World Beard Day.
World Beard Day is celebrated annually on an international level with people from every nation and continent gathering together with their beards. It is held on the first Saturday of September and is characterized by the happiness of all people being with their beards and with each other.
On World Beard Day, it is customary for the bearded members of a family to relax and partake in no jobs or chores. The beardless members of the family traditionally show their support by waiting on the bearded hand and foot. World Beard Day is all about promoting and elevating the global status of the the beard.
Hans Steininger, a German, photographed around 1890. He had for over 100 years the longest beard in the world, over 3 meters long.
Whilst many countries and cities practice World Beard Day customs specific to their own region, shaving on World Beard Day is universally considered to be highly disrespectful.
History of World Beard Day.
Every year people gather in places all over the world to sport their beard, with various ways of celebrating all over the world. The origins of World Beard Day have been lost to history, which isn’t surprising considering that there is evidence that the Danish Vikings have held a day in honor of their beard going back as far as 800 AD. Back in those August days, there wasn’t a specific day held to honor the beard, but multiple celebrations throughout the region. Some of the celebrations are even a little crazy.
A Danish boatsman.
What to do on World Beard Day.
If you are hosting a World Beard Day event, here’s a helpful list of things you can do to make this the greatest World Beard Day ever… – and of course much much more.
Break bread with your bearded brethren. This is a custom since middle ages.
Famous beard Henry I, around 1620.
What World Beard Day would be complete without a mouthwatering array of beard friendly foods? Popular options include
* Barbecue
* Vindaloo
* Fondue
* Having a fire
If laws permit, build a fire (or if you prefer have some beardless people build you a fire), then sit around the fire and enjoy having a beard and living in a golden age of beards.
World Beard Day Games and Events
World Beard Day events often feature various games and events. Feel free to create your own event, or choose from any of the customary games you already know and use.
Yes – we took part in „The World Beard Festivals“ here in Uruguay, see at the end of this post. This time with some nice roasted legs of lamb, next time, hopefully all of us will be participating again, I make my favorite Vindaloo, promise.
World Beard Day Facts.
- In southern Spain, many townships gather to witness a boxing match between a bearded man and a beardless boy. The bearded man, normally armed with a sharp pike, is typically the victor.
- In the Swedish village of Dönskborg, anyone without a beard is banished from the town and forced to spend twenty-four hours in a nearby forest. Back in the town, the hirsute burn effigies of their clean-chinned loved ones.
- The exact origins of World Beard Day are unknown, but there is some evidence to suggest that Danish Vikings had a special day dedicated to the glorification of beards as far back as 800 AD.
The Vikings. Pictures will supersize if you click on!
- The event was not held on a fixed date, and was often celebrated hundreds of times each year. This early incarnation of what would one day become World Beard Day typically involved the ransacking of neighboring towns, villages and countries by large groups of heavily-armed bearded men.
- Throughout the world, bearded communities are encouraged to acknowledge this sacred day by organizing and staging their own public or private World Beard Day celebrations. These can consist of anything from a relaxing family lunch to a lavish, tax payer-funded street parade.
- Shaving on World Beard Day is universally considered to be highly disrespectful.
Famous beard Charley Chaplin.
WBMC.
Every two years, the WBMC (World Beard and Mustache Championships) showcases the very best in men’s and women’s whiskers and unites beards in a cultural event like no other in the world.
Projected to be the largest competition to date, the three-day event will include live entertainment, local food vendors, family-friendly activities and dozens of facial hair competitions.
Famous beard Albert Einstein.
Beginnings.
Like many things having to do with the sport of international bearding, the history of the sport is shrouded in controversy. One Italian group claims that it held the first championships in Northern Italy in the early 1970′s, it seems more likely that modern competitive bearding an event began with a 1990 event organized and hosted by the First Höfener Beard Club (1. Höfener Bartclub) in its hometown Höfen/Enz, Germany, a small village in the Black Forest. In 1995, the same club hosted the second World Beard and Mustache Championships in the nearby city of Pforzheim.
Famous beard Sean Connery.
European Dominance.
After 1995, local beard clubs in Northern Europe began organizing international competitions every two years. In 1997, the Norwegian Mustache Club (Den Norske Mustaschklubben), headquartered in Trondheim held the competition in its hometown of Trondheim. Two years later the Swedish Mustache Club (Svenska Mustaschklubben) organized the championships in Ystad, at the extreme southern end of Sweden. In 2001, the Swabian Beard and Mustache Club (Schwäbische Bart- und Schnauzerclub) celebrated its tenth anniversary by hosting the championships in its hometown of Schömberg.
What a beard again. During the „25th Garmisch – Partenkirchen Beard Championships“ in Germany. Notice, local championships already 25 years going on, many years before the WBMC was founded.
Carson City 2003.
Bearding came to America in 2003 with the World Beard and Mustache Championships held in Carson City, Nevada as part of the annual Nevada Day Celebration. Approximately 85 European beardsmen showed their stuff to a crowd of enthused and amazed Americans along with the worldwide press. Berlin’s Karl-Heinz Hille was crowned grand champion and representatives of German beard clubs won 36 of the 57 trophies awarded. Unlike their European counterparts who were organized into local beard clubs, American beardsmen were not affiliated with local clubs, but competed as Beard Team USA.
During US championships.
Berlin 2005.
The First Berliner Beard Club (1. Berliner Bartclub) hosted the 2005 World Beard and Mustache Championships. Germany continued its domination, taking fourteen of the seventeen first-place awards. German Elmar Weisser took first place in the full beard freestyle division with a hirsute rendition of the host city’s historic Brandenburg Gate. Beard Team USA fielded a strong squad but was not match to the host team in the German capital.
Famous beard Mel Gibson.
Brighton 2007.
In 2007 London’s Handlebar Club, which ironically prohibits its members from having beards (mustaches only!) played host to the championships in the seaside town of Brighton. The championships drew a sellout crowd while hundreds of facial-hair fans stood outside begging for tickets. This time Weisser’s beard commemorated London’s Tower Bridge. Upstart Beard Team USA took five first-place trophies but Germany continued its domination with nine golds in all.
Famous beard Ernest Hemingway.
Anchorage 2009.
The United States became the world’s new facial hair super power, capturing twelve world championship titles out of eighteen categories plus overall at the World Beard and Mustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska on May 23, 2009. Possessing home field advantage, the USA was able to dethrone Germany which had dominated this competition since its inception.
Hometown favorite and Beard Team USA member David Traver was crowned overall champ, having styled his beard to resemble an Alaska snowshoe which earned him top honors in the freestyle full beard category. Meanwhile Germany’s Karl-Heinz Hille’s elaborate mustache earned him second. San Franciscan Jack Passion placed third with his long, red natural beard. The winners took home engraved gold pans.
Lot of work before one become a winner.
Trondheim 2011.
The competition returned to Norway on May 15, 2011. This time, Germany beat out the USA by a single gold medal. The contestants helped celebrate the Seventeenth of May, Norway’s national holiday with a festive parade through the streets of Trondheim.
One of my favorite German beards.
Leinfelden-Echterdingen 2013.
In 2013, Belle-Mustache hosted the world championships in its hometown, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. Beard Team USA fielded a strong squad including Patrick Fette who achieved a perfect score in the English Mustache category.
What a beard.
Portland 2014.
The 2014 World Beard and Mustache Championships will take place in Portland, Oregon on October 25. The Portland event marks a break from the tradition of holding a world championship only biennially. The event will give Americans unable to travel to Europe an opportunity to compete on the world stage for the first time since 2009 and is the first time the event has been held in an even-numbered year. The event reflect the explosion of interest in bearding, where beard competitions are now held nearly every week and beard clubs are cropping up all across the country.
As you can see, people love to celebrate a „World Beard Day “ every year, that’s why now is World Beard Day every first Saturday each year !!! Official WBMC feast was in Leogang, Austria, but the Swedish made their own day in Stockholm.
Leogang 2015.
In 2015 the WBMC returns to Europe, when the Alpine village of Leogang, Austria plays host. The East Bavarian Beard Club will organize the event. Beard Team USA plans to attend after stopping over in Munich at Oktoberfest (the real thing for bearded ones ?).
One of the winners. As you will notice, they all have their own outfit going with the beard. See here and see Austin further down.
Austin 2017.
Remington & Beard Boss presents 2017 World Beard & Mustache Championships, September 1 – 3, at the Long Center in Austin, Texas.
And here the very first picture-result-winner from yesterdays (September 2nd 2017) „World Beard Day“ in Austin, Texas. Wolfgang Schneider from Germany (the one on the right) won the „Natural Mustache“ category with his classic styled Schnauzer. It was already his sixth victory in this category during the last 6 competitions.
My dear friend Bernd sent this dpa pic to me. He is right, also women are taking part at the competitions and of course they also deserve to be named.. I didn’t include this „woman part“ earlier, because every time there is a growing discussion about „real woman“ or ??? Anyway here we can see a group of participants from this years Austin festival. Thanks my friend.
See more interesting details if you like:
https://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/ or
https://www.austinfacialhairclub.com/
http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/world-beard-day-irpt-feat/index.html
The three-day competition, presented by Remington & Beard Boss and hosted by the Austin Facial Hair Club, will attract beard enthusiasts from around the world including more than 1.000 competitors and fans.
Uruguay 2017.
A few friends came together yesterday to participate this year with the first Uruguayan „BBB Feast“. BBB is the shortcut for Beard – Barbecue – Beer. We met in the afternoon and had some fantastic legs of lamb from the Parilla (the Uruguayan grill), with different sauces from France, Germany and England accompanied with some wine and a few bottles home-brew. See the famous beards from Uruguay down here.
First „World Beard Day in Uruguay“. We had a lot of fun, good talks, lovely food, a day with amazing weather and may be we can repeat it next time!
Ein haariges Hallo an alle Bärtigen und an Dich Mike ein aufrichtiges Danke, das du für uns Bartträger so interessante Infonationen zusammengetragen hast.
Lassen wir also unsere Bärte wachsen und treffen wir uns In 2 Jahren in Antwerpen zur nächsten
Weltmeisterschaft.
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Lieber Bernd,
Gern geschehen, hat mir Freude gemacht
das ganze BAERTIGE zusammenzutragen.
Ich komme leider an aktuelle infos hier
kaum ran.
Egal, wir fighten weiter und lassen die
Baerte wachsen – JA !!!
Viele Gruesse Mike.
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