Festivals from around the world

Festivals are the best way to taste the culture and traditions of the region. This year celebrate ritualistic individuality in some of the best events around the world.

 

Aomori Nebuta Festival, Japan

This festival is held annually and features colorful lantern floats called nebuta which are pulled through the streets of Central Aomori. This festival is held from about August 2–7 every year. This event attracts millions of visitors. During this festival, 20 large nebuta floats are paraded through the streets near Aomori JR rail station. These floats are constructed of wooden bases and metal frames.

Japanese papers, called washi, are painted onto the frames. These amazing floats are finished off with the historical figures or kabuki being painted on the paper. These floats can take up to a year to complete. There is a dance portion of this festival. There are haneto dancers and they wear special costumes for this dance. Everyone is welcome to purchase their own haneto costume that they may too join in on the fun (Mishima, Aomori Nebuta Festival).

The float is carried through the city during the evening from August 2-6, and during the daytime on August 7. A fireworks show is held on the evening of the final day while the float is carried into the sea.

 

Pushkar Camel Fair, Rajasthan, India

Held each November at the time of the Kartik Purnima full moon, Pushkar Camel Fair is one of India’s most highly-rated travel experiences, a spectacle on an epic scale, attracting more than 11,000 camels, horses and cattle and visited by over 400,000 people over a period of around fourteen days.

For visitors it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the colour, spectacle and carnival of one of the last great traditional melas, which brings livestock, farmers, traders and villagers from all over Rajasthan.

Thousands of people go to the banks of the Pushkar Lake where the fair takes place. Men buy and sell their livestock, which includes camels, cows, sheep and goats. There are stalls full of bracelets, clothes, textiles and fabrics. A camel race starts off the festival, with music, songs and exhibitions to follow. Between these events, the most waited for is the test of how the camel is able to bring the items. In order to demonstrate, the men go up on the group of camels one after another.

In 2014, the dates for the Pushkar Fair are October 30-November 6. Camel trading and other activities will start from October 30 and will wind up by November 2. Be sure to come early to see the fair in full swing!

 

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Mexico

It is a Mexican holiday observed throughout Mexico and around the world in different cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico on November 2, but festivities come in from October 31, in connection with Halloweens Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrenda, honouring the deceased with sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favourite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world. In Brazil Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

 

Onam, Kerala, India

Onam is the biggest festival in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a traditional ten day harvest festival that marks the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. It’s a festival rich in culture and heritage and falls during the Malayali month of Chingam (Aug-Sep).  Some of the most remarkable features of Onam are the intricately decorated Pookalam, ambrosial Onasadya, breath-taking snake boat race and kathakali dance.  

Onam is celebrated by all people of all religions in Kerala and is the most significant to unite people irrespective of their cast and creed. Many lamps are lit in Hindu temples of Kerala during this celebration. A palmyra tree is erected in front of temples and surrounded with a wooden balustrade and covered with dry palmyra leaves. It is lit with a torch and burned to ashes to signify that Mahabali went to hell as a sacrifice.

 

Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810.

The event is all about beer, beer and only beer. Imagine being surrounded by those traditional huge glasses of beer and serving them are the beautiful and sensational waitresses.

There are 14 different beer tents at Oktoberfest, each sitting anywhere between 4,000 and 11,000 patrons. Each tent has its own unique little characteristic, like type of food served and décor.

Visitors may also enjoy a mixture of attractions, such as amusement rides, side stalls and games, as well as traditional food.