Weirdest National Holidays From Around The World

Ask A Stupid Question Day, USA

Image Source: Reddit

You might not have heard of this particular day, even those of you in the US, but it falls on the 28th of September every year! It was invented during the 80's at some point in order to encourage the quieter children in a class to step up and ask a question without the pressure of feeling embarrassed.

The Night Of The Radishes, Mexico

Image Source: Reddit

So, once a year in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico the residents come together for a whole night of radish fun. Sounds weird huh? Since it began in 1897 its grown in to a Christmas tradition, falling on the 23rd December, and the winner of the radish carving contest wins more than $1000.

Wren Day, Ireland

                                                                         

Image Source: Reddit

Boxing Day means something else for those in Ireland, they also celebrate Wren Day. This is dedicated to the martyr of Ireland St Stephen and the story that a wren betrayed him. Essentially young boys hunt a fake wren and tie it to a pole, all whilst singing and dancing as they do it. Sounds fun!

National Cleavage Day, South Africa

Image Source: Reddit

Popular lingerie brand Wonderbra, magazine: Cosmopolitan and a Johannesburg radio station created this day as a publicity stunt in 2002. It was made in order to allow woman to feel beautiful and independent but also 'give men a legitimate reason to stare at boobs'. Who's the winner?

Setsubun, Japan

                                   

Image Source: Reddit

In Japanese culture it is very important to try and ward off any sort of evil spirits, so on or around the 3rd February each year the Setsubun festival takes place. Around the festival activities, the residents of Japan throw soybeans around their homes and other places they need to protect in order them from spirits.

Chocolate Mint Day, USA

Image Source: Reddit

Why isn't this a national holiday around the entire world? A universal holiday! Surely everyone would support celebrating chocolate for one full day so we can all enjoy our favourite confectionaries. It was started by the National Confectioners Association (who knew they existed).

AFL Grand Final Eve, Australia

Image Source: Reddit

If we were to compare this to something here in the US, it would be like having a public holiday the day before the Superbowl. Yep, the Australian state of Victoria declared the eve of their biggest sporting event a holiday, meaning that the fans of the sport in the state had an extra day to drink.

Dragon Boat Festival Day, Hong Kong

Image Source: Reddit

Japan aren't the only country to try and ward off evil spirits via an obscure tradition. The 5th of May has been a day of long standing tradition in the Chinese community for warding off bad luck, and sometime in the 90's Hong Kong introduced dragon boats which became the main point.

Columbus Day, USA

Image Source: DW

Now, the actual holiday and what it stands for isn't actually weird at all, but when you look in to the details it becomes that way. Christopher Columbus is celebrated for discovering THE AMERICAS, but he actually never stepped foot in the United States himself. A day off is a day off though I suppose.

Melon Day, Turkmenistan

                                                   

Image Source: Reddit

One of Turkmenistan's most well known produce lines is musk melons. So, in 1993 the government decided to create a public holiday in order to celebrate them. It's essentially a whole day where they enjoy tasting and drinking the melon in a whole different range of classic and obscure recipes.

Flag Day, Argentina

Image Source: Daily Record

I suppose it isn't so weird to celebrate the flag of your country, but having a whole public holiday? In Argentina, on the 20th June they celebrate around the country the independence they received in 1812. They didn't actually get independence on that day, but the man that created the flag died then! Wholesome really.

International Tom Hanks Day

Image Source: Reddit

This actually began as a small gathering at Western Michigan University during the early 2000's, they wanted to watch his films for a full day basically. Eventually the man himself caught on and sent some items through, and from then parties have been thrown across the western world.

Hangul Day, South Korea

Image Source: Character Media

Little is known as to when the current English alphabet was actually introduced, but the Korean alphabet was actually developed in the 15th century. Before this, they had no written form of language! They typically spend time off from school and come to the statue of King Sejong as he was behind its development.

National Sleepyhead Day, Finland

Image Source: Finland Portrait

Maybe this could be something we follow the traditions of in everyday life, but on the 27th July each year, the Finnish people celebrate this sleepy occasion. In their homes, whoever is the last person to wake up gets a bucket of water thrown in their face. Some people even go as far as throwing them in the sea.

Nyepi, Nepal

Image Source: Wikipedia

Nyepi, also known as the day of silence, forces the entire population of Nepal to stay at home; tourists even have to take part in order to avoid legal action. Everyone is supposed to be self-reflective and avoid any form of entertainment. That means no: Tv, Talking, Walking, Travelling and so many more things. It's all silence.

Oil Nationalisation Day, Iran

Image Source: Forbes

The weirdest part about this that they don't really celebrate the day with anything interesting, they just close their shops and schools. In 1951, Iran stopped the British and other countries from taking their oil for free, originally declaring the day 'hatred against the British government'.

Singles' Day, China

Image Source: Jing Daily

The 11th of November (11/11) began as a way for students at Nanjing University to celebrate being single. Eventually, retailers caught on and it quickly became a phenomenon over in China. Each year, Alibaba, China's Amazon alternative, makes nearly 5 times the amount of cyber monday sales. In 2019 they hit $38bn!

St Clement's Day

Image Source: Every Day Is Special

This one has fallen out of favour a little since the religious movement has lowered in recent decades. It's also just as dangerous as it is weird, celebrating the patron saint of blacksmiths. Essentially, people would fill an anvil hole with gunpowder and then hammer it to see if they could make a big explosion. Very safe.

Ragamuffin Day, USA

Image Source: The New York Times

The predecessor to the Macy's parade was once the highlight of thanksgiving for a number of people, particularly the children of New York City. Kids would dress in rags and ask the adults for gifts for thanksgiving; they would usually get candy or small change, kind of like a fancy halloween.

Bonza Bottler Day, Australia

Image Source: Topical Tens

With a name like that, it could only be an Australian national holiday. It's quite a simple one and that's what makes it so weird. This isn't even an annual holiday, but a monthly one; it occurs when the day matches the number of the month, so Jan 1st, March 3rd and December 12th. It's all an excuse to have a drink really.

White Day, Japan

Image Source: Reddit

In eastern Asia, Valentine's Day is focused on the females gifting their male partners gifts such as expensive chocolates (or anything I suppose). So in 1978 a Japanese company decided that it was time for the woman to have a chance to receive presents, and so white day was born where, you guessed it, woman receive white presents.

The Monkey Buffet, Thailand

Image Source: The Straits Times

On the last sunday of every November, the Lopburi in Thailand begin celebrating the many monkeys that live in the area. It's believed they bring good luck to the local residents, and so the locals set up a buffet for the little creatures. They prepare more than two tonnes of fruit for the macaques, they'll go crazy!

The Feast of Anastenaria, Greece

Image Source: Greek Reporter

This is special, particularly to Greek residents of the Balkan descent. Most of the festival comes across as particularly traditional, there's a lot of music, food and of course drinking. However, they end the festival by grouping up together and walking on fire. Yep, they dance barefoot over burning hot coals.

La Tomatina, Spain

Image Source: Reddit

Every year, in Valencia, there's a tradition where that a large group of people fight each other, not with their fists, but by throwing tomatoes off of them. The history of the festival comes after an incident during a parade in the 40's where a man protested via throwing tomatoes.

Cheung Chau Bun, Hong Kong

Image Source: Reddit

I'm not entirely sure how they came up with this, but groups of citizens climb up bamboo towers covered in buns. Supposedly, the higher the bun you reach, the greater the fortune yourself and your family would receive. It was originally a festival for fishing communities, but it has since grown to be followed by a much larger community in Hong Kong.

Takanakuy, Peru

Image Source: Reddit

Takanakuy, translated to English, simply means 'to hit each other'; so it should be no surprise as to what this festival is really about. This local tradition involves the residents of small towns and villages getting in to physical, sometimes brutal fights. It's used as a way to avoid fights throughout the year, so you can get all your rage out in one organised fight.

Kumbh Mela, India

Image Source: NPR

Typically, this is one of the largest human gatherings in the world each and every year. The Hindu community  all gather around to celebrate the pilgrimage of Kumbh Mela. What might make this weird to you is that pretty much all of the 100+ million participants are wholly nude.

San Fermin Festival, Spain

Image Source: Reddit

You've seen this one before, almost definitely; it's also known as the running of the bulls. San Fermin accounts for the whole festival but, the running of the bulls is the highlight. The whole purpose is that hundreds if not thousands of people run down the narrow streets of Pamplona, trying to run away from the raging bulls chasing them down.

Kanamara Matsuri, Japan

Image Source: Reddit

The city of Kawasaki holds one of the strangest festivals related to a holiday you'll ever hear. Each spring, they celebrate the male penis, or as they call it 'The Steel Phallus'. It's all based off of the local legend where it's suggested, in the simplest terms, a blacksmith helped build a steel phallus to defeat the demon from within her vagina. Okay then.

Hadaka Matsuri, Japan

Image Source: Thaddeus Pope

From one Matsuri to another, you might have grasped that this word as some form of relation to the male phallus. During this holiday, half naked (they were sumo-like clothing) get in to a rumble with one another whilst they try to get the sacred charm thrown into the group by a priest. If they stuff the charm into a box of rice, it's suggested they'll have a year of happiness.