Foreign Fun & Worship: Camel Jockeys, Giant Mustaches, Elephant Spa, Freezing Balls
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Jan 11 – Traditional colourful camel festival gets underway in India’s northwestern desert region of Rajasthan.
The festival in the city of Bikaner began with a procession of beautifully ornamented camels in which owners show off their camels’ decorations and jewellery. During the 3-day festival, ‘the ships of desert ‘ also compete in races and show off their dancing skills.
One of the main attractions of the festival, which does not involve camels is the moustache competition where men dressed in traditional attire show-off their long moustaches.
Elephants are deeply revered in India, where the elephant-headed god Ganesh is one of the most popular in the Hindu pantheon and is also considered lucky.
Jan 10 – Japanese brave ice cold water in a traditional “soul-purification’ ceremony to wish for good luck in 2009.
Dozens of participants at Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo offered prayers and chants before stepping into a pool of ice water. With the outside temperature just below freezing, men then poured water over themselves to purify their souls which would bring them good luck.
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