World’s Most Intriguing Festivals

Each country has its own customs and traditions, including festivals. What may seem usual for some cultures is rather weird or curious for others. Here are some of the most intriguing or interesting festivals around the world. Visiting these tourist attractions may not be for anyone and some customs may seem scary or unbearable for some people. Nevertheless, these are part of the world heritage, so they need to be treated with respect…

Days of the Dead, MEXICO

This Mexican festival takes place in various locations around the country and involves people celebrating their dead. This is not uncommon; what is different is the fact that this festival is joyful. Families spend entire nights in cemeteries with their dead, speaking and remembering their time together. This is their way of respecting the afterlife. There are plenty of other events linked to this festival and they all revolve around death.

The Crucifixion in San Fernando, PHILIPPINES

One of the weirdest and most disturbing festivals takes place in the town of San Fernando, the Philippines. Each year, in the Friday before Easter, men and women reenact the Crucifixion  of Jesus Christ. This is not what is disturbing about this festival. The thing is that some of them go all the way and whip themselves to blood or let other whip them. The most courageous even get nailed for real on wooden crosses. This festival is not for the faint hearted.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival, INDONESIA

This is not by all means your regular vegetarian festival. It is rather viewed as a way to clean your spirit and body. And what better way to do this than piercing different things through your skin or walking on burning coal. There are people who hand themselves on hooks passed through their skin. There is also a part of this festival that is linked with its name and there is no meat eaten during the festival. People believe that pain will cleanse their soul.

Famadihana (“Turning the Bones”), MADAGASCAR

This festival of the Malgasy population in Madagascar has cultural origins, rather than religious and involves taking out the bones of dead relatives from their graves and wrapping them again, usually in silk. And this is just the beginning; the whole family starts to dance with the bones around the graves on lively music. Even more curious is the fact that this is viewed as a moment that the whole family comes together.

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Cover Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash