My Passion Blog

This blog has taken us around the world, to different temples, cities, and villages, all with some unique culturally significant practice that most United States citizens would not have come across in daily life. This final post will be about a strange snorkeling championship, but like the others, is not what comes to mind.

In a small Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells in the UK, the annual “World Bog Snorkeling Championship” takes place. For those who do not know what a bog is, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a poorly drained usually acid area rich in accumulated plant material, frequently surrounding a body of open water, and having a characteristic flora (as of sedges, heaths, and sphagnum)”. To me, this does not seem like the first place I would think to go snorkeling! It is rumored that this interesting traditional sport was created due to a bar bet in 1976. Although it only started with a few daring participants, hundreds of swimmers flock to Llanwrtyd Wells to try to break the record for traversing the jet-black waters. In 2019 the bog snorkelers included participants from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States, making this a truly international world championship.

The competition itself is pretty simple. Each August, the competitors must complete two laps of a 180-foot lane carved into the Waen Rhydd peat bog, only with the help of flippers and a snorkel. Some recommend wearing a wetsuit as well, due to the slightly uncomfortable water temperatures, but it is not required. Some participants even wear outlandish costumes to the point where now, the best costume is awarded with a prize. However, the best costume award is not what entices participants each year. Similar to the Olympics or any other sporting event, there is a record to be broken. The goal of the competition is to swim through the murky waters in the least amount of time. Currently, the world record was set by Neil Rutter at the Waen Rhydd bog on August 26, 2018, with a time of 1 minute and 18.81 seconds.

The swimming starts at around 10 in the morning. There are signs posted to guide people from the town to the bog via a nice walk about a mile in length, and there is also a shuttle bus running from the town square to the bog and back throughout the day, which starts running at around 9 am. There are food and drink vendors, crafts, a bouncy castle, live music and an authentic bar on the event’s site, so it’s a great day out even if you don’t think taking the plunge into murky waters is desirable. Online entries close about 7 days before the event, but you can enter on the day if you have the sudden desire to! Entry fees are £15 for seniors (over 16 years old) and £12 for juniors (14 to 15 years old). Although this may seem like a strange practice stemming from a bet, it serves as a platform to raise awareness for the environmental importance of peat bogs and the wildlife that reside in them. This is a very important goal that often gets overlooked by the intense competition and the strange sporting event, but with climate change and industrialization, many habitats including peat moss bogs are in danger. Incorporating messages like these into fun events is something the United States should take into account. After all, supporting an event with a good cause is twice the fun. Thank you for embarking on this cultural journey with me and I hope some of you can visit these amazing places and take part in these festivals!

Looking back on it, the childish glee that came along with the phone call from my school district declaring a snow day is something I have not felt since that time. With the help of my two brothers, I would construct massive igloos and snow castles in the winter wonderland that comes with a Connecticut winter. Building those snow constructions with my brothers are some of my most fond childhood memories, so when I found out that there was a large-scale competition for constructing massive snow creations, I knew I had to look into this event.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2020 is held in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province. It is usually celebrated from December 24 to February 28, ranging over the entire holiday season and new year. This festival adds some light and fun to the bitter winters of this area, and brings in many tourists, being named one of the world’s biggest winter festivals. Annually, there are 10 to 15 million visitors. This festival covers 600,000 square meters of land and encompasses sculptures of all shapes and sizes. One of the most monumental sculpture stood at around 46 meters high!

Construction of the sculptures is quite complex, as stability needs to be maximized to ensure no participants get seriously injured if one of the sculptures were to topple over. 10,000 trained workers cut and haul the blocks of ice from the Songhua River to the construction workers. These workers collect and transport nearly 200,000 cubic meters of ice to the site. The blocks weigh up to 1,545 pounds each, so this job is not easy! Only qualified people with pre-approved plans may work with the blocks of ice to sculpt their masterpieces so, unfortunately, the average citizen may not participate in the formation of these structures, but it is more than enough to visit and take in the views of these magnificent pieces of winter art. There are three main venues in the festival, each with different visitation hours and ticket prices. The Zhaolin Park Ice Lantern Festival venue and the Ice and Snow World venue are evening exhibitions, and the snow sculptures on Sun Island are only for viewing in the daytime. Zhaolin Park is mainly catered towards children, with sculptures of animals and magical figures while also including ice slides and other fun activities while the other two venues are more for adults to enjoy with their sophisticated architectural designs and amazing detail.

As apparent by the nature of the festival, it is very cold and thus, proper winter attire is recommended on your visit. In Harbin, the winter temperature is from -13°F to 14°F, not including wind chill! Thick arctic clothing is recommended, and thick boots would be beneficial as well, as during the festival you will need to walk around to take in the views. Also, an interesting recommendation is to take proper care of your camera battery, because at low temperatures like these, the fully charged battery will not last as long, so you will need to make sure that you keep your devices protected from the elements as well. The beauty of this festival cannot be described by words, as the LED lights lighting up the ice and fireworks lighting up the sky is like something out of a dream. The childish glee of sitting back and admiring my ice and snow creations is nothing compared to what these artists feel when they finally complete their looming, gargantuan sculptures, only for them to be melted down and reconstructed in the next year.

Last semester, I wrote about a Spanish festival called “La Tomatina”, in which participants throw tomatoes at each other for hours on end, completely obliterating anything in sight with the red, sticky tomato juice. After reading about that, I did not expect to come upon another event that matches La Tomatina’s messy ways until I encountered this festival.

Like “La Tomatina”, this festival called the “Batalla del Vino” also is held in Spain. I am sure that if you know Spanish, you can guess what this festival is all about, but for those who do not, this festival is essentially one of the world’s biggest food and drink battles with, you guessed it, wine! This event is held in the small town of Haro, in the heart of the La Rioja wine region. The town is very quintessential and beautiful, so it makes sense that the actual battle is held about 4 miles outside of town, in the Riscos de Bilibio hills. It is held annually on June 29 to celebrate and honor the saints of San Juan, San Felices, and San Pedro. In the morning, locals and tourists gather and usually attend a mass before trekking to the hills. After the hike, the battle begins! The goal is to soak the people surrounding you with as much wine as possible! It is suggested that you wear white to show how purple you get after being soaked by the wine for a whole day! At noon, the battle halts and people stop for lunch. It is tradition to feast on snails and lamb chop for lunch, but there are a variety of vendors available for the more diverse, modern crowd (especially tourists). The party continues after lunch in Haro, with live music, dancing, and even shopping at the local markets and street stalls. It may seem odd that a tradition like this even exists, but it has a rich history which is very monumental to the people of Haro. It gets its roots back in the sixth century when San Felices de Bilibio died and was buried in the caves of the Riscos de Bilibio hills. People would pay homage to him, leaving wine in the hills. Eventually, a chapel was built there in the 18^th century, the site of the wine baptisms of the 20th century. Over time, these baptisms turned into wine celebrations and voila! The wine battle was born. Before coming to this wonderful festival, there are a few things to keep in mind when planning the trip. First off, make sure to bring clothes, mostly white in color, that you do not mind ruining. As mentioned previously, this festival gets very messy and will stain your clothes. A handkerchief tied around the neck is also a popular wardrobe choice, so that wine does not go trickling down your neck or back. Usually, there are specially themed handkerchiefs for purchase each Batalla del Vino, so you can take it, along with your stained clothes, back home as souvenirs. Make sure to bring a container with you as well, to fill up on the ammunition. Plastic buckets and bottles are mostly used, but the best recommendation is a water gun! If you are planning on staying in Haro overnight, make sure to plan accordingly ahead of time, because reservations fill up very quickly! Bon voyage, or buen viaje!

Although Italy may not be the most ideal destination of travel currently, it is still important to consider this wonderful place in future travel plans. If you are unsure of what to do leading up to lent, I would suggest making a trip to Venice, Italy to see what “Carnevale” has to offer.

If you have never had the slight fantasy of attending a masquerade ball or any large event where people’s identities are concealed until a final reveal, you should seriously consider how fun it would be. Carnevale is a two-week-long celebration leading up to Lent, either in the streets of Venice with candle-lit parade boats, concerts, and street performers, or at opulent masquerade balls that tend to require invitations and have steep ticket prices, there is something for everyone to enjoy and take part in, regardless if you are looking to splurge or simply have a free spectacle. This may sound like a free-for-all, but this festival is deeply rooted in Venice’s history. During the 40-day Lent period, parties were off-limits, and so was eating foods like meat, fats, and sugars. This festival acted as a “release” of these sorts of cravings so people could get everything out of their systems before committing to Lent. In fact, the word Carnevale may come from the Latin words carne and vale, meaning “farewell to meat”, so it makes sense that this festival is named as such. It is said that it started in 1162 when the townspeople celebrated a victory over the Patriarch of Aquileia. Although many societal factors over the years since caused fluctuations in the Carnevale festival, the tradition has managed to stay celebrated even today.

A large part of this celebration is the Venetian masks. Although wearing masks has been a strange and specific target of bans over the centuries, including Mussolini’s ban of the celebrations altogether, it did not stifle the mask tradition. Masks were historically worn during promiscuous endeavors, and even when carrying out daily tasks. While wearing masks out in the streets, state inquisitors and spies could question citizens without fear of their true identity being discovered, and citizens could answer without fear of recognition. The morale of the people was maintained through the use of masks. With no faces, everyone had voices. This practice stimulated the society of Venice to allow it to develop into such a rich culture with elaborate history. The masks are handcrafted from paper-mache and wildly decorated with fur, fabric, gems, or feathers. They can be very expensive depending on how much detail is included in it, so make sure to choose a mask based on your budget. Overall, this event, with its rich history and unique events is something that should definitely be included on your bucket list. Make sure to hold on tight to your friends at this festival because it is easy to lose yourself, and them, in this incredible masked Italian celebration.

When you think of the desert, you likely think of a vast, dune filled nothingness with the occasional cactus or camel. However, the Jaisalmer Desert Festival is certainly not part of this desert stereotype. Amidst the beautiful dunes of the Thar Desert in the Sam dunes, there are a plethora of unique events that you can participate in, making the desert come alive with color and happiness.

During the festival, the locals will dress in traditional, brightly colored clothing. The festival begins with a procession from the Jaisalmer Fort to the Shahid Poonam Singh Stadium where the festivities are focused. Participants may enter in the longest mustache contest, polo matches, camel rides, desert safaris, and much more. The festival ends on Poornima, or full moon day, in the Sam dunes. With the sun setting in the background of the “Sonar Quila” Jaisalmer Fort in the distance, it is easy to get lost in the fairytale-like views. There is a deeply rooted history behind this festival that many people who attend are not aware of. An article about this amazing Indian holiday describes the history behind this event: “Lord Krishna, ruler of Yadav community told Arjuna (one of the Pandavas) that a successor belonging from the Yadav community will set up His kingdom on the Trikuta Hill. In the year 1196, the prediction made by Lord Krishna came true, when Rawal Jaiswal, a descendant of the Yadav clan, established his kingdom in Jaisalmer. Celebrations were organized throughout the kingdom when the people came to know that the prophecy has come true. The celebrations soon developed into a festival that is now organized every year. The government started marketing the vibrant festival as an international drawing visitor to the Jaisalmer Desert City”. As you can see, this celebration has grown and developed over quite some time and holds incredible cultural significance. Along with the immense history behind this event, traditions are carried forwards every year. It is always held in the Hindu month of Magh (February), three days before the full moon, so in 2020, the Jaisalmer Desert Festival will be held from February 7^th to February 9^th. This event is full of dancing and incredible outdoor activities, so it is important to plan according to the weather. It is important to sample many of the different local food options from the various vendors in the festival to be fully immersed in this festival. Handcrafted goods and local products are also being sold throughout the venue, so buying souvenirs for all of your jealous friends back home is quite easy. Upon reading about this event, one of the most interesting parts was the unique competition for men by the name Maru Shri or Mr. Desert Pageant, which attracts locals as well as international travelers. It doesn’t seem to fit the other events relating to camels and dancing, but it could be interesting to enter (for all of you handsome guys out there). So get ready to saddle up on camelback and grow your mustache out because the Jaisalmer Desert Festival is calling your name.

 

Continuing the theme from the last post of festivals that are incredibly aesthetically pleasing, our next destination is Thailand for two very famous light festivals occurring on the same day, called Loy Krathong and Yi Peng.

Loy Krathong is on October 31 this year and is known as the Thailand Lantern Festival. This festival is celebrated nationwide, and people release lotus-shaped baskets decorated with candles and flowers onto the rivers. The most popular places to go to celebrate Loy Krathong are Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, and Bangkok. The history behind this practice is deeply rooted in Thailand’s history, originating to pay homage to the spirits of the river and the water gods for providing rain. Further accounts including statements by King Mongkut, who lived from 1804 to around 1869 state that this festival used to be Brahmanic later adopted by Buddhists to pay homage to the Buddha by the beauty and purity of the lights on the river. In the United States, there is no large event that resembles Loy Krathong. I do not think it would be feasible to replicate this festival here because although it would be very beautiful, environmental concerns like litter being released into our waterways and risks of fire outbreaks from the candles would not be received well by the general public.Yi Peng, the other festival, is also celebrated on the same day in Northern Thailand, especially I Chiang Mai. This festival is different than Loy Krathong because although lights are involved, they are released into the sky in lanterns instead of onto the rivers. On the lanterns, people write phrases of good luck and prayers and send them up into the sky, hoping that they will come true. The lanterns, called khom loi in the native language, are made of rice paper stretched over a bamboo frame with a candle attached to the base. The heat produced by the candle gets trapped inside the lantern, allowing it to rise high into the sky. Like in the United States, the lanterns are unpredictable and are subject to many governmental restrictions. This festival also had Buddhist ties. It is believed that Yi Peng originated in India to celebrate the legend in which a bird carrying a candle visited the Buddha, speaking to him about merit. Since paying respect and speaking with the Buddha is considered a way to be reborn in the next life, people release their lanterns in the sky as a way to communicate with the Buddha, while also releasing their own mistakes and bad luck. If the released lantern disappears into the sky before the light goes out, it is believed that the person who released it will have good luck in the next year. However, if it crashes, the next year will be plagued by bad luck, so this festival has significance to many people in determining their fortune in the future year.With this in mind, there are several important “rules” of Loy Krathong and Yi Peng to mention. Since they are heavily tied to Buddhist religion, it is extremely important to follow Buddhist etiquette for dress code and manners. Without proper behavior, it would be easy to offend someone, their beliefs, and their culture. As visitors, we must maintain good connections with the locals and ensure that we do not impose on their culture to be respectful. This is the most important aspect of these festivals to consider. Others include ensuring safety with flames of the candles and keeping your travel buddies close, as these events tend to get crowded and it is easily to get lost in the chaos.In just one day, a journey to Thailand could completely blow your mind with the incredible views and pure aura surrounding this festival. Satisfy your Tangled light festival dreams and attend Loy Krathong and Yi Peng.

When thinking of aesthetically pleasing, picturesque scenes, hot air balloons floating through the sky is one of my first thoughts. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes this aesthetic to a whole new level, creating a 9-day festival where hundreds of hot air balloons are released into the sky, filling the air with incredible colors and unique designs.

This spectacle, held in October in the beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico, attracts thousands of children and adults alike. There were a whopping 866,404 guests in attendance during last year’s event, demonstrating how popular this event really is.During the nine days, there are about 588 hot air balloons sent up into the sky, with 671 pilots from around the world. This all started in 1972, when 13 balloons were gathered in the parking lot of the Coronado Center Mall in Albuquerque. Over time, this event morphed from a small anniversary celebration to a large festival environment with multiple events. In addition to the spectacular Mass Ascensions, the Balloon Fiesta has added several new events to the festivities: the annual Balloon Glow, the Night Magic Glow™, and the Special Shape Rodeo™. It is estimated that about 25 million photographs are taken of the Balloon Fiesta each year, repeatedly earning it the title “the world’s most photographed event”.Although this is the largest hot air balloon festival, there are plenty of smaller versions of this festival around the world and in other states in the United States besides New Mexico, so there are plenty of options that may not be as spectacular, but could still satisfy the aesthetic of a hot air balloon filled sky.

If you chose to attend this festival, the tickets to get in general admission are very inexpensive, only about $10 per person if you buy them in advance. But of course, like any other festival of this sort, there are special packages for higher prices that give you better views, private bathrooms, and even hot air balloon rides as well.

All in all, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is an event that will take your breath away and leave you with Instagram post content for months. So, who’s taking a trip to New Mexico next October with me?

Do you like cheese? And do you also like watching people make a fool of themselves? If you answered yes to both of those questions, you may find yourself, along with hundreds of others at a cheese rolling festival in Coopers Hill, Brockworth, United Kingdom. This strange festivity is considered as one of the 7 most bizarre “Feats of Strength” in the entire world. Contestants each year barrel down this intensely steep hill to chase a rolling cheese wheel down the slope, trying to reach it faster than the other participants.

This strange event may seem like it originated from some prank or practical joke, but its roots are grounded in history. Although the legacy lives on without a conclusive origin, but many people attest that it spawned during the early 1800s to celebrate the turn of winter and a fresh harvest of crops. Some even venture as far back as the ancient Romans, who used to have a fort on the top of Cooper’s Hill and are credited as the first people to send objects flying down the steep slope.

In any case, regardless of origin, the Gloucestershire cheese roll lives on even today. Participants daringly face injuries throughout this event, but surprisingly no one has ever been killed at the cheese roll, contrary to some urban legends about a runner dropping dead at the end of the race centuries ago. The slope itself, which drops away at a near 70-degree angle, then shifts to 50 degrees, then plunges again, then levels out, then falls before abruptly flattening at the bottom, is a monster that even people in skis would not want to tackle. By the time they hit the safety net at the bottom of the 250-yard racecourse, the cheese wheels are spiraling unpredictably at up to 70 miles an hour. Keep in mind that the cheese wheel, at a whopping 80 pounds, measuring at about 3 inches thick and nine inches in diameter, technically could be characterized as a missile under local bylaws. Even if you are not participating and simply just watching the race, there is a danger of being hit by a discombobulated runner, or even more common, hit by a bouncing wheel of cheese. The event has been banned many times, but after each ban, more rules and regulations have been established to protect the participants and the spectators as much as feasibly possible given the nature of the event.

A man named Chris Anderson, a local to Gloucester, just recently in 2018 broken the all-time record for most cheeses won in Gloucestershire’s death-defying races. He has one 22 races in the last 14 years, which incredible given the amount of stress that the body endures while one voluntarily hurdles down the hill after a bouncing cheese wheel.

If all of this sounds particularly pleasing, it is quite easy to enter in the races for a chance to win this cheesy competition. All that you have to do is show up to Brockworth on May 25, 2020 before the several races commence, from noon to 2:00. The adults are the ones who hurdle down the hill at high speeds towards the cheese, but since the cheese roll is a family event, children and even adults can also participate by running in uphill races, a lot less risky than the contrary.

Although nothing comes to mind as a similar practice in America, I am sure that someone has come to an activity close to this one in their own backyard. But, if you are up for the challenge and ready to risk it all for some cheese, the Brockworth cheese roll is the place for you.

Next up on our journey through the many strange cultural festivals around the world, we are stopping in Hungary for a peculiar celebration called “Busójárás”. This festival occurs during Farsang, or carnival season from February 20 to February 24 in 2020, only in the town of Mohács, which is near Hungary’s border with Croatia.

This festival has a deeply rooted culture for the celebration of two events. The first event is the celebration of the people of Mohács’ success in scaring away invading Turks. During an Ottoman occupation, the citizens had to flee the town and hide in the nearby swamps. A group of fed up citizens donned terrifying masks and stampeded the town, frightening the invading Turks away, believing that these masked men were demons and not wanting to upset the spirits of Mohács. Today, this story is still told, but the celebration is mainly held to scare away winter and welcome the arrival of spring. In my opinion, I think that the idea of this festival should be applied to State College, because I don’t know about you, but I could use some warm weather right about now.

The main feature of Busójárás is the masks. As described in the legend, the main scare tactic by the townspeople were their frightening masks. So, to pay homage to the group of men that allowed them to keep their town from Ottoman invasion, local men wear scary masks. The men dressed up in such a way is called Busós, and this term is the origin for the term Busójárás, which essentially means “Busó-walking”, demonstrating how important the history of this event is even to modern inhabitants of Mohács. Each mask is specifically tailored to each person, creating a diversity of styles and facial expressions on the large disguises. Women in more recent years began participating in these mask-wearing practices. They also wear masks, although they are not as elaborate and large as the male version, and dress in traditional clothing.

Other than the masks, this event has many joyful elements, which sometimes get rowdy. The streets are bustling with masked townspeople, folk music floating through the air, with alcohol flowing into the cups of the gleeful townspeople. It may sound like an exaggerated Halloween party to anyone who lives in the United States, but it is actually very culturally significant, demonstrated by the fact that in 2009, the festival gained a place on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. When thinking of festivities other than Halloween to a certain extent, no concurrent festivals come to mind when trying to think of a similar event here in the United States.

The festivities usually last for around one week stretching from a Thursday in late February to Mardi Gras. The largest part of the celebration besides the massive parades throughout the streets is on the Sunday (Farsang Sunday), and the festivals end on Tuesday concludes at a large bonfire lit in the main square, where a man made out of straw is burned (Burial of Farsang).

Although this festival is free, and it is often very hard to avoid becoming engulfed into the festival, it is extremely important to make reservations ahead of time for places to stay on your visit due to the influx of people wanting to experience this bizarre celebration.

As we enter February and rapidly approach the twentieth, get your most terrifying masks ready and join the citizens of Mohács in scaring this cold winter away and ushering in the spring.

As children, I am sure many of us remember impatiently awaiting Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve. Although kids in Italy eagerly await Santa’s descent down the chimney as well, they are more excited for another visitor to come around Christmastime.

According to an Italian legend, La Befana, a witch who travels via broomstick, was invited to travel with the Wise Men to see the baby Jesus after his birth. Regretting her decision, she set out with gifts for him, but she was unsuccessful and could not find him. Guiltily, on her way back from her attempt, she left gifts for the Italian children. Every January 5^th, or Epiphany Eve, La Befana comes to every child’s house and fills their shoes or stockings with gifts.

Epiphany is a public holiday celebrated on January 6^th by not just Italy, but Austria, Colombia, Greece, Slovakia, and many others as well. It has been celebrated since the end of the second century and festivities could include children dressing up as the three kings and a large feast at the end of the day, but they range from country to country.

When comparing the holiday of Epiphany itself, this same holiday is celebrated in the United States as “Three Kings Day”, but there are many differences between the Italian version and our own holiday. First, no offices or businesses are closed for Three Kings Day in the United States. But, in Italy, if a store is open on Epiphany, it is considered offensive. People in Italy take time during this day to attend church and spend the day with family, while people here most likely continue on with their normal daily routine, as our last main celebration after Christmas is New Year’s Eve. Also, a second “Santa” does not bring gifts in America, like La Befana does in Italy.

When comparing Santa and La Befana, there are also many differences. Although Santa is present and significant in both countries, La Befana is of significantly more importance to the children in Italy than Santa is. The goodies that Santa places in American children’s stockings are somewhat similar to the gifts that La Befana gives to Italian children. Candy is a go-to gift for the good children, while coal is given to the misbehaved ones. In addition to the coal though, La Befana places onions and garlic in the stockings or shoes of the bad children as well. As people place cookies and milk out to entice Santa in the United States, La Befana is attracted by a plate of broccoli with spiced sausage and glass of wine on Epiphany Eve, not Christmas Eve.

Something that I found as very interesting is that La Befana does not seem to be a source of intense marketing focus, like Santa is in the United States. Months before Christmas, Santa shaped candies, Santa hats, and many more related items pop up in stores across the country. But I could not find similar intensities in the use of La Befana for marketing purposes in Italy, which shows how different cultures use legends to support different ideals. Overall, La Befana and Epiphany is an intriguing cultural holiday, so if you ever find yourself wandering the streets of Italy around January 5^th, make sure to leave your shoes out so La Befana can leave you some goodies!