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10 Incredible Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of

10 Incredible Holidays You’ve Never Heard Of

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ThinkStockPhotos
ThinkStockPhotos

The number of bizarre holidays out there are staggering – for whatever reason, some people find the need to celebrate things such as Lumpy Rug Day, Bathtub Party Day, and the amazingly specific Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day. And while they might be fun, albeit mostly silly and insignificant, there are also countless celebrations and festivals around the world that hold a lot more meaning. Although millions celebrate holidays such as New Year’s and Christmas internationally, it is the lesser-known celebrations that offer insight into different cultures, and usually a really good party. This list can also be used as a travel guide for everywhere you need to go next year, because these all sound amazing.

Queen's Day in Holland MeetMrHolland.com
Queen’s Day in Holland
MeetMrHolland.com

Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) – Netherlands

April 30/April 27

Concerts, massive flea markets, and orange hair dye for the normally straight-laced Dutch mark Queen’s Day celebrations across the Netherlands, although the most widely attended festivities are normally found in Amsterdam. This is sometimes referred to as “orange madness,” as the orange hair, clothing, and drinks all represent the House of Orange-Nassau, which rules over the Netherlands. It is also a time for the Queen to honor citizens for their service and exemplary work; 2013 marked the last Queen’s Day. From 2014 onwards, it will be known as Koningsdag, or King’s Day, following the investiture of Queen Beatrix’s son, Willem-Alexander. Basically it will be the same except it will be on Willem’s birthday, April 27.

Guy Fawkes Night in Bristol, England DailyMail
Guy Fawkes Night in Bristol, England
DailyMail

Guy Fawkes Night – England

Nov. 5

More than just the plot line from “V for Vendetta,” Guy Fawkes Night commemorates the Nov. 5, 1605 incident when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while trying to place explosives below the House of Lords in England. The English people celebrated the thwarting of the attempt on King James I’s life and lit bonfires around London, which later became an annual public day. It is celebrated in much the same way now. People across England light bonfires and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes in celebration. There are fireworks and traditional songs that often include the line, “Remember, remember, the fifth of November, Gunpowder Treason and Plot.”

La Tomatina Tumblr.com
La Tomatina
Tumblr.com

La Tomatina – Valencia, Spain

Last Wednesday of August

Everybody’s heard of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, but how about the world’s largest (exclusively tomato) food fight? Rumor has it that the festival began in 1945 when a group of young men started a brawl because they were denied participation in a parade through the town’s main square, Plaza del Pueblo, and began throwing tomatoes from a vegetable stand. Young people repeated the fight the same day the following year, bringing their own tomatoes from home, and the world’s largest tomato fight was born, although there wasn’t much competition. But lest you think it is a free-for-all, there are strict rules enforced: all tomatoes must be squashed before throwing to avoid injuries, and everyone must wear a shirt. Thank goodness everything remains civilized!

King Puck Ollie and his Queen of the Pucks 1000LonelyPlaces.com
King Puck Ollie and his Queen of the Pucks
1000LonelyPlaces.com

Puck Fair – Kilorglin, Ireland

Aug. 10-12

How many celebrations have you attended that honor a goat? Each year, a goat is caught in the mountains and crowned by “King Puck” by a young schoolgirl chosen as the “Queen of Puck.” The king hangs out in a small cage in the middle of the town square for three days of festivities, which include a horse fair, cattle fair, and hordes of street vendors. But the most popular bonus of the Puck Fair is that bars are allowed to stay open until 3 a.m., rather than the normally enforced 2 a.m. curfew. The fair pays tribute to a goat that broke away form its herd in the 17th century to warn the town of the advancing army of Oliver Cromwell during his conquest of Ireland. Imagine Paul Revere, but without the horse. And as a goat.

Lantern Festival in Taiwan Michael J. Hamilton Photography
Lantern Festival in Taiwan
Michael J. Hamilton Photography

Lantern Festival (China/Taiwan)

15th day of the first lunar month

Marking the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations, lantern fairs are held in parks all across China and Taiwan. Lanterns range from traditional paper to electric and neon lanterns to the dragon pole – a 38-meter spiraling golden dragon that shoots fireworks out of its mouth. Revelers create an ocean of lights. Lantern riddles often contain messages of good fortune and prosperity, much like a fortune cookie, and children are taught to carve lanterns out of Oriental radish, similar to the better-known pumpkin jack-o’-lantern. In Taiwan, it is considered one the best festivals in the world, and draws thousands of spectators each year.

Festival Weekend in Iceland GrapeVine
Festival Weekend in Iceland
GrapeVine

Verslunarmannahelgi (Iceland)

First weekend of August

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll go ahead and give some background anyway. Verslunarmannahelgi is the annual shopkeeper’s holiday, and its most famous celebration can be found in the Westman Islands, an island of 4,000 off the mainland. Festival-goers set up tents on the island’s campgrounds and prepare for a full weekend of parties, but it is much more than a music festival. Beyond the concerts, it includes an incredible bonfire on Friday, following by a full-out fireworks display on Saturday, and a Sunday sing-along  of Icelandic folk songs on the hillside. The coolest part – August is prime puffin season in Iceland, and juvenile puffins flock to the lights of the town at night looking for food. Local children collect the puffins and care for them for an evening or two before returning them to the wild.

Songkran Festival HighlightThailand
Songkran Festival
HighlightThailand

Songkran Festival (Thailand)

April 13-15

Songkran literally means “astrological passage,” and is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day. What can be interpreted as a countrywide water fight actually represents a cleansing festival; families everywhere participate in a serious spring-cleaning on April 12 and throw out old items and burn them. The next day, offerings are made to Buddha statues, which are then washed with perfumed water and paraded down the streets where they are further doused by the crowds. It is after this that the water fight begins in earnest, involving everything from buckets to super soakers. All of these traditions are a symbol of washing away the bad and welcoming the good in the new year.

Walpurgis Night in Stockholm, Sweden ThisIsLiv.Blogspot.com
Walpurgis Night in Stockholm, Sweden
ThisIsLiv.Blogspot.com

Walpurgis Night (Stockholm, Sweden)

April 30

It’s lucky that Queen’s Day (or King’s Day) will now be held several days earlier so you can make Walpurgis Night in Sweden, the traditional spring festival. Held exactly six months before Halloween, it is marked by an enormous bonfire and fireworks all over central and Northern Europe, but is arguably done best in Sweden. As Labor Day falls the day after, it turns into a two-day holiday complete with parades, choral singers, and traditional dancing. It is named for the English missionary Saint Walpurga who was canonized on May 1, and became associated with May Day. The night before became Valborgsmässoafton, or “Walpurga’s night.”

Hola Mohalla celebrations in Anandpur Sahib FestivalsAdvices
Hola Mohalla celebrations in Anandpur Sahib
FestivalsAdvices

Hola Mohalla (Anandpur Sahib, India)

March 7 (First day of the lunar month of Chet in the Nanakshahi calendar)

Hola Mohalla is a sacred Sikh festival held in Anandpur Sahib in Punjab every year. It began as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises after the Hindu festival of Holi, and was continued to remind everyone of the value of defense preparedness. The three-day festival allows members of the community to display military skills, particularly in gatkha (much like fencing), and also includes music, poetry, and mock battles. Hola Mohalla is the biggest festival in Anandpur and draws crowds from all over the world.

Inti Raymi Festival E-TravelOrganizer
Inti Raymi Festival
E-TravelOrganizer

Inti Raymi Festival (Peru)

June 24

This Festival of the Sun marks the Peruvian winter solstice and is traced back to the days of the Inca Empire. Originally a religious ceremony in honor of the Inca god Inti, it became a celebration of and preparation for the new year. In Cusco, one would find re-enactments of the Inca ceremony, as well as parades, traditional music and dancing, and colorful costumes (such as the woven aya huma mask) across the country. And, as any holiday, it involves a whole bunch of food. Though it might seem counter intuitive to honor the sun on the shortest day of the year, Inti Raymi was the most important of the four ceremonies of the Inca Empire and was kept alive by indigenous communities throughout the Andes.