Colorful Festivals Around the World
Festivals are celebrations of a community, representing the unity and uniqueness of a particular group or region. From religious festivals to cultural celebrations, festivals are typically tied to historical traditions, carrying them on into the modern world. Featuring parades, live music, dancing, and partying, festivals can be fun and entertaining, or somber and poignant.
1.Timkat – Commemorates Baptism of Christ
Timkat is an Epiphany festival taking place every year on January 19, commemorating the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In a country that is about 80% Orthodox Christian, the Timkat, or baptismal ceremony is one of its most important, lasting about three days.
2.Sinulog - Catholic Music and Dance Festival
Held the third Sunday in January, Sinulog is a vibrant pagan and Catholic celebration featuring costumes, music, dancing, and a fluvial procession. As a strongly Catholic nation, the ceremony is a nod to the pagan history of the Philippines, and symbolizes their conversion to Catholicism after Spanish colonization.
3.Carnevale – Goodbye to Meat
The first Carnevale celebration began in Venice, Italy, in 1162, and became a cultural celebration with elaborate costumes, parades, music, and feasts. The final day of Carnevale takes place on Shrove Tuesday each year, known locally as Martedi Grasso (fat Tuesday).
4.Carnaval – Biggest Holiday in Brazil
Like the festival in Venice, Brazil's Carnaval is a vibrant party before the start of the Lenten period of abstinence. Carnaval is the biggest holiday in the country, with the Rio celebrations reaching about 5 million people in attendance, and over 300 bandas on the streets.
5.Mardi Gras –New Orleans Version of Carnival
French for “Fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras is the New Orleans version of Carnival, which incorporates the French influences of the city into the pre-Lent celebrations, beginning on the Twelfth Night, January 6th, and especially focused on the two weeks before Ash Wednesday.
6.Holi - Ultimate Festival of Colors
The ultimate festival of colors, Holi is a Hindu religious celebration marking the arrival of spring. Holi celebrations typically take place in March each year, near the vernal equinox, with major celebrations across India (especially the north) and Nepal.
7.Saint Patrick's Festival – Greening the City
Saint Patrick's Day began as a Christian feast day in the 17th century, commemorating the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick helped spread Christianity to Ireland, using the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Though the early celebrations featured the color blue, the shamrock became the symbol of the day, and the tradition has changed to center on the color green. City.
8.Pasifika – Island Culture Festival
Pasifika Festival celebrates Pacific Islanders around the world in a two-day festival with an international themed party on Saturday and religious services on Sunday. As the world's largest Pacific Island cultural festival, the Pasifika Festival represents the villages Pacific Islanders, including Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Aotearoa, Kiribati, Niue, and the US island of Hawaii(joins for the first time in 2014), which can each be experienced in the 11 villages set up around the venue.
9.Koningsdag – Orange Madness Day
Koningsdag, or King's Day, is the national holiday of the Netherlands, commemorating the birthday of the King Willem Alexander on April 27.
10.Glastonbury – Vibrant Music Festival
One of the world's most colorful music festivals, Glastonbury is a three-day event offering the top bands of the moment, all performing in one space. The summer music festival features about 30 venues, and hundreds of acts, from rock bands to comedians and circus acts, performing over a long weekend at the end of June.
11.Dragon Boat Festival – Commemorating Patriotism
The annual Dragon Boat Festival occurs around the summer solstice, on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, typically falling in June. The tradition began about 2,500 years ago, and the most popular lore for the celebration origins involves poet Qu Yuan, who protested government corruption by jumping into the Mi Lo River, China. The locals chased after him in their boats, and when they were unable to rescue him, they threw rice patties into the water so the fish would spare his remains.
12.La Tomatina – Tomato Fight Festival
La Tomatina is a unique celebration, held on the last Wednesday of August each year, in the town of Buñol, Valencia, Spain. The festival likely got its start in 1945, at a parade in which those watching the parade began to throw tomatoes at the procession. Though early police officers working at the parade attempted to stop tomato throwers, the people persisted and La Tomatina became an official regulated festival in 1957.
13.Albuquerque International Balloon Festival - World's largest hot air balloon festival
Held annually in October, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is the world's largest hot air balloon festival. The festival started in 1972 as part of a radio station celebration with 13 hot air balloons and about 20,000 guests.
14.Junkanoo – African Heritage Celebration
Junkanoo is a festival in the Bahamas that includes parades, colorful costumes, music, and dancing. The event takes place on Boxing Day, which occurs the day after Christmas on December 26, and sometimes also on New Year's Day or in the summer, and similar events are held in Miami, Key West, Belize, and other Caribbean locales. Nassau, Bahamas hosts the largest Junkanoo parade, and the day is a national holiday in the Bahamas.
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Festivals are celebrations of a community, representing the unity and uniqueness of a particular group or region. From religious festivals to cultural celebrations, festivals are typically tied to historical traditions, carrying them on into the modern world. Featuring parades, live music, dancing, and partying, festivals can be fun and entertaining, or somber and poignant.
1.Timkat – Commemorates Baptism of Christ
Timkat is an Epiphany festival taking place every year on January 19, commemorating the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In a country that is about 80% Orthodox Christian, the Timkat, or baptismal ceremony is one of its most important, lasting about three days.
2.Sinulog - Catholic Music and Dance Festival
Held the third Sunday in January, Sinulog is a vibrant pagan and Catholic celebration featuring costumes, music, dancing, and a fluvial procession. As a strongly Catholic nation, the ceremony is a nod to the pagan history of the Philippines, and symbolizes their conversion to Catholicism after Spanish colonization.
3.Carnevale – Goodbye to Meat
The first Carnevale celebration began in Venice, Italy, in 1162, and became a cultural celebration with elaborate costumes, parades, music, and feasts. The final day of Carnevale takes place on Shrove Tuesday each year, known locally as Martedi Grasso (fat Tuesday).
4.Carnaval – Biggest Holiday in Brazil
Like the festival in Venice, Brazil's Carnaval is a vibrant party before the start of the Lenten period of abstinence. Carnaval is the biggest holiday in the country, with the Rio celebrations reaching about 5 million people in attendance, and over 300 bandas on the streets.
5.Mardi Gras –New Orleans Version of Carnival
French for “Fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras is the New Orleans version of Carnival, which incorporates the French influences of the city into the pre-Lent celebrations, beginning on the Twelfth Night, January 6th, and especially focused on the two weeks before Ash Wednesday.
6.Holi - Ultimate Festival of Colors
The ultimate festival of colors, Holi is a Hindu religious celebration marking the arrival of spring. Holi celebrations typically take place in March each year, near the vernal equinox, with major celebrations across India (especially the north) and Nepal.
7.Saint Patrick's Festival – Greening the City
Saint Patrick's Day began as a Christian feast day in the 17th century, commemorating the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick helped spread Christianity to Ireland, using the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Though the early celebrations featured the color blue, the shamrock became the symbol of the day, and the tradition has changed to center on the color green. City.
8.Pasifika – Island Culture Festival
Pasifika Festival celebrates Pacific Islanders around the world in a two-day festival with an international themed party on Saturday and religious services on Sunday. As the world's largest Pacific Island cultural festival, the Pasifika Festival represents the villages Pacific Islanders, including Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Aotearoa, Kiribati, Niue, and the US island of Hawaii(joins for the first time in 2014), which can each be experienced in the 11 villages set up around the venue.
9.Koningsdag – Orange Madness Day
Koningsdag, or King's Day, is the national holiday of the Netherlands, commemorating the birthday of the King Willem Alexander on April 27.
10.Glastonbury – Vibrant Music Festival
One of the world's most colorful music festivals, Glastonbury is a three-day event offering the top bands of the moment, all performing in one space. The summer music festival features about 30 venues, and hundreds of acts, from rock bands to comedians and circus acts, performing over a long weekend at the end of June.
11.Dragon Boat Festival – Commemorating Patriotism
The annual Dragon Boat Festival occurs around the summer solstice, on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, typically falling in June. The tradition began about 2,500 years ago, and the most popular lore for the celebration origins involves poet Qu Yuan, who protested government corruption by jumping into the Mi Lo River, China. The locals chased after him in their boats, and when they were unable to rescue him, they threw rice patties into the water so the fish would spare his remains.
12.La Tomatina – Tomato Fight Festival
La Tomatina is a unique celebration, held on the last Wednesday of August each year, in the town of Buñol, Valencia, Spain. The festival likely got its start in 1945, at a parade in which those watching the parade began to throw tomatoes at the procession. Though early police officers working at the parade attempted to stop tomato throwers, the people persisted and La Tomatina became an official regulated festival in 1957.
13.Albuquerque International Balloon Festival - World's largest hot air balloon festival
Held annually in October, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is the world's largest hot air balloon festival. The festival started in 1972 as part of a radio station celebration with 13 hot air balloons and about 20,000 guests.
14.Junkanoo – African Heritage Celebration
Junkanoo is a festival in the Bahamas that includes parades, colorful costumes, music, and dancing. The event takes place on Boxing Day, which occurs the day after Christmas on December 26, and sometimes also on New Year's Day or in the summer, and similar events are held in Miami, Key West, Belize, and other Caribbean locales. Nassau, Bahamas hosts the largest Junkanoo parade, and the day is a national holiday in the Bahamas.
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