The word “holiday” originally meant “holy day.” Holy literally means “set apart.” Thus, a holiday is a day set apart from other ordinary days of the year.
We are all familiar with holidays like Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s. But did you know that there are “holy days” that are not really sacred, but rather strange? And some of them are just weird!
Monkey Buffet Festival
According to 25list.com, the world’s largest primate party is celebrated in Lopburi village, Thailand, every last weekend of November.
The jungle dwelling monkeys around Lopburi are known to be gluttons, harassing visitors for food. In 1989, the villagers decided that the best way to deal with these naughty monkeys is to embrace them.
Each year, they lay out a buffet of morsels for the monkeys at Pa Prang Sam Yot temple. They serve peanuts, cucumbers, and raw crabs.
Penis Festival
There’s a unique festival in Japan called Knamara Matsuri or Penis Festival. It is celebrated each spring in the city of Kawasaki.
The festival celebrates fertility by parading gigantic penis-shaped Shinto shrines while people suck on penis lollipops, buy penis-themed memorabilia, and pose with penis-shaped sculptures.
According to BBC, the festival started in 17th century, when prostitutes prayed at Kanamra shrine for protection from sexual infections. Today, the festival aims to raise awareness on the same theme, this time, about safe sex. The fest also raises fund for HIV prevention.
TRIVIA PA MORE(Various Sources):
Polar bears can eat as many as 86 penguins in a single sitting, if they lived in the same place.
A flock of crows is known as a murder.
Cherophobia is the fear of fun.
Bananas are curved because they grow towards the sun.
Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_ atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
-Kim Atienza
