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For many, holidays can feel like a tedious task. The pressure of spending money, visiting relatives, and attending numerous festivities can drain the excitement. However, when we look back at history, these grievances seem to fade away.
10. Childermass
In the Middle Ages, Europeans took their holidays seriously. For instance, Christmas wasn’t just a one-day event. Instead, the entire 12 days of Christmas were celebrated, each day devoted to a different Catholic belief.
These were days filled with joyous celebrations, giving exhausted peasants a chance to rest. Yet, there was one day that wasn’t exactly cheerful—at least not for children.
Observed every December 28, Childermass (also known as The Feast of The Holy Innocents) commemorated the slaughter of newborn boys by King Herod. In the biblical narrative, King Herod became furious after realizing he had been deceived, so he ordered the massacre of all newborn boys in Bethlehem.
In the Middle Ages, parents made sure their children understood the cruelty of King Herod. To reinforce this, children were severely beaten during Childermass. Early in the morning, kids were pulled out of bed and brutally beaten by their parents. These annual punishments were considered the only true way to teach children the depths of Herod’s cruelty.
Fortunately, the brutal Childermass tradition eventually started to evolve. In some European regions, the ritualistic beatings turned into a game where the last person to get out of bed was beaten. Afterward, that individual was made the household slave for the day. In other places, the entire family would engage in mutual beatings.
Today, most Europeans would likely recoil at the thought of subjecting their children to severe beatings each year. However, the tradition still exists in parts of Eastern Europe. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Easter Sunday is marked by ritual beatings. Each year, young girls are whipped with willow branches and drenched in ice-cold water, supposedly to make them “youthful” and “strong.”
9. The Sharo Festival
The tribal Jafun Fulani people of Nigeria continue to practice a torturous ancient ritual on young boys. Twice a year, the boys are stripped to the waist and taken to an outdoor arena, where they are viciously whipped by their peers. For a long time, they must endure the pain while staring at the girl they hope to marry. This brutal trial is seen as a way to make them “man up” and prove they are worthy of marriage.
A young boy has much at stake during this ritual. If he flinches, he is labeled a coward and publicly humiliated. In addition, he might lose the chance to marry the girl of his dreams. All the suffering would have been for nothing. Often, other tribe members present gifts to the boy, encouraging him to remain steadfast and demonstrate his courage.
Many of the boys are left with permanent scars for the rest of their lives. It is undeniably painful. However, as Islam continues to spread in the region, this ritual is gradually fading away. Still, the Jafun Fulani people continue to view this festival as profoundly significant.
8. The Flaying of Men
The Aztecs once held an annual festival that could easily serve as the plot for a horror film. This event, Tlacaxipehualiztli (“the flaying of men”), was dedicated to honoring Xipe Totec (“Our Lord the Flayed One”), a primary fertility god in Aztec culture. Scholars have pointed out that this was the most important celebration of the year for the Aztecs and it was also the bloodiest.
War captives from across the empire were compelled to participate in intricate rituals. After several days, they were sacrificed to Xipe Totec. Their still-beating hearts were ripped from their chests and displayed for all to witness. The priests then removed and wore the skins of the victims, proudly singing sacred hymns as they did so.
The Aztecs who donned these skins would engage in mock skirmishes and demand tributes from the villagers. As part of these activities, they carried the severed heads of the victims.
Blood from some of the sacrificial victims was collected, and their bodies were dismembered. The portions of flesh were eaten by the priests as a means of gaining spiritual strength. This ritual would continue for several days. When it concluded, the skins were stored in a cave.
7. Thargelia
The ancient Athenians are renowned for their wise philosophy, yet they are less remembered for their brutal human sacrifice rituals. Of these, the festival of Thargelia was likely the most gruesome. It took place on the sixth and seventh days of the month of Thargelia, which typically falls in late May on our modern calendar, and was intended to ensure a bountiful harvest.
The Athenians would select two of the most unattractive individuals in the community. These victims would have their genitals beaten, be covered in fig leaves, and then ceremonially expelled from the city. In some instances, these individuals were burned alive outside the city limits. Their ashes were then cast into the sea. The Athenians believed that such a sacrifice would 'purify' their city for a successful new harvest.
Surprisingly, the day after this gruesome sacrifice was dedicated to the official process of adoption. Prospective parents could legally adopt children following the sacrifice of two innocent lives. The day also featured celebrations, processions, and tributes to the Greek gods and goddesses.
6. The New Fire Ceremony
The Aztecs held a belief that the world would meet its end every 52 years unless they intervened through a complex and gruesome ritual known as the New Fire Ceremony.
Every 52 years, Aztec villagers would meticulously clean their homes and destroy their most valued possessions. All fires across the Aztec kingdom were allowed to burn out. This allowed the creation of the ‘new fire,’ which the Aztecs believed would ensure the world continued for another 52 years.
Priests, dressed in ceremonial robes adorned with the symbols of their gods, would cut open the chest of a victim and ignite a fire within it. Once the fire was lit, the victim was thrown into a larger fire, while spectators cheered and celebrated the horrific ritual.
Following the celebration, men with torches would spread fire across the kingdom. This act symbolized the spreading of the ‘new fire’ throughout the world. The Aztecs felt a renewed sense of security, knowing the Earth would continue to exist after this ceremony.
5. Day Of The Skulls
Every November 8, Indigenous Bolivians participate in an ancient death ritual known as the Day of The Skulls. This ritual, which dates back to pre-Columbian times, blends Roman Catholic and native Andean beliefs in a controversial yet deeply rooted tradition.
During this ritual, participants retrieve human skulls from abandoned graveyards and decorate them lavishly. The skulls are adorned with flowers, jewelry, sunglasses, and anything else that can be found.
The skulls are then paraded through the town in a grand community celebration. Music is played in their honor, and they are presented with gifts. Overall, the skulls are treated like royalty during the event.
In Bolivia, these skulls are called natitas and hold significant religious value. The people believe that these skulls possess protective powers and bring good fortune. As a result, they often pray to them using prayers in the Christian tradition.
The Catholic Church has condemned the ritual, urging the Bolivians to cease their celebrations. However, the Bolivians continue to reject these requests and persist in praying to the skulls for help.
4. Dies Sanguinis
One of the most disturbing festivals originated from a Roman cult. Every year on March 24, followers of Bellona, the Roman war goddess, took part in gruesome rituals as a sign of their devotion. This event was known as Dies Sanguinis (“Day of Blood“).
The priests of Bellona would cut open their arms and legs, collect the blood, and drink it. The blood was also ceremoniously sprinkled upon images of the gods. The lower clergy would do the same, as well as dance, sing, and play music. They believed these actions would bestow them with strength and warlike abilities.
Some devotees took their reverence to an extreme. In honor of the Roman god Attis, who had castrated himself, they would castrate themselves using flint rocks. They believed Attis had made a monumental sacrifice for humanity by cutting off his own penis, and they felt compelled to honor that sacrifice in kind.
3. The Gadhimai Festival
Perhaps the most tragic and massive loss of animal life took place during the Gadhimai festival. Every five years, Nepal hosted the world’s largest ritual slaughter as devotees sought the blessing of the Hindu goddess Gadhimai. Thousands of animals were killed to invoke good fortune.
Numerous animals, from water buffalo to rats, were gathered for the event. Participants wielded machetes to slaughter them all, leaving thousands of carcasses strewn across the land, all in the name of securing “good fortune.”
It is estimated that 500,000 animals were slaughtered during the 2014 Gadhimai festival. Fortunately, this mass killing was finally banned in 2015 after 250 years of practice. Balinese authorities and the ritual temple have promised that the next festival, set for 2019, will be a very different affair.
2. Ashura
The significance of the Day of Ashura differs greatly between Sunni and Shia Muslims. For Sunnis, it marks the day the Jews were freed from the Pharaoh in Egypt, and they celebrate it joyfully. For Shia Muslims, it commemorates the death of Husayn ibn ‘Ali, a descendant of Muhammad. To honor this, they perform a bloody ritual that has been practiced for over 1,300 years.
The ritual begins on the 10th day of Muharram, with Shia Muslims gathering in public. They engage in self-flagellation, using swords to cut their heads and chains to whip themselves, as they mourn Husayn’s death. By the end of the event, the streets are drenched in blood, with participants often completely covered in it. Children and even infants are sometimes compelled to join in.
In recent times, many Shiite leaders have condemned the practice of self-harm, urging followers to donate blood instead. However, a significant number of Shiite Muslims around the world continue to march through the streets, drenched in their own blood as part of the tradition.
1. The Tinku Festival
Each year, the indigenous Macha people of Bolivia gather to engage in a brutal, yet symbolic, ritual known as Tinku, or 'Encounter'. This tradition, which predates the arrival of Columbus, involves intense physical confrontations.
The festival begins with the villagers indulging in large quantities of alcohol over several days. Afterward, they perform a llama sacrifice and engage in dances. Once the rituals are completed and everyone is intoxicated, the real chaos begins as they fight each other.
The Tinku festival sees participants of all ages and genders—young, old, men, and women—battling it out in the name of peace. The purpose is to resolve any lingering anger between them, ensuring that no disputes arise during the rest of the year.
As the fighting ensues, the ground becomes stained with blood, and some participants lose their lives. The bloodshed is seen as a symbol of fertility, and the people believe that Tinku guarantees a bountiful harvest. In the past, the bodies of the deceased were consumed as part of the ritualistic practice.
In modern times, the ritual now takes place under the watchful eyes of police officers, while tourists with cameras are present to capture the spectacle. The tradition has undergone significant changes, reportedly being scaled back due to increased foreign attention and exposure.
