Weird Cultures

 

Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Festival

 

This could possibly be one of the most ridiculous, most dangerous festivals I’ve ever heard of. It’s an annual event held near Gloucester in England. The entire thing consists of a 9 pound round of Double Gloucester Cheese being hurled down a hill and competitors chase down the hill after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. Now before you start thinking that this is something you’d like to try out, I would like to point out that the cheese can reach speeds of up to 112km/h. There is also the fact that the hill is very steep and that most competitors end up falling head over heels down the hill to be carried off by one of the many paramedics waiting at the bottom. And to think that this has been going on for over 100 years…

 

 

Polterabend

 

This one is a German wedding custom that consists simply of smashing plates and other types of porcelain. On the night before the wedding, guests assemble in front of the bride’s home in order to break porcelain flowerpots, dishes, tiles and other objects. This tradition is supposed to be good luck for the impending marriage, and to ward off evil spirits. This practice often causes a lot of destruction but it is still enthusiastically embraced today. I don’t really think I have anything to say about this one except that, if I was an evil spirit I would just show up the next day at the wedding ready to watch more plate smashing and end up ruining the entire wedding.

 

 

Monkey Buffet Festival

 

Yes, as the name implies, this truly is, a buffet for monkeys.

 

This festival occurs every November in the town of Lop Buri, Thailand. Monkeys run free throughout this town the entire year but, instead of seeing them as a menace, the residents celebrate the presence of the monkeys. People set up tables in the downtown area and load them up with fruit, cake and candy. The monkeys are obviously attracted by this food, and they come and hop all over the tables, eat the food (duh!) and otherwise provide quite an entertaining spectacle for onlookers. Unlike many other traditions this one was only started in 1989 by one hotel owner, but, with Thailand’s encouragement, has grown to a festival that attracts thousands of tourists every year.

 

Can we just stop here and think what it would be like if monkeys were loose in the streets of Victoria. Now I don’t know about you but I’m envisioning complete and utter chaos.    

 

El Colacho

 

I’ve left this one till last because I feel that it’s probably more life threatening than the cheese rolling will ever be. This festival, which was originally organized in 1620 to ward off the Devil, is also known as baby jumping. Yes baby jumping. They’re literally jumping over babies. Weird right? Well here’s how it works:

Infants are laid on mattresses in the street after crowds gather to watch. Jumpers who wear costumes to look like the Devil then proceed to leap over the mattresses. This festival marks the Roman Catholic feast of Corpus Christi and is celebrated in Spain. I don’t want to even imagine how gruesome the injuries must be.