Just like Holi: Here’s how some other countries celebrate similar festivals

Around the world, there are many interesting festivals that closely resemble the festival of colours, Holi. While closer home, we play with colours dry and wet, in many countries there are some goofier and crazier versions that people revel in. This Holi, we have made a list of some of them. So the next time you visit these countries, you will have something fun to look forward to. Scroll down. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

La Tomatina festival, Spain: This festival became all the rage when the Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara featured it in one of its songs. And yes, it is as fun as it looks. This Spanish festival is primarily celebrated in Buñol, sometime in August. Participants squish and throw tomatoes at each other for fun. And just like Holi, by the end of it, you are beat and red. This festival has become so popular that people from all over Spain and the world come to celebrate it. (Source: Twitter/@LaTomatinaInfo)

Songkran festival, Thailand: Just like India, Thailand plays with water, too. Songkran is a traditional festival which marks the New Year in Thailand. It is celebrated in April. On this day, people step out with water guns and splash water on each other for fun. Some people also pour buckets of ice water on unsuspecting people. It is believed that once upon a time, when statues of Lord Buddha were brought out to be cleaned with water, it was collected and sprinkled for good luck. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

Mud festival, South Korea: Sometimes, Holi also gets muddy; when you drag your friends and smear mud on them. But, nothing comes close to the mud festival that is celebrated in a town called Boryeong in South Korea. This annual mud-slinging celebration takes place in the summer. People -- locals and tourists alike -- gather on the beach in Boryeong and take part in mud massages, mud fights, mud baths, etc. It is believed that Boryeong’s beaches, which are rich in minerals that are used for making cosmetics, act as crowd-pullers. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

Watermelon festival, Australia: In a town called Chinchilla in Queensland, Australia, the watermelon festival takes place. The town is hailed as the 'melon capital' because it has devised some unique and fun games and competitions involving all kinds of melons, but mainly the watermelon. These include: melon eating competitions, melon skiing, melon head smashing, to name a few. As you can imagine, it gets pretty messy by the end of it. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

Orange Battle, Italy: The battle of the oranges, much like the battle of tomatoes, takes place in Italy, particularly in the northern Italian city of Ivrea. People celebrate it by throwing, you guessed it right, oranges at each other. It is also believed to be the largest food fight in Italy. The festival has its origins in a 12th century folklore. A count or person of nobility was believed to habitually misbehave with local brides on the night of their wedding. Then one day, one of them managed to beat him at his own game. She even severed his head, and then led the townsfolk to fight his army. Since then, the people of Ivrea re-enact the battle and attack each other with oranges. This fun battle takes place in February. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Oktoberfest, Germany: Just like how we Indians drink thandai and revel in the festivities, Germans celebrate the 16-day Oktoberfest festival during September-October by drinking beer. It is quite a fair, attended by people of different countries every year. Different beers from several different breweries make it to the festival and lift the spirits of merry-makers. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)