Unusual holidays ... How many events can youremember when mentioning this phrase? Let's count together. Smile day, the world day of blondes, the first of April, all kinds of carnivals, so similar to the Shrovetide festival, the "thank you" day. Perhaps someone will be able to supplement this list with a few more dates, but in fact there are more of them. And each of these holidays, if it can not become one of your favorite ones due to its exotic nature, then it's time to raise the mood or, at least, to be able to surprise the diversity of traditions with them once again. And to be surprised, believe me, there is something! Let's leave it to psychologists and political scientists to understand what exactly we differ from each other. Let's better see how we are similar. Help to see this can holidays, because they are blurring social and political boundaries and make us smile to each other. A smile and a good mood can rightfully be called the most universal language of communication. And this despite the fact that some of the holidays are so unique that it is simply impossible to find an analogue in the culture of another people. But, as they say, more holidays - good and different! It is about them that we want to tell in our article.

Holi - a holiday of all colors of the rainbow

If we talk about unusual holidays, then startbest of all with the brightest of them. Annually, India, which is already stunning with its color, turns into a place of real violence of colors and fun. At the end of February or the beginning of March (the beginning of the holiday depends on the day of the full moon, calculated according to a special calendar), Indians go out into the streets and shower each other with a colored powder or watered with colored water. They do this not out of a desire to play pranks, the feast has a religious basis. True, during its existence, there are too many legends explaining the reason for such binge, so that we can understand them. One of the legends tells us that the god Krishna, whose immortal love for Radha has many legends, came to his mother with the question of why his skin is so different from the color of his beloved's skin. Also has complained that exactly this difference does not allow them to turn to the most perfect pair of lovers. On which wise Yashoda advised him to sprinkle his face with her beloved powder from herbs and see how the color of her face will change. Since then, young girls and boys have sprinkled each other with colored powder. But just a sprinkling of colored powder does not stop there. The whole world knows "talking" Indian dances. So, there is a whole ritual dance in which young people apologize to each other and admit their sympathy. Now imagine this dance apology and recognition in the scale of the whole city! And the whole country ?! Is not it a stunning spectacle!

Cocktail reception for monkeys

The most unusual holidays in the world are dedicated tonot to people. So, for example, in Thailand and India - the culture of these countries abounds with exotic occasions and methods of celebration - they arrange a real banquet for monkeys. And they approach this holiday, I must say, with all seriousness. After all, these funny animals are honored for a reason. This holiday, like many others, has a centuries-old history and its own exculpatory legend. Lord Rama with his assistant and friend Hanuman, the god of monkeys, long and vainly tried to defeat the legions of evil on earth. Until, until he called Hanuman his army. The victory over evil was complete and unconditional. Hanuman left the land where the city of Lopburi is now. And the monkeys have since received their own banquet every year. At the end of November, on a huge seven-meter table for monkeys, beautifully, according to all rules of decorating the table, lay out 2 tons of fruit, rice and sweet drinks. And the most amusing is that drinks are poured over glasses. Monkeys are very responsible for their status of the perpetrators of the celebration and almost primly begin to prepare themselves for a meal. While it does not reach the drinks. Either they have time to wander, or well-fed monkeys forget about "manners", but in the finale of the holiday begins a complete rampage and fun with the beat of utensils and the closest disagreeable faces. Very human, is not it?

Funeral March ... sardine

And this unusual holiday comes from hot Spain. As it turned out, the Spaniards in general are very cheerful people. For the new year they share the ears of a dead donkey, and on a Shrovetide Tuesday they bury a sardine. And not just buried, but with funeral marches, widows and "sobs." This holiday was captured by the great Francisco Goya on one of his canvases. True, the sardine on the canvas of the great artist, as they say, does not smell, but the merriment fun is conveyed vividly and colorfully. Why are they burying fish with such honors, you ask? Everything is very simple. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, during the reign of King Carlos 3 in Spain, fish for the royal cuisine were slowly carried in carts. And there were times when the fish could not withstand the hardships of the long journey and deteriorated. Once the "wise and generous" king, learning about another "unsuccessful" delivery, decided to treat the fish with the second freshness of the inhabitants of Madrid. It happened just in the days of the carnival. Apparently, surrounded by Carlos 3 were literate nobles, who, in order not to provoke popular anger, added to the "aromatic" treat of Spanish wine. He was rolled out into the streets in barrels. And the Spaniards, in spite of all the myths about irrepressible temperament or simply not wanting to sin on the eve of the great post, did not start a revolution, but, dressed up as a funeral image, they buried the unhappy martyr-sardine. Today, the holiday almost did not preserve the stiffness of Spain in the 18th century. It is more like a carnival with traditional fun and incendiary dances. True, the performance with the "coffin" of sardines is also arranged today. The mourning procession is accompanied by mourners, disguised mustachioed men, from whom they then choose the most "inconsolable". Assign her an honorary widow and queen of the holiday. Fake sardines at the end of the holiday burn, and ashes buried in the ground. All according to tradition.

A Japanese is naked!

All who thought that unusual holidayspeace - the lot of temperamental southerners, do not know about the day of a naked man. This holiday will please the lovers of male striptease. And the most amazing thing is that this holiday is taking place in Japan. The country has low-key men and obedient women. But after all, we are talking about unusual holidays, and therefore - down with stereotypes! This holiday takes place on the frostiest day of February, and everything would be fine, but men on this day have to run almost naked through the streets, take an ice shower and make a circle in one loincloth around the temple. One comfort: the prudent Japanese solder their naked heroes hot sake and do not allow to stand idle. After all the ablutions in the icy water, real fights are arranged. "Hot Japanese guys" converge on an improvised tatami and compete who is who. Still, the closeness to Russia-Mother for the Japanese was not in vain! At midnight, all those who decided to take part in Hadaka Matsuri, and this is the name of this festival, gather at the door of the temple to receive the amulet that the priests throw out into the crowd. After that, the holiday enters its apogee. A crowd of men in loincloths goes out into the street with cries and songs, in this crowd among the half-dressed men one is absolutely naked, and it is to him that he needs to be touched "for good luck." Of course, if you are lucky enough to find him in a crowd of thousands, you can already consider yourself a rare lucky woman.

Playing snowballs in Spanish

The most generous of crazy holidays wasSpain. Then you and the sardine are buried. And they burn huge papier-mache dolls in Valencia at the Fallas festival. But this temperamental and cheerful Spaniards was not enough. They brought in the habit of hitting each other with ripe tomatoes. Very similar to Russian fun - a game of snowballs. Apparently, because of the lack of snow, the Spaniards had to manage with improvised means. Fun in the town of Bunyol begins in the last week of August, after harvest. And the celebration itself includes songs, dances, fairs and salutes. It would seem that nothing unusual, if not Tomato, to look and participate in which the residents of not only Spain, but also other countries come. And it all began with the usual fight that occurred in the 40s of the last century right on the holiday in honor of the patron saint of St. Louis Bertrand and the Mother of God defender. The townspeople so dispersed in the heat of the fight, that they grabbed ripe tomatoes from the fairground trays and threw each other at each other. The police broke up the fighters. But either they did not forgive each other, or they just liked to throw tomatoes, but exactly one year later in the same square the "fighters" gathered again. A ripe tomatoes brought with them. Tomato was repeatedly banned, but the tradition turned out to be so tenacious that the city authorities have reconciled with it and now every year on the Plaza del Pueblo square tons of tomato "snowballs" are brought. In the Bunyol about 9 thousand people of the local population, but the fighters are ten times more. They flock here from all parts of the country just before the holiday, in order to try their luck and climb onto the soapy pillar in the middle of the square behind the ham "hamon". As soon as one of the lucky beggars gets a ham, all the scammers are drained from the water cannon, and a tomato slaughter begins. There are no rightists and guilty, their own and others' - each for himself, and the main thing in this tomato war is not to win, and a few hours to be a child. All of us at one time in our childhood were told that it was indecent to throw food. So, at the holiday of Tomato it is mandatory. The main thing is not to forget to put on goggles and crush the tomato, so as not to instruct the "opponents" of bruises. March of the zombies in Texas, a festival of mud in Japan, an orange slaughter in Italy, a "yogurt festival" in Tibet, a beauty contest for elephants in Laos - unusual holidays wave rolled around the world. Each of them has its own history, many are unique and unique. But this, rather, serves as superfluous evidence that, no matter how different we are, no matter how different the peoples are from each other, there is one common desire for all - genuine joy and a feeling of a holiday in the soul.

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