While we are all aware of popular festivals like Diwali, Christmas, and Carnival, the world is full of many lesser-known celebrations that are equally intriguing. These cultural treasures tell a story of communities, their age-old practices, and their colourful creativity. Some of the most interesting festivals you’ve likely never heard of, but will definitely want to know about.
Ivrea Orange Festival – Italy
Every year in Ivrea, northern Italy, local people participate in a huge, organised food fight using thousands of ripe oranges. Called La Battaglia delle Arance, the tradition is centuries old and represents the town’s historic uprising against tyranny. They have teams, they dress in medieval clothes, and they throw oranges at each other all over the main square. It’s gritty, disorganised and strangely beautiful – all paradoxically a mix of rebellion and celebration.
Cheese Rolling at Cooper’s Hill – England
Held every year near Gloucester, England, the Cheese Rolling Festival is one of the craziest sporting events in the world. Contestants speed down an extremely steep hill while in pursuit of a massive wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The first one to the bottom gets the cheese; however, instead of running, most competitors tumble. This age-old ritual is exciting, strange and not for the weak-hearted.
Songkran Water Festival – Thailand
Songkran is the Thai New Year in mid-April, and it is celebrated with water fights around the country. Streets become colourful arenas where people spill water on each other as a sign of purification and renewal. People also go to temples, give food to monks, and clean their houses in order to welcome the new year. It’s a fun-filled festival that blends religious tradition with unadulterated merriness.
Boryeong Mud Festival – South Korea
What began as a promotional event for mud rich in minerals has evolved into one of the quirkiest celebrations in South Korea. The Boryeong Mud Festival is a world festival held in Daecheon to attract thousands of visitors with therapeutic mud swimming, sliding and wrestling. The festival is accompanied by live music, parades, fireworks, and lots of laughter, making it both rejuvenating and unforgettable.
Hadaka Matsuri – Japan
In Okayama, Japan, men in loincloths alone congregate during the Hadaka Matsuri or “Naked Festival.” They fight for sacred sticks of wood called shingi that are cast by priests. It is said that whoever gets hold of these sticks will have a year of good luck. This incarnation of purification, courage and community spirit dates back more than 500 years.
Kukeri Festival – Bulgaria
Every winter, Bulgarian men wear terrifying, animal-like costumes and perform wild, noisy dances to scare away evil spirits. The Kukeri Festival is of pagan origin and includes huge masks, fur costumes and clinking bells. The performance is as strange as it is captivating, and serves to purify the village, and ensure a fruitful year.
Closing Thoughts
There is a much richer and more diverse world out there than the one that is usually celebrated in the mainstream media. These lesser-known festivals unlock the treasure trove of human culture, where creativity, history, and community spirit intertwine in the most unexpected ways.
Next time you travel, plan your trip to coincide with one of these unique festivals. You may even experience a glimpse of humanity that is rarely seen by anyone from outside of that community.
