THURSDAY THIRTEEN - The craziest festivals

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As in Belgium we regularly have the festival of crazy politicians, I was looking if other countries have crazy festivals too.

Here are 13 crazy festivals


1. Crying Babies Festival - Japan

Held every year, at the Sensoji Temple, in Tokyo, the baby crying festival is a 400-year-old tradition, believed to keep rug-rats in good health. Amateur sumo wrestlers hold the babies high in the air, and try to scare them into crying, while a sumo referee judges the match. The toddler who cries longest and loudest is considered the winner.


2. Naked men festival - Japan
Dating back over 1200 years, the Hadaka Matsuri festival takes place at several small-town locations throughout Japan. Its origins lie in a decree issued by Emperor Shotoko in 767, which ordered the nation to offer prayers in order to dispel a plague



3. Wife carrying festival - Finland
men carry their wives on their backs through over 250m of obstacles, including a water jump. The winner is awarded his spouse's weight in beer.




4. Wine battle festival - Spain
on horseback, the procession winds through the town to the Cliffs of Bilibio, where a mass is celebrated at the Hermitage of San Felices de Bilibio. After the mass a true free-for-all begins, with everyone tossing wine on each other until all are soaked from head to foot. There is a sea of wet, pink shirts everywhere.



5. Tomatoe festival. Spain
La Tomatina is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Buñol in the Valencia region of Spain. Tens of metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets in exactly one hour.


6. Baby jumping Festival, Spain
(El Colacho) is a traditional Spanish practice dating back to 1620 that takes place annually to celebrate the Catholic feast of babies in the village of Castrillo de Murcia near Burgos.[1][2][3] During the act - known as El Salto del Colacho (the devil's jump) or simply El Colacho – men dressed as the Devil (known as the Colacho) jump over babies born during the previous twelve months of the year who lie on mattresses in the street.



7. Penis festival in Japon, in honor of male fertility


8. Fishing Festival in Nigeria. Here, men can be real men by pulling the biggest fish out of the river with their bare hands, proving to the watching ladies that they, in fact, are the best catch.


9. Mud Festival, South corea. Women fight to become "Mud Queen"


10.Las Fallas festival in Spain Las Fallas literally means "the fires" The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues in huge fires

11.Color festival in India, throwing colored powder at people



12. Cheese Rolling Festival, UK.From the top of the hill a round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled, and competitors race down the hill after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. In theory, competitors are aiming to catch the cheese, however it has about a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 70mph (112 km/h), enough to knock over and injure a spectator.


13. Monkey Buffet Festival, Thailand
Everyone loves a monkey but no one as much as the Thais. They create 3 tonne smorgasbord of fruit and tasty treats and they invite around 600 monkeys to run enjoy the feast while they watch