others that are or were days off. We also know such international days as, for example, the day of Laughter, the day of St. Valentine or Cosmonautics Day, anyone else can call Heart Day. However, there are many more international holidays than we think. All of them are established by the UN and UNESCO, and if they are not celebrated with us, then they are probably celebrated on a grand scale somewhere in the world.
January
So, in January, in addition to the new year, the International Day of "thank you" is also celebrated. Without exaggeration, January 11 can be called one of the most "polite" dates of the year - today is International Thank You Day. “Thank you” is without which our life would become meager and gloomy.
And on January 21, one of the most unusual holidays is celebrated all over the world - International Hug Day. It was founded in the United States in 1986 under the name of National Hugging Day, and then rapidly spread around the world.
February
In February, in addition to Valentine's Day, the World Day of the Sick is also celebrated on February 11th. This event is conceived, rather, as a kind of social step aimed at supporting people who fell into the sad category of patients. World Day of the Sick was established on May 13, 1992 at the initiative of the late Pope John Paul II (Pope John Paul II).
Also in February there is a day on which it is not customary to speak a foreign language, this is the 21st day - International Mother Language Day (International Mother to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
March
Now let's talk about the March cat. This expression is not at all accidental. Of course, in March, cats serenades their cats on the 8th, but the point here is that March 1st is International Cat Day! And when the singing of cats reaches its climax, just in time for the middle of the month, the day of Pi comes - March 14th. No, the celebration is not associated with obscene thoughts about cats, we are talking about the number Pi, known to all of us as 3.14 since school. Why exactly March 14? Everything is simple - 3 months in the calendar, 14 is a day, and all together 3.14.
April
April begins with the Day of Laughter, and continues much more seriously - April 11 is annually celebrated as the International Day for the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps. On April 11, 1945, the prisoners of Buchenwald raised an international uprising against the Nazis and were released. It seems so long ago. But not for those who went through the horrors of Nazi dungeons.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has declared April 28 as World Day for Safety at Work, which was first celebrated in 2003.
Replete with dates unknown to us and May. So, on May 3, Europe celebrates the day of the Sun, the source of life on Earth, as well as a source of renewable energy. Since 1994, on May 3, enthusiasts and professionals, public organizations and firms across Europe have been organizing various events related to demonstrating the possibilities of solar energy.
On the very last day of May - the 31st, World Blonde Day is celebrated. The fair-headed representatives of humanity found their day in 2006.
June
Partly close to this holiday is another unusual June day - World Fisheries Day, which has been celebrated annually since 1985. The holiday was established by the decision of the International Conference on the Regulation and Development of Fisheries, held in July 1984 in Rome.
July
The hottest month of the year, July, contains such interesting dates as World Chocolate Day, which was invented by the French in 1995, and System Administrator's Day, which has a "floating" date, and is celebrated annually on the last Friday of July.
August
August pleases left-handers, because on the 13th of this month is their name day. Also in August, namely the 23rd, International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition. The holiday is celebrated on the recommendation of the 150th session of the Executive Board of UNESCO on the day of the uprising of the slaves of Saint-Domingue and Haiti in 1791, which marked the beginning of the process of eliminating the system of slavery.
September
In September, in addition to Knowledge Day, there is also the birthday of a well-known emoticon - this is the 19th, as well as the day without a car - September 23rd.
October
October, which ends with a mystical Halloween, begins much more positively: October 1 is the day of a smile. In fact, the same emoticon, only real and much warmer. And in many countries, October 8th is celebrated as International Egg Day. This is the day of all lovers of eggs, omelettes, casseroles and fried eggs. There is nothing surprising in this, because eggs are the most versatile food product.
If you pay attention to the number and theme of holidays in the CIS countries, you can hardly imagine other unusual holidays However, other peoples have unpredictable reasons for fun.
So let's start with Europe.
1. Midsummer, or midsummer holiday, which is celebrated in the Scandinavian countries, and in particular in Sweden. If we have the middle of summer - this is logically the middle of July, then in their region the middle of summer is June 21st! And, judging by the weather, it is. It is unlikely that the Swedes know what a "hot summer" is. On this day, they have picnics, barbecues, ladies wear wreaths of fresh flowers on their heads. Drinking and dancing is the main task of the holiday. Most often they gather in parks, where a small performance can also be organized. There are several versions of how this holiday appeared. The fact is that it is very important for the Scandinavians. According to one version, back in ancient times, on the eve of "midsummer", people fought with fire against devils and witches. Here's the Swedish fun:
2.fireball festival. Next, we are transported to the unusually hot North America in this case and immediately feel the ardor of the locals. Before us fireball festival in El Salvador "Bolas de Fuego", which is held annually on August 21 - a holiday for the brave. This is not only an unusual celebration dedicated to the volcanic eruption in 1658, but also dangerous. People take rags, douse them with combustible substances, set them on fire and scatter them around the city. This tradition has been observed for 300 years. The sky above the cities becomes ablaze, as during an eruption. Although there is a religious interpretation of the origin of the holiday. According to legend, Saint Jeronimo fought the devil with fireballs.
It is unlikely that foreigners will like such antics. If you're looking for a little adrenaline rush, Salvador is waiting for you.
3. Obama Day. The next holiday could logically be on the list "US national holidays", however, became a legal holiday in Kenya in 2008 - Obama Day. Locals were very happy that Obama became president, since his father was born in Kenya, and since then every year they celebrate him. Here's how it goes
4. Great holiday - National Rubber Slipper Day celebrated in New Zealand on December 2nd. It should be noted that the date was chosen quite well, since in December summer reigns in this part of the world.
Want to have some fun too? In this country, absolutely everyone wears slippers, even to work. But people not only wear them, but also lose them. A special study revealed that more often lost flip-flops from the left foot are washed ashore by the ocean than from the right. There is a logical explanation for this: sailors, when pushing boats from the shore, often push with their left foot, while the right foot is in the boat. Thus, the left slipper often sinks.
5. Holi holiday. You can get to a very kind, cheerful and bright holiday if you are in India on March 17th. This is the day of colors - Holi holiday. Everyone buys dry powder paints, makes colored water, kindles fires and starts painting each other. However, this holiday also has a religious component associated with the Indian god Krishna. He loved a girl named Radha, but her skin color was light and his was dark. So that he would not be upset, he was offered to paint her face with colored paints and see what would happen to her.
6. Many tourists go to Thailand, but they hardly ever see National holiday which takes place once a year. Many monkeys live in the city of Lopburi and it is they who attract tourists. In order to thank the animals in the square in front of the temple, they arrange a feast for them, to which they bring from 2 to 4 tons of fruit. Very colorful, funny and interesting spectacle.
Thailand is also known for its elephants, so on March 13 it is quite possible to get to the celebration of Elephant Day. Now, if you are going to Thailand, don't forget about these two events that will make your vacation unforgettable.
7. Since 1998, active tourists have been going to South Korea in the summer for the Mud Festival. The essence of the holiday is to wallow in plenty of sea mud, get a lot of positive emotions and improve the body with useful substances that are contained in this very mud. Initially, such an event was organized by a cosmetology company in order to promote their products, but many residents liked the holiday and now it is national holiday of South Korea.
There is a similar holiday in Spain, where the participants of the celebration throw tomatoes, and it is called "Tomatina". America also does not lag behind and invites everyone to wallow in clay. In a word, you can get dirty everywhere: in Asia, and in Europe, and in America.
8. Feast of the Five Petal Rose. The Czech Republic is a very popular destination among our tourists. If you are going to visit this country, try to get to the Five Petal Rose Festival. This event will take you several centuries back to the Middle Ages. Beautiful costumes embodying the era of the Rosenbergs will forever remain in your memory. By the way, absolutely everyone is invited to wear costumes, and if you do not want to wear them, you will have to pay a fine of 150 CZK. So rent costumes, because this happens only once in a lifetime!
Fans of such entertainment can also be invited to dress up as Vikings in Scotland at the Fire Festival. What just does not happen in the world?
9. But there are also holidays for passive travelers. If you like to sleep, then you will have to go to Finland for Sonya's holiday, which is celebrated on July 27th. Here they determine the largest Sonya of the year. Just for those who like to sleep, the day is not a pleasant one. Usually relatives make fun of the sleeping ones, throwing them into the water, soiling them with all sorts of mixtures. The history of the holiday goes back to the Middle Ages, when, according to legend, 7 Christians slept for two hundred years in a cave so that the emperor of Rome would not find them. So from a rather tragic story, a very cheerful holiday appeared.
10. We move from sleepy Scandinavians to naked Asians. Yes, this kind of holiday exists in Japan, and has not been forgotten for more than a thousand years every third Saturday in February. The spectacle is going to be fun! Men aged 23 to 43 take part in the celebration itself. They put on loincloths and go to pray in the temple, and after that they go for a walk through the streets of the city. All viewers want to touch them, as there is a belief that touching a naked person will bring good luck.
11. In the CIS countries there is a day for the driver, sailor, janitor, and in the USA - the Day of the Meteorologist. This is a new holiday associated with the birthday of the founder of weather forecasting, D. Jeffreys. Now every year on February 5 on TV screens you can see the best weather forecasts for the year.
Despite the fact that in America the day of the meteorologist - National holiday, There is also an international holiday of the same name, which is celebrated on March 23. Thus, the United States has a weather forecast day twice a year.
12. And closes our list of unusual holidays in Turkmenistan. The population of the country is very proud of their melons, which are also used for medicinal purposes. On this holiday, conferences are held throughout the country on the benefits of this product, as well as fairs, dances and other festivities. This event falls on the second Sunday in August.
The holiday gained such popularity that it began to be celebrated even in Ukraine and Tajikistan. If the melon has earned attention only in a few countries, then the watermelon has its own international day - August 3rd.
In fact, there are many other interesting holidays and festivals that we have never heard of. But, did you know that we also have amazing holidays? For example, the day of the faceted glass or the day of St. Petersburg cats? Travel and get to know the world - there are so many interesting and unusual things in it! Every year there are new religious and fabulous celebrations that give others joy and fun.
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The most unusual thing here is that the day of celebration was not chosen by chance, but corresponds to the first three digits of the number. The first category is the month (March - 3 in a row), and the next two indicate the day (14). The number pi is the ratio of the circumference and radius, and is infinite (3.141592 ...), but it is customary to write only 3 digits (3.14). This strange holiday appeared in 1988 in San Francisco. On this day, in the circles of scientists, it is customary to celebrate the holiday on a grand scale. Round pies are put on the table, the table itself is also usually round. Fun fact: Pi's day is the same as Albert Einstein's.
Handwriting Day, or Handwriting Day
With the advent of new technologies, people write less and less with their own hands. In connection with this, such a holiday was born. It reminds people that handwriting is unique and inimitable for each person. It needs to be practiced. It is interesting that the character of a person can be determined from handwriting, namely, by its width, length, distance between letters, slope, etc. This is very helpful for criminalists. The initiator of such an unusual holiday was the company Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association and proclaimed its date - January 23rd. Interesting fact: this day coincides with the birthday of John Hancock. His handwriting is sweeping and broad.
Children's Invention Day
In another way, this day is called the Day of Children-Inventors and it is celebrated on January 17th. Why does it have such a name? Yes, because there are a lot of things invented by children in the world, perhaps few people know about this, but this is a fact. For example, the trampoline is the invention of 16-year-old George Nissen, the state flag of Alaska is the invention of 13-year-old Benny Benson. There are other famous but faceless inventions of young geniuses. Ice cream, fingerless gloves, various games, fur headphones - all this is their work. To identify, encourage and develop the abilities of children, and came up with this wonderful holiday. An interesting fact: the day was symbolically chosen on the birthday of Benjamin Franklin, the great journalist, scientist, politician.
International Ear and Hearing Day
This international holiday is celebrated on March 3rd. It was created to raise awareness among citizens of different countries about possible hearing problems and ear diseases. Various events are held, doctors give useful advice or check the health of the population in this area. In some cases, there is free honey. help. A large number of people now suffer from deafness or incomplete hearing loss. Assistance is also provided to states that are members of the World Health Organization. An interesting fact: more than 175 million people suffer from hearing loss.
Chicken feast
Chicken holiday - originally a day of cleaning chicken coops in Rus'. It was celebrated on January 15th. It was believed that a seven-year-old dark rooster lays an egg on this day, and then the Basilisk snake hatches from it. And in order to protect themselves from this monster, they hung a dark stone called “Chicken God” in the chicken coop and fumigated it with resin and elecampane. An interesting fact: this day was considered beneficial for divination, so they often divined on bulbs and spoke from diseases.
Tree Day in Italy
This day has been celebrated in Italy for a very long time. Date - 21 March. Previously, people honored and respected nature, because they were inextricably linked with it. Farming, planting trees, shrubs - this is what made it possible for our ancestors to survive. They had a custom - during the planting of trees to arrange celebrations. For them it was of great importance. The trees were even given names and "categories of importance". However, this day became an official holiday only in 1923. And it is celebrated on a grand scale even now. Interesting fact: it was noted in 1898. The initiative was taken by Guido Bacelli, Minister of Education.
Juliet's birthday in Italy
Another unusual holiday is held in the same country. As we all know from school, Juliet is the heroine of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare. It turns out that she was born on September 16th. To find out the exact date, many historians had to analyze this work several times. On this day, various events are held in the city of Verona: carnivals, theatrical performances, festivals, film screenings, etc. The inhabitants of this city are very proud of this unusual holiday and welcome guests with pleasure. By the way, letters addressed to Juliet still come there, crying out for help in personal love stories. These letters are answered by the girls from Juliet's club. An interesting fact: having compared a huge number of facts, it was Dr. Giuseppe Viviani who established the exact date of birth of the famous heroine, who at that time was not even 14 years old.
Birthday straws for cocktails
This is probably the most absurd holiday of all known. It is celebrated on January 3rd. The history of this drinking device dates back to the 1880s. And it went through several stages of development. They used to drink drinks from natural straws, but this was very inconvenient. And then one day Marvin Stone sat and drank his cocktail from such a tube, but he did not like that its fibers were drawn in and stuck on his teeth. He took the paper, rolled it up and secured it with glue. It was quite comfortable, but she quickly got wet. Then he came across a postage stamp that did not get wet. Since then, he decided to make such tubes. At first, nothing worked out with the sale of his innovative invention, but on January 3, 1888, he nevertheless patented his invention. It was then that this device began to spread. An interesting fact: at first this invention was distributed in hospitals and hospitals for bedridden patients. They were economical and easy to use, then spread to bars and cafes.
Now there are a huge number of holidays in the world, among which you can find so absurd and funny that it is difficult to understand their meaning. But for every nation they will be honored and respected. They will be that special that distinguishes them, their sublime and symbolic. Only 8 were listed here. But there are many more!
