Whether or not celebrating a sporting occasion that no-one else cares about, commemorating a slice of historical past that occurred elsewhere or providing an excuse to tuck into some darned good fruit, the world provides up some quite unusual public holidays. Some are a primary excuse for a celebration, others quite extra solemn, however listed here are ten of the weirdest.
AFL Grand Closing Eve
The place? Victoria
The 2019 AFL Grand Closing crowd. Photograph: Getty Photos
When Victoria declared a public vacation in 2015, a couple of eyebrows have been raised. The AFL Grand Closing could also be one in every of Australia’s greatest sporting events, however does the state really want a public vacation on the Friday earlier than to get everybody ready for it? Both approach, the nice individuals of Victoria have been blissful to go together with it, if solely as a possibility to exit on the Thursday night time and never fear all that a lot about alcohol consumption ranges.
Melbourne Cup Day
The place? Victoria
Melbourne Cup day at Flemington racecourse in 2021. Photograph: Joe Armao
After all, Victoria has earlier type for doubtful sporting public holidays. The vacation on the day of the Melbourne Cup was initially designed to honour the Prince of Wales’ birthday. However in 1875, the Melbourne Cup was shifted to from a Thursday to Tuesday to be able to coincide. It proved in style, and Victorians quickly determined they cared extra in regards to the horses than the prince. It was solely in 1993, nevertheless, that the primary Tuesday of November was completely enshrined in state legislation as a public vacation.
Royal Hobart Regatta Day
The place? Tasmania
Let’s not assume it is simply the Victorians who declare public holidays for parochial sporting occasions, although. The Tasmanians are at it, too. Huge chunks of Tasmania take the second Monday of February off to have a good time the Royal Hobart Regatta.
Nicely, in concept, anyway. Virtually no one cares in regards to the yachting – it is simply an excuse for an additional day without work work.
Dragon Boat Competition Day
The place? Hong Kong
Days off for area of interest sports activities is not simply an Australian factor, both. Hong Kong takes sooner or later off for the Dragon Boat Competition. This takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese language calendar, which is mostly round Could or June.
It begins to make extra sense once you realise there is a long-standing Chinese language custom of fending off dangerous luck on at the present time. The dragon boat races got here a lot later – however grew to become such a focus that the general public vacation took their title.
Melon Day
The place? Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a prodigious producer of musk melons. And, in 1993, it was determined that this should be celebrated. So, a public vacation was declared, and it has been held on the second Sunday of each August since. The date was picked as a result of that is across the time the favoured varietal of melon ripens.
Capital metropolis Ashgabat is the perfect place to have a good time Melon Day, with loads of open-air tasting classes. Hmm, juicy…
Flag Day
The place? Argentina
A vacation celebrating a flag may appear a bit bizarre, however Argentina’s flag is seen as a logo of independence. It was first raised on February 27, 1812, however the nationwide vacation takes place on June 20. That is as a result of the creator of the flag, Manuel Belgrano died on that date in 1820.
The most important celebrations happen within the metropolis of Rosario, the place the flag was initially raised.
Hangul Day
The place? South Korea
Hangul Day celebrates the invention of the Korean alphabet. This alphabet is uncommon in that there’s historic report of precisely when it was launched – again within the fifteenth century, courtesy of King Sejong the Nice.
When the Korean authorities tried to take away the vacation from the calendar there was sufficient public uproar to make sure it was reinstated in 2013.
Day of Silence
The place? Bali
The streets in Jimbaran are quiet on The Day of Silence. Photograph: Getty Photos
The Day of Silence, or Nyepi, is designed as a day of self-reflection, and something that may get in the best way of that reflection is restricted. Meaning leisure, working, travelling and even going to the seashore are out. Vacationers are anticipated to stay to the principles, which basically means they’re confined to their resort for the day.
The dates change in line with the Balinese calendar, however it takes place in March.
Columbus Day
The place? US
A United States federal vacation, Columbus Day celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus within the Americas. The unusual half is that Columbus, a Genoese explorer sponsored by the Spanish Crown, by no means set foot in what’s now the US. The primary touchdown within the Americas was within the Bahamas.
What’s extra, the US not often celebrates Columbus Day on the precise anniversary. It needs to be October 12, however the public vacation has been assigned to the second Monday in October.
Oil Nationalisation Day
The place? Iran
Many international locations have fairly dry-sounding public holidays based mostly round centuries-old battles, however Iran goes one step additional, giving a day without work for the anniversary of the nationalisation of the nation’s oil trade.
Do not anticipate too many carnival parades for this one. The precise date relies on the Photo voltaic Hijri calendar, however tends to fall in mid-to-late March.
