There are so many cultures that exist in this world; it’s pretty hard to keep up with them. We don’t even know half of the festivals that people from different cultural groups and countries perform.

Just in time for Halloween, we have conjured up this list of the freakiest festivals around the world.

Caution: This might freak you out, a lot!

1. Day of the Dead, Mexico

Commonly known as ‘Dia de Muertos’ in Spanish, this Mexican festival is even creepier than it sounds. Celebrated on the first two days of November, this festival celebrates the lives of loved ones who have died, while also reminding people that they will be dead soon too. What’s the symbol used in this festival, you ask? A SKULL. Yeah, that’s right! It is known as an encouraging attempt to welcome visits from the departed souls!

2. The Entroida Festival, Spain

This is not a festival that everyone will enjoy. On the official days of Entroida, masked men, known as Peliqueiros, queue up in the streets and whip innocent people who pass by. They are not confined to just streets. They enter the houses too when there aren’t enough to be whipped on the streets! Oh, and stealing food and other stuff is also allowed. They keep throwing dirt at each other as a symbol of purification. Want to join?

3. Hadaka Matsuri, Japan

The Japanese do not only excel in making the freakiest horror movies, they are also good at freaking people out with this freakiest of festivals. Hadaka Matsuri, also known as ‘The naked man’, is celebrated with the hope to raise lots of good luck in the coming year. It’s a pretty weird festival in which a bunch of guys (men too!) run around in nothing but a loincloth, basically diapers. Yes, you read that right. We are also having a hard time believing it.

4. Famadihana, Madagascar

The ‘turning of bones’ festival is so creepy, that it is held only once in seven years. Whoa! That’s more than the Olympics time period. The Malagasy have a belief that humans are made from the bodies of their ancestors, and until the bodies are fully decomposed, the dead can still communicate to them. This festival marks the appreciation of the dead. But how is it celebrated? You may want to sit down before you read this. They open the family crypts and re-wrap whatever is left of the person’s remains in a fresh cloth. They dance with the corpses and sacrifice animals for a grand feast! Now, that sounds eerie!

5. Konaki Sumo, Japan

Well, the Japanese have managed to surprise us once more. This festival is truly an outlandish one. How do you feel about a bunch of babies stuck between a lot of sumo wrestlers? Every April, the sumo wrestlers stand facing each other holding a baby each. They wait till one of the babies start crying. Eventually the wrestler holding the baby who doesn’t cry, is the one who wins. Well, we truly feel for these babies.

6. La Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme, Spain

If you are in Spain and have survived a near death experience in the past twelve months, then you are fully eligible to take part in this festival! On July 29, every year, the people of Las Nieves celebrate those who have closely escaped death in the past year. They dress in black clothes and carry coffins to the church with the lucky survivors inside the coffin. And if someone does not have a family, they have to carry their own coffins. How scary would that be!

7. Night of the Radishes, Mexico

If you are fond of radish, you might change your mind after reading about this crazy festival. Commonly known as ‘Noche de Rabanos’, it is celebrated in Mexico, on 23rd December, ever year. As freaky as it sounds, the Radish night festival lasts only a few hours due to the limited lifespan of vegetables as folk art. Farmers carve the radishes into a lot of creative and weird shapes and sell them to the locals. But hey, these are not normal radishes that we are talking about. They are gigantic! So next time you eat a radish, we hope you do not get any nightmares!

8. Las Bolas de Fuego, El Salvador

Every year, on August 31, natives of Nejapa, El Salvador, paint their faces, dress in wet clothes, and toss kerosene-soaked fireballs at each other till late in the night. They sound insane, don’t they? The theory behind this is to start a fire fight between St. Jerome and the devil, in which St. Jerome is victorious. This ‘Balls of fire’ is one scary and freaky festival but celebrated with much enthusiasm every year. So the next time you are in this town, don’t be surprised if you receive minor burns while on the road!

9. Thaipusam, Malaysia and South India

This is an ultra-freaky and weird festival that is held each year during the full moon of the tenth month, of Hindu calendar. It is so popular that it’s a public holiday in Malaysia! The event marks celebration of the victory of Lord Murugan over the tyranny of Soorapadman. There is fasting, shaving of heads and some painful piercings too! Many pierce their tongues, cheeks and skin with giant skewers, while others stab hooks into their backs and hang works of art on it. Ouch!

10. El Colacho, Spain

This odd festival is celebrated with grown men dressed up like devils leaping over babies lying on mattresses in the street. Yes, they invite accidents on purpose! Spain does boast the most freakiest festivals around the world. This festival is a part of the celebrations held all over Spain for the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. The festival takes place on the first Sunday after Corpus Christi. But, what’s the idea of jumping over innocent babies? They are cleansing their souls or so it is believed in Spain.

Reading all of that might have sent you into a state of shock! Well, we would suggest you to snap out of it, since this is the way things work around the world, in the name of traditions and customs. What is freaky and weird to us might be a normal custom to others. So enjoy the bright cultural offerings that every place has to offer!

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KomalJain

Komal Jain is an IT professional during day and a writer at all other times. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering, but she tries to ignore it and finds peace and purpose in writing. Travelling, eating, and writing is what she basically wants to do her life.