Naki Sumo - Baby Crying Festival Held In Japan
No mother likes it when her
toddler starts crying, but at the Naki Sumo baby crying contest wailing is
actually encouraged.
Held every year, at the Sensoji Temple,
in Tokyo, the
baby crying festival is a 400-year-old tradition, believed to keep rug-rats in
good health. Amateur sumo wrestlers hold the babies high in the air, and try to
scare them into crying, while a sumo referee judges the match. The toddler who
cries longest and loudest is considered the winner.
Japanese parents bring the babies
to the contest, of their own free will, and truly believe the sumo induced
crying keeps their children in good health, and wards off evil spirits. This
year, 80 babies, all under one year old, participated in Naki Sumo. As you
might have guessed, the whiniest contender won.
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