Photos: Some Unusual festivals around the world

I love learning new things about different people and cultures and how they relate with nature.
Here are some unusual cultural festivities around the world.
Enjoy the pictures:
  
Boryeong mud festival in South Korea

         

The Boryeong Mud Festival is an annual festival which takes place during the summer in Boryeong, a town around 200 km south of Seoul, South Korea. The first Mud Festival was staged in 1998 and, by 2007, the festival attracted 2.2 million visitors to Boryeong.The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics. The festival was originally conceived as a marketing vehicle for Boryeong mud cosmetics. Although the festival takes place over a period of around two weeks, it is most famous for its final weekend, which is popular with Korea's western population. The final weekend of the festival usually falls on the second weekend in July.


Tomato Festival Spain
             
La Tomatina is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Bunol near to Valencia in Spain. Thousands upon thousands of people make their way from all corners of the world to fight in this 'World's Biggest Food Fight' where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
The week-long festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks. On the night before the tomato fight, participants of the festival compete in a paella cooking contest. 

  

Sopparo Snow Festival Japan
                   
Sapporo Snow Festival is a festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February. This is one of the largest and most distinctive winter events.^[2] In 2007 (58th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of snow statues^.

The subject of the statues varies and often features an event, famous building or person from the previous year. For example, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who at that time played for the New York Yankees.



Monkey Buffet Festival Thailand
         

The Monkey Buffet Festival, which is held each year in Lopburi, Thailand, is meant to promote tourism in the area, and, of course, give the local monkey population something to celebrate.
According to Sky News Australia, the feast at the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple attracts many of the area's 2,000 monkeys. Hopefully it was worth it for the monkeys -- their feast cost around $16,000.



Holi Festival Of Colors India
         
 Known as the festival of colors, Holi is celebrated on the last full moon in the lunar month of Phalguna.

An ancient tradition, Holi marks the end of winter and honors the triumph of good over evil. Celebrants light bonfires, throw colorful powder called gulal, eat sweets, and dance to traditional folk music.

Lantern Floating Festival Hawaii
         

 Thousands of people gather and launch hot-air lanterns into the night sky. Made of a thin fabric, usually rice paper, a candle or fuel cell is attached so that when it's lit, the hot air trapped inside creates enough lift for it to float away. It's a spectacular sight as thousands of lanterns are released at the same time. The festival is meant as a time to pay respect to higher deities - you say a prayer, make a wish and then watch as your lantern floats away. (Many people also believe that the lantern will carry your troubles away with it.)