Unusual Events Around the World

Introduction: So, prepare for some culture shock because today I will present you 3 unusual
festivals of various places of the world! The first one is
Thaipusam: Thaipusam is a Hindu ceremony that is held each year during the full moon in the
tenth month of the Hindu calendar Thai falling from mid-January to mid-February.
Thaipusam is celebrated by the Hindu people of South India and the main Hindu communities
throughout Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Indonesia.
Moreover, Thaipusam is dedicated as a thanksgiving to Lord Subramaniam (also known as
Murugan) for answered prayers, and is also a day of penance. Besides being acknowledged as a
symbol of virtue, bravery, youth and beauty, the Hindus believe that Lord Subramaniam is also
the universal distributor of favours.
At Thaipusam, rituals are held across the whole country. However, the most significant are the
sacrifices held at Batu Caves (which is in northern Malaysia), where Hinduists climb a staircase
of 272 stone stairs and during the journey they carry a burden, called kavadi. Kavadi is a steel
or wooden frame with bars for support on the shoulders, normally decorated with flowers and
peacock feathers. The larger ones with spikes can weigh as much as 40 kg and reach a height of
four metres. Another form of sacrifice include piercing silver pins through the cheek and tongue
and pricking the body with hooks and spear-like needles. Why is it all needed, you may ask?
Well, followers of the custom believe that a short-term bodily pain is worth a long-term spiritual
gain. The second event is...
La Tomatina: La Tomatina often called the worlds largest food fight has been held in the
Valencian town of Buol on the last Wednesday of August since 1945. According to all accounts,
there was a parade and festival in Buol at that time, when a fight broke out between some
young men. Taking advantage of a nearby fruit and vegetable sellers stall, they threw tomatoes
at each other. Of course, the police broke up the argument and those responsible ended up paying
restitution to the tomato seller. But since then the festival gained popularity with more and more
participants getting involved every year.
In addition to this, the tomato fight is the culmination of a week-long celebration made up of
street parties, fireworks and food fairs in Buol. The night before the fight, participants compete
in a paella (Spanish rice dish) cooking contest. The following day, which must be Wednesday, La
Tomatina starts at 11:00 am with the sound of a rocket being fired and ends one hour later.
However, the council of Buol city provided a list of few simple rules to ensure the safety of
festivals participants: 1) The tomatoes have to be squashed before throwing to avoid injuries; 2)
Bottles or other type of objects which could cause an accident cannot be brought; 3) Participants
have to give way to the truck and lorries; 4) The festival doesn't allow ripping off T-shirts; 5) No
tomatoes should be thrown after the second warning firework.

Mwaka Kogwa: also known as "show of the year take place in July, in a Tanzanian town
Makanduchi, located in the south of Zanzibar Island (in Africa).
The Mwaka Kogwa Festival is a new year's celebration that is meant to create a harmonious
environment and to settle scores.
Though the festivities can last half a week, the real action happens on the first day. The
celebration begins with two brothers from the south of Makunduchi that challenge two brothers
from the north in a central wide open space called Kae Kuu. The representatives of both ends of
the town are eventually joined by their supporters, and then the ritual becomes a fake fight,
where banana stalks are used as weapons, so no one really gets injured. When all the banana
stalks are finally too limp to use, everyone becomes friends again. Its actually a purification
ritual that marks the New Year and lets its participants release aggression and settle old debts so
that they can step into the new year with a sense of balance.