Unusual Festivals

My lecture is about unusual festivals. Could you give me some examples for unusual festival? -Yes that’s true -Don’t you have any idea? I’m sure you have seen some unusual festivals on TV but now you might forgot them. Forexample you imagin a lot of people gathering in a city throwing tomatos at each other just for fun. Have you ever participated in an unusual festival? -Yes: great this is such an interesting experience I’m sure you never fogot that day. -No: no problem I will give you a lot of information about it. I think you might be in charshanbesori.
It is held In the last Wednesday of the year. Just as the rest of the world moves forward into the online digital world, there are still various classical traditions from past centuries that retains their popularity with the new younger generation of people. Even as some of these traditions are strange and unusual, they have been held until now. Another example is Halloween. On October 31, in many countries children and adults dress up in unusual costumes. Some become witches or ghosts; others dress up as trees, goats, and in other very unusual costumes.
This festival started in Europe and has spread to all parts of the world. However, not all celebrations spread around the world. Every country has its own singular festivals. The first example that I prepared is Festival of Snakes Many people are afraid of snake.. In some parts of the world, snakes are regarded as evil or, at least, dangerous. But, there is one small village in Italy where the people seem to worship snakes. They show their respect and love for snakes with a festival. This festival is held each year in the tiny village of Cocullo, which is surrounded by some of Italy’s wildest forests.

There is a legend in Cocullo that the surrounding mountains and forests were once full of poisonous snakes. Many of the people from Cocullo who went into these areas died after being bitten by the poisonous snakes. In 700 B. C. , the villagers prayed to Apollo, a Greek god, for help. Apollo told them to capture the snakes, put them around his statue in the village, and then put them back in the mountains and forests. This seemed to work, and the ritual has been repeated ever since. Over the years, the villagers have made some changes to this tradition.
Now a statue of a Christian saint, Domenica, has replaced the statue of the Greek god Apollo. In addition, the villagers have added fireworks to the festival. Celebrations begin on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19, when the first snakes of the season are captured and put in cages. Two months later, on the first Thursday in May, villagers set off fireworks and then go to church. After church, the statue of Saint Domenica is carried through the streets, and villagers put the captured snakes around his statue. Then, more fireworks are set off.
At the edge of the village, the snakes are set free in the forest, and the villagers believe that they are immune from snakebites for another year. La Tomatina The festival of La Tomatina in Bufiol, Spain, is very simple. It is a food fight festival. Everyone throws tomatoes at each other on the last Wednesday of August. The town’s streets turn bright red as over 20,000 people hit each other with large, red, soft tomatoes. There are many ideas on how the festival started. The most likely explanation is that it started as a fight between poor and rich teenagers.
No one knows who threw the first tomato, but somehow they began throwing tomatoes at each other. Over the years, this local event has become a national event. It is no longer a war between poor and rich and is now an exciting time for young people to have a good time throwing tomatoes at everyone. The standard uniform is an old T-shirt, old shorts, and safety glasses. Farmers bring thousands of tomatoes from around the countryside, and the festival begins with the firing of a rocket. An hour later, the end of the festival is announced with the firing of another rocket, and everyone begins to clean up the town.
Zombie Walk A zombie walk is an organized public gathering of people who dress up in zombie costumes. Usually taking place in an urban center, the participants make their way around the city streets or through shopping malls or a local cemetery or other public spaces. Holi- The Festival of Colors This popular Hindu spring festival, observed in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and other Hindu countries, is also known as The Festival of Color. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month, usually in the later part of February or March.
It is Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land. Crying Baby Festival overweight men in this shape can be a very scary sight for many of us. So, you can imagine how babies will react when they are held by one of these men. In Konaki Sumo, a Japanese festival, pairs of babies are held by men like this facing each other. The winner is the baby who cries first. The festival is based on the Japanese proverb “crying babies grow fast”. Fish-Swallowing Festival the festival involves eating fish but the difference is that they are still alive! t is happend in The last Sunday of every February in Geraardsbergen in Belgium. The ceremony draws protests from animal rights activists who want to substitute live fish with fish-shaped marzipan. Monkey Buffet Festival There really is a festival just for monkeys every year in Thailand. On the last Sunday in November at the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province, north of Bagkok,thousands of pounds of fruit is gathered for a huge buffet just for monkeys. The festival over the years has become more lavish and has put this small province on the world tourism map. Wife Carrying World Championships
Each summer, this weird event in Sonkajarvi, Finland, becomes more and more popular. The wife-carrying contest has been at a world championship level for over 13 years now. Wife carrying is a sport in which male competitors race while each carrying a female teammate. The objective is for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle track in the fastest time. Now my lecture is finished. I want to know your opinion. -Do you think it is a good idea to hold these festivals? For example in tomatina thousands tones of tomato are wasted. While it is possible to cook them and to use them instead of throwing them at each ther. However I have to admit tomatina bring happiness to many of people. But some of them like Crying Baby Festival, Fish-Swallowing Festival, Monkey Buffet Festival and Baby-Jumping Festival are really ridiculous and some of them are really dangerous. -What’s your opinion about charsaabesori in Iran? -Do you agree with it or not? Yes I agree with you. Nowadays it become like a urban war. it is such an dangerous night. As all of us know unfortunately many people die and injure seriously. – Do you have any question? Thanks a lot for your consideration.