Festival of the Bizarre
THE NIGHT OF THE RADISHES
The Noche de Rábanos is an annual radishcarving festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. Every 23 December, the humble red-and-white root is transformed into sculptures and celebrated – but, why? No one really knows for sure, but one story wins out in the hearts of the locals: in the 18th century, a couple of friars harvested a long-forgotten crop of oversized and misshapen veg. They looked so entertaining, the holy men took them to the Christmas market, where they inspired copy-cat carvers.