There are many wonderful festivals celebrated throughout the year around the world. Some for religious purposes, others purely for celebration or fun. Here we highlight a couple of them. Take a look below:
1. Diwali in India
Also known as the ‘festival of lights’, this one-day festival usually occurs between mid-October and mid-November and is celebrated in many countries. Overall it is a celebration of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance, but for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains the festival has different religious meanings. Many houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware lamps called diyas, fireworks are set off, religious rituals are practised and gifts are exchanged.
2. Semana Santa, Guatemala
To honour the holy week, towns throughout Guatemala host enormous celebrations featuring colourful parades, extravagant floats, burning incense and intricate costumes. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Good Friday, Antigua boasts the most extravagant festival with Catholic processions commemorating the life and death of Christ. Before the main procession streets are lined with intricately woven, colourful carpets made of flowers, coloured sawdust and intricately carved fruit and vegetables.
3. Festival of Lanterns, Obon, Japan
The Obon Festival lasts for three days across Japan, usually in August. It is a Buddhist festival to commemorate one’s ancestors and is celebrated through Bon Odori dances and a giant bonfire lit in the hills of Kyoto. The festival is also known as the “festival of lanterns”, as one of the customs during this time is to send paper lanterns floating along the river to symbolise the souls of those departed returning to their graves in peace.
4. Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, Myanmar
Set in and around the stilted villages of Inle Lake, the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival is one of the largest Buddhist festivals in Myanmar. The festival is held from the first day of the waxing moon to the third day after the full moon of Thadingyut: September and October in our western calendar.
The celebrations continue for more than 20 days as four out of five revered Buddha images are paraded around the lake in an elaborate, gilded barge pulled by traditional long boats manned by hundreds of rowers. Throughout the festival rowing competitions are held, which makes for a wonderfully visual spectacle.
5. Tsechus, Bhutan
Tsechus are integral to Bhutanese culture and take place everywhere, from tiny, isolated villages to some of the country’s largest dzongs (monasteries). People travel from all over the country to celebrate and, increasingly, these colourful events are attracting visitors from around the world.
Tsechus are a wonderful way to experience and gain an insight into this unique culture. Whether visiting a large festival or a smaller, more intimate tsechu you will be thrilled with a captivating mix of sound, colour and atmosphere. These large festivals are extremely popular so it is worth planning 9 to 12 months in advance.