5 Messiest Festivals that You can go to across the Globe
Traveling to different places and enjoying a local festival is a great way of understanding other cultures. Well, yes it is also often a great way to understand which part of the globe consumes the most alcohol. If you are planning to just enjoy and have fun, there is no best way but to attend the messiest festivals known across the globe.
Water, tomatoes, oranges, flowers, bowling balls. They are throwing everything during these festivals. The bowling balls not included Here are some of the craziest festivals we know off.
Orange Throwing – Carnevale d’Ivrea in Italy
Head to the Piedmont region of Italy, specifically in the town of Ivrea when the calendar hits February and that will be the messiest part of the annual carnival. The battle of the oranges during the Carnevale d’Ivrea is said to have started during the 12th century.
The story of how it all started is a bit odd. During the olden times, a woman refused to sleep with the duke during her wedding day which was a local custom then. The woman beheaded the duke and started a revolution. Today, the oranges being thrown represent the head of the decapitated duke. The orange festival may look as a real chaos but it is not. Ivrea is divided into nine teams given a mission to attack each other. Some people will be riding high carriages representing the guards of the duke while the others will be throwing the fruits from below.
Oranges certainly can hurt you but you just need to wear a red cap to let the locals know that you are just there to watch. If you want to join in the action, all you need to is volunteer.
Pumpkin Chucking – World Championship Punkin Chunkin in Delaware
There is nothing to symbolize the coming of autumn better than the pumpkin throwing contest. I bet the organizers of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin will agree. It all begun with a bet between four friends to determine who can throw a pumpkin the farthest. Since 1986 it has blossomed into an annual festival that happens a week after the Halloween.
In the previous years, as much as 20,000 attendees flocked to Sussex County to test their muscles or assembled apparatus to chuck the pumpkin the farthest.
This is not messy if you are throwing the pumpkin away but imagine the life of the clean up crew after.
Throwing Colored Powder during the Festival of Colors in India
The Hindu Festival of Colors held towards the end of February or as March kicks off mixes the word messy with pretty. The second day of the Holi Festival marks the day when everyone, as in everyone, can throw colored powders at each other. The festival has medicinal origins actually as the powders are made from medicinal herbs to help fight off illnesses as the season goes on transition. Aside from the powder, water is hurled every where so your clothes and skin may end up with a tie-dye effect.
The Festival of Colors is also celebrated in other countries like West Bengal, Trinidad, Guyana, and Nepal. Some say that some of the powder and pastes thrown today contain toxic chemicals which may irritate your skin so a little research before you join may help.
Tomato Throwing at the La Tomatina in Spain
Food fights are always the messiest the most fun to join in. If you are in for some tomato throwing, head to the town of Buñol in Spain. The town hold La Tomatina every fourth Wednesday of August.
Locals and tourists hurl ripe tomatoes to each other for hours. Truck and truck loads of tomatoes are used during the event and literally the town is red right after the event. Don’t forget to bring your goggles or you might end up in the emergency room with a swollen eyelid or a cut that needs some stitching. Also, wear something that you will not mind throwing away after. Aside from the tomato throwing, there are tours that you can join during the weeklong festival.
Water Fighting and Splashing in different corners of Asia
Locals of Thailand welcome Songkran, or the Thai New Year, in April with massive water fights. Visitors and locals use buckets, water guns, garden hoses, and elephants (you read that right) to splash water to other people. Originally, the tradition involved sprinkling a small amount of water on someone’s hand to pay respects.
A similar tradition is observed in some parts of the Philippines in Southeast Asia. The most popular one is the Feast day of St. John the Baptist in San Juan City just near the capital Manila. Get ready to be wet if you will pass by San Juan on the 24th day of June.
In China, locals and tourist in Yunnan province enjoy water splashing as part of the 3 to 5 day Dai festival. Water symbolizes purity and holiness, and the splashing is meant to help wash away any bad thing clinging to you from the past year. So the more water splashed at you, the better. Aside from water splashing, there are dragon boat races, dancing, and great fireworks!