10 most unusual festivals from across the world

Festivals are a universal expression of culture, tradition, and community spirit. While many celebrations follow familiar patterns, there are some festivals around the world that stand out for their uniqueness, and cultural richness. Here, we take you on a journey to explore such unusual festivals that are celebrated with much enthusiasm, and add a mark to the global celebration scene.

Every August, the small town of Buñol in Spain transforms into a sea of red during La Tomatina, the world's largest food fight. Thousands of participants gather to pelt each other with overripe tomatoes, creating a joyous and messy spectacle. This eccentric festival is a testament to the Spanish spirit of revelry and camaraderie.

Songkran, the Thai New Year, is celebrated with a massive water fight. Held in April, during the hottest time of the year, the festival involves people of all ages indulging in dousing each other with water, which symbolises cleansing of the past year and welcoming a fresh year and start. The streets come alive with laughter and water-splashing revelry.

This festival takes place in Lerwick, Shetland, in January, and is an annual Viking fire festival. Participants dress up as Vikings, complete with elaborate costumes and helmets, and march through the streets carrying torches. The festival culminates in the burning of a Viking longship, symbolising the end of the Yule season.

Celebrated on November 1 and 2, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican festival honouring deceased loved ones. Families create colourful altars adorned with photographs, food, and memorabilia, and gather in cemeteries for picnics. The festival is a unique blend of joyous celebration and solemn remembrance.

The Cheung Chau Bun Festival in Hong Kong is a Taoist celebration held annually. The highlight of the festival is a tower covered in buns, and participants engage in a bun-scrambling competition, climbing the tower to collect as many buns as possible. The festival combines religious traditions with a captivating display of agility.

Translated as the ‘Naked Festival,’ Hadaka Matsuri is an annual event held at various locations across Japan. Participants, often clad only in loincloths, gather to compete for sacred objects thrown by priests. The festival is deeply rooted in Shinto traditions and is believed to bring good fortune and prosperity.

In the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, the Yi Peng Lantern Festival takes place during the full moon of the twelfth month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. Thousands of lanterns are released into the night sky, creating a bright display of floating lights. This festival symbolises the release of misfortunes and embracing a brighter future.

It’s a one-of-a-kind aquatic symphony as divers and snorkelers participate in the Underwater Music Festival at Looe Key Reef, where submerged melodies and floating instruments create a unique marine concert experience.

This festival is all about the mud madness, where revellers indulge in playful mud fights, mudslides, and spa treatments using the nutrient-rich mud from the Boryeong mud flats, turning an ordinary mud day into a vibrant and messy celebration.

Witness a quirky feast fit for monkeys as Lopburi transforms into a primate paradise during the Monkey Buffet Festival. Locals and tourists gather to offer a lavish spread of fruits, vegetables, and treats to the city's resident macaques in a delightful and unusual spectacle.