8 Most BIZARRE Asian Festivals

Sumo wrestling babies and monkey buffets? No, it's not what you guys think. Hey everyone, welcome to Off the Great Wall, I'm Dan the Man. And I'm Yi the... Yeah, we haven't figured out a good one for that yet. Anyways, festivals usually represent traditions and marks the celebration of some sort, right? Everyone's heard of Running of the Bulls, Dia de los Muertos, and Mardi Gras. Well, we're going to tell you about some of the strangest festivals from Asia that will either make you go, what? Or, hmm, I might just hop on a plane and see it for myself. So, here we go! The Crying Sumo Festival. The Nakizumo Festival, which literally translates to Crying Sumo Festival, takes place every year in April at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan. Based on the name, you might think that it involves a crying sumo wrestler, but you would be wrong. It's actually a festival in which sumo wrestlers try to make babies cry. This might sound wacky because most parents spend a good deal of their time trying to get their babies to stop crying. But actually, this festival stems from a Japanese proverb that states, crying babies grow fat. It is believed that when babies cry loudly, it will lead to a long and healthy life. It is also believed that the sound of a baby crying can drive off any demons that can cause harm. So, here's how it goes down. At the festival, giant sumo wrestlers each hold a small baby and try to make them cry. They could pretty much use any method as long as, of course, they don't hurt the baby. So that means making faces, jiggling the baby, or yelling at the baby to cry. Cry! Cry! The baby that cries first wins. If both babies start crying at the same time, the baby that cries louder wins. The funny thing is, some babies just don't care, no matter how much they're provoked. In this case, a referee puts on a scary mask to help them along. Oh, and did we mention that the babies wear cute little costumes? This tradition started 400 years ago and gradually became more and more popular, although it is celebrated in other temples across Japan. The one in Tokyo attracts the most people every year. There can be around 100 babies competing and even more parents watching. Can you imagine if they turned this into a professional sport? The Monkey Buffet Festival. Alright guys, I know what you're thinking. It's a weird festival in Asia involving monkeys with the word buffet. But actually, it's just a festival in which a large buffet is laid out for monkeys. It takes place every November in Lopburi, Thailand. Thousands of pounds of fruits, vegetables, cakes, and candies are prepared by chefs and laid out for the local monkeys. These monkeys have coexisted with the people in the city for a long time. And though they can be annoying, the monkeys are tolerated because they bring tourism. And according to a local legend, Lopburi was founded by a heroic monkey. The Monkey King? Um, no. Not every monkey is the Monkey King. The monkeys are actually invited to feast properly with actual invitations attached to cashews. And the buffet is entirely vegetarian made out of mostly tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, dragon fruits, apples, pineapples, and durians. They're even served a special traditional Thai dessert called Tong Yat that's notoriously hard to make. Though the city of Lopburi is quite historical, this festival is a fairly new one. It was started in 1989 by a local businessman who wanted to drive more tourism to the town. Needless to say, he succeeded. Thousands of tourists and locals attend the festival every year to see the monkeys at their grand feast. Actually, forget about being a spectator. How do I get in on that feast? You know, you do have some monkey-like qualities. I was born in the year of the pig. Okay, moving on. The Omed Omedan, also known as the Kissing Ritual, is a festival celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. The name literally translates to Pull Pull because it represents the fight between a male and female pig and the back and forth of positive and negative elements. All unmarried youths from ages 17 to 30 can attend the smooch fest while other villagers pour water over them. Things can get pretty lively and many couples meet through this festival as you can probably imagine. And in the festival, the men and the women tug and pull and kiss. Omed Omedan is celebrated after the Nyepi or the Day of Silence, a day of reflection which prohibits lighting fires or using electricity, traveling or engaging in any form of entertainment. It is a ceremony for the youths of the village to express their joy on the first day of the new year and it's been around for at least 100 years. It is believed that this festival can ensure good health, prosperity to all participants and protect the village from bad luck in the coming year. The Boryeong Mud Festival The Boryeong Mud Festival is an annual festival held in South Korea during the summertime, usually in July. It's probably one of the largest festivals in Northeast Asia as it regularly attracts millions of attendees each year. The Mud Fest takes place in Boryeong, a place known for its mineral-rich mud, which is great for the skin and used in many cosmetic products. Not surprisingly, this festival was started in 1998 to promote Boryeong Mud cosmetics, known to sell by mud masks. Anyways, the festival goes on for two weeks and takes place at the beach and involves all things mud. Attendees can enjoy mud slides, mud baths, mud fountains, mud obstacle marathons, mud massages, etc. It's basically spring break with mud. At the end of the festival, everyone is completely covered in mud and indistinguishable from each other. The best part is, your skin will have enjoyed the many benefits of Boryeong Mud, but you have to wash it off with a special mud soap. Note to self, add mud soap to the list. Hey, guys gotta look good too, right? The Changchow Bun Festival This is probably the most delicious festival on this list because it involves tens of thousands of buns. This festival is celebrated on the island of Changchow in Hong Kong on the 8th day of the 4th month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually early May. It honors the god Pak Tai, also known as Hei Di or Black Deity. Legend has it that Changchow Island was suffering from a plague and pirates until local fishermen brought an image of Pak Tai to the island. The god drove away the evil spirits and so the people celebrate the bun festival in his honor, setting up offerings for him, mostly buns of course. There's even an official bun supplier for the festival, which provides 60,000 buns throughout the week-long celebration. During this festival, people also put on parades, lion dances, and street fairs. Altars and incense are set up and people come to worship the gods and pray for health and prosperity. The most eye-catching and unique aspect of this festival is the bun-grabbing contest, which takes place on the last day of the celebrations. A 60-foot tower of buns is set up and contestants climb up and try to grab as many buns as they can in three minutes. The higher the buns, the better. Hey, it's the world's biggest water fight ever! The Songkran Water Festival is Thailand's most famous festival and marks the new year in the Buddhist Hindu solar calendar. Armed with super soakers, buckets of water, and even elephants, people crowd the streets during this holiday to kick off the summer. The holiday officially lasts for three days, but the celebration can last up to a week in more populated areas. Originally, the pouring of water was related to Buddhist rituals and symbolizes purification. But during modern times, it's also associated with fertility and the wish for bountiful harvests. But be careful, because during the week of Songkran, celebrations often lead to a high number of accidental deaths resulting from drunk drivers. So if you are going to go there and visit, make sure you do it responsibly and probably bring a wetsuit. The Belly Button Festival The Belly Button Festival is a summer festival in Japan that celebrates a not-often-talked-about body part, the belly button. The festival was started by the residents of Furano, a city in Hokkaido. Hey, that's where I was born! The residents wanted some sort of town festival that would bring people together, and the festival organizers thought of a dance featuring the belly button. Since the belly button is located in the center of the human body, just as Furano is located at the very center of Hokkaido, for this special dance, dancers painted faces on their bellies and wore costumes. The results are pretty bizarre, but really fascinating. The festival has been around since 1969. When it first began, no one wanted to join the belly button dance because people thought it was weird. They only managed to get 11 participants for the first dance. Now, every summer, approximately 4,000 dancers and 60,000 tourists gather over two days for this dance. The festival has also spread beyond Hokkaido and to other parts of Japan as well. And no, it looks nothing like belly dancing. The Harbin Ice Festival. Do you like winter wonderlands? If you do, you might want to check out the world's largest ice and snow festival, which takes place in Harbin in China each year. And no, it's not like a couple of realistic ice sculptures. We're talking about massive buildings, trains, sculptures of western-looking gods and deities. This incredible festival lasts around one month, or as long as the weather permits. The ice city also lights up at night, so no wonder this festival draws millions of visitors from China and around the world each year. Other festival activities include skiing, winter swimming, staying at ice hotels, dog sledding, safari-style Siberian tiger watching, and there's mass wedding ceremonies taking place as well. Hey, maybe Disney will film the next live-action Frozen adaptation there. Let it go, let it go. So there you go, guys, some of the weirdest, wackiest festivals you'll find in Asia. And the thing is, these festivals aren't considered very wacky in Asia. It's just that in the West, there's no similar holidays. But anyways, that's just a note I wanted to make. But anyways, let us know how you like these festivals and if you want to see a list of the most dangerous Asian festivals. Would that be interesting? Because we could do one of those. And guys, let us know if you've ever been to any of the ones we talked about on our list, because we'd love to know your experiences there. And we also want to know about some festivals that you guys know about but we might not know. So leave us a comment in the comment section below. Don't forget to check out our older videos right over here. Like and subscribe, and we'll see you guys again. Bye!