This one is dirty.

Guess what? St. Patrick's Day isn't your only chance to drink in public in March! That's right, there's another day, March 15, that is host to the Hounen Matsuri, or Japanese fertility festival. There's singing, dancing, music, and even a parade! But the only float is an 8-foot wooden phallus, and everyone is given penis-shaped candy to suck on, receive phallus-shaped keychains and souvenirs, and eat dumplings shaped like...well, you get it. 

Don't look at me like that, I didn't make it up. I could never think of something like this! Only the Japanese could think of something like this. I'm serious. 

Depending on who you ask, the festival is either a serious festival of fertility, where there is a lot of merrymaking and drinking, but also prayers to a feminine deity for successful conception. But I also read that the festival is called the Kanamara festival, and it began as a celebration of the killing of a female dragon who bit off men's genitals. A monk used iron to create a huge penis that she shattered her sharp teeth on, and the penis festival was born. 

Either way, this has got to be one of the more eccentric festivals the world over. Please look at these photos and watch the video below if you're interested in this crazy awesome street party. If you don't like graphic representations of the male member, then I suggest you stop reading this at the top of the page where you started. Oh, too late now! Enjoy.