Some people inquisitively raise an eyebrow when they hear that pancakes are celebrated by a whole population through a legalized national holiday called Pancake Day. Our vast world celebrates plenty of funny national holidays, but pancakes come nowhere near the strangeness of the ones that we are about to list down below.
So, read ahead and ask yourself if engaging in celebrations for either of these holidays is really worth a day off work.
#1 Tinku “Punch Your Neighbor” Festival
As amazing sounding as that may be, this Bolivian traditional holiday doesn’t involve people knocking on the doors of their neighbors and then leaping at them with a rain of fists. Continuing an old pre-Hispanic tradition, people from the village Tinku gather every year in a massive, public fight. This doesn’t happen because they desperately want a way to release all of the stress gained from thirty years of unrewarding employment. It was believed that spilling blood would ensure a good harvest.
#2 Obama Day
The soon-to-be-ex-President of the United States may have been elected by American people, but Kenyans were even more over the moon when Barrack Obama was chosen as the most powerful man in the world. Given that his grandfather was of Kenyan origins, the people of the African country wanted to showcase their pride by proclaiming a day wholly dedicated to celebrating the charismatic leader.
#3 Hadaka Matsuri
Another holiday that can be owed to a tradition that ran through history from the oldest of times. Hadaka Matsuri translates to “naked man festival.” Fortunately, the name mostly exaggerates the nakedness of the men who gather every year. They strip down to loincloths and engage in various activities that vary from one location to another. As in the case of many other celebrations, this is done in order to secure luck for the year. At least they don’t go around punching their neighbors for it.
#4 Create a Vacuum Day
No one knows why this holiday, celebrated on February the 4th, was created – or by whom, for that matter. Likewise, no one is really sure if it refers to the household application used for chores or to the definition of space. Regardless, most theories indicate the fact that it was most likely created as a way to ironically celebrate the dullness of chores and household work.
#5 Bermuda Day
No, not the country – the item of clothing. Proud of this contribution to the world of fashion, Bermudians celebrate the existence of these underpants on the 24th of May. Every year, citizens strut around their homeland wearing Bermuda pants as bottoms. This tradition doesn’t discriminate, as you may notice people in their Bermudas headed for the beach and a business meeting alike.
#6 National Weatherperson’s Day
Who said that weatherpeople didn’t get enough recognition? It’s apparently everything but that, given how a whole day was dedicated to honoring the people who consequently help us choose the most appropriate clothes for the next day. Unfortunately, there are no actual celebrations and the most that people do is try to pick the funniest weather report moment out of a bunch.
#7 Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day
A great national holiday to counter mass neighbor punching, this celebration urges people to be friendly to their neighbors. Not only is it a nice and wholehearted greeting mandatory, but it’s also recommended that you salute them with a big wave and a grin on your face.
#8 National Punctuation Day
Probably invented by someone who uses way more commas than necessary in a single sentence, the National Punctuation Day is celebrated on September 24th. Participants are encouraged to develop their punctuation skills by reading newspapers and circling punctuation errors. In other words, it’s a holiday that thoroughly encourages you to be that guy who corrects everybody in the YouTube comment section.
#9 National Hairball Awareness Day
Having your cat cough out a giant hairball on your carpet is certainly unpleasant, but is it so important that it requires a whole day dedicated to raising awareness to this issue? Apparently, it is. National Hairball Awareness Day encourages feline owners everywhere to pay extra attention to the grooming of their cat.
#10 Talk Like Shakespeare Day
Celebrated on June 23rd, the same day that the English writer was born, this national holiday attempts to honor William Shakespeare in an unconventional way. It urges people to contribute by substituting several words with those often found in Shakespeare’s plays. That’s not weird at all. But, see the bright side to it – you can take advantage of it to crypt your conversations and shelter them from eavesdroppers.
Leave a Reply