Roodharigendag is a festival for the redheads of the world. Thousands of redheads from more than 80 countries will gather during the first week of September in Breda, Netherlands, to meet each other, have fun, and pose for pictures. The festival seems like a well-established tradition, but its origin is actually rather recent. And it was unintentional.
The accidental mastermind behind this gathering, painter Bart Rouwenhorst, happens to be a blonde without a speck of ginger in his hair. Inspired by artists who famously painted red-haired women such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Gustav Klimt, Rouwenhorst put an ad in the newspaper asking for 15 natural redheaded women to model for him in 2005. More than 150 women called. Not wanting to turn any of them away, he decided to hold a gathering where the women would enter a lottery, and the inaugural festival was born.
You don't have to be a redhead to attend, but if you don't have red hair, you won't be included in the official group photo. Read more about Roodharigendag at National Geographic Travel.
(Image credit: Bartr)