Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World
Slide Nr 1There’s a lot to be learned about a culture through the way they celebrate. In these vibrant, time-honoured festivals, ancient traditions blend with modern life – and connect people across the globe with the generations that came before.
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 2Up Helly Aa. Lerwick, Scotland. January. Like many great festivals, this celebration of Viking heritage began as an annual running-amok of rowdy townsmen, generally soldiers and sailors fuelled with ale and bearing torches. In the 19th century, the holiday was given a date and a bit more order, producing the part decorous, part disorderly event we see today. The highlight is the torch procession of more than 1,000 men in intricate Viking garb, at the end of which they toss their torches into a 9-metre Viking longboat, built and painted specifically for Up Helly Aa. After the bonfire, everyone retires to various beer halls for a night of revelry. [Photo: Britt-Marie Sohlström/Flickr]
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 3Tapati Rapa Nui. Easter Island, Chile. February. Remote and exotic though it may be, Easter Island isn’t just a museum of monuments – it’s home to a thriving community. Many of today’s 6,000 islanders are descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants, the Rapa Nui, whose culture they celebrate with gusto each year through a variety of traditional sporting contests and artistic competitions, spanning everything from singing and dancing to body painting, horse racing, cooking, canoeing, Haka Pei (sliding down the island’s steepest slope on banana trunks) and the Rapa Nui Triathlon, which consists of reed boat paddling, barefoot running (while carrying 20 kilos of bananas) and reed float swimming – truly an impressive sight to see. [Photo: Alvaro Valenzuela/Flickr]
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 4Holi. India and Nepal. March. Traditionally marking the beginning of spring, this ancient Hindu celebration has taken the world by storm – but there’s nothing like experiencing the Festival of Colours in its native India or Nepal. The people of each region observe their own traditions – such as the singing of spiritual songs in Uttarakhand or the playful ‘beating’ of townsmen by the townswomen in Barsana – but in most places you’ll see revellers singing, dancing and throwing coloured water and powders on each other, as well as lighting bonfires to symbolise the vanquishing of the demon Holika by the god Vishnu.
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 5Maslenitsa. Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. March. With roots in ancient pagan traditions and Slavic mythology, today this week-long festival takes place before Lent (a time of fasting) in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In many ways it corresponds to Carnival in the Western Christian tradition, with both marking a time of feasting and merrymaking – enjoying rich foods, music and dancing before the solemn, prayerful period of Lent sets in. The festival highlight is undoubtedly the making and eating of crepes, which are enjoyed with all sorts of delicious fillings and toppings.
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 6Songkran. Thailand. April. Mid-April marks the coming of a new year in Thailand, but you won’t see much in the way of fireworks and Champagne. Instead, the country takes the combination of Buddhist tradition, national holiday and hot weather as an excuse to start a massive water fight. Why, you ask? It comes from an age-old tradition in which devotees poured water over statues of Buddha to represent spiritual cleansing, and would bless elders and family members by trickling water over their shoulders. Today it’s a bit less sprinkle, more spray. Old and young, friends and strangers – everyone is fair game in what might be the world’s biggest splash fest. [Photo: JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons]
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Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 7Beltane Fire Festival. Edinburgh, Scotland. April. Welcome summer the ancient Celtic way: with a lot of fire, a little naked dancing and a healthy bout of revelry. Tracing its origins to the rituals of pastoral Celtic peoples long ago, this festival ushers in the season of warmth and bounty by lighting fires to symbolise the sun’s growing strength. Modern festivities mostly revolve around an elaborate procession led by the May Queen and Green Man, winding around Edinburgh’s Calton Hill as groups of characters along the way attempt to help or hinder them. At the hilltop, they light a bonfire, and then ample eating, drinking and dancing ensue. Watch the pageantry unfold, then see if you can resist the temptation to frolic around the bonfire with the other revellers. [Photo by Ellen Duffy]
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 8Duanwu Festival. China. May/June. Popularly known as the Dragon Boat Festival, this celebration takes place on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, around the time of the summer solstice. The festival’s provenance is a bit hazy – as can be expected of an event that dates back more than 2,000 years – with the most popular origin story being that of the suicide-by-drowning of poet and minister Qu Yuan in 278 BC. For all its fuzzy beginnings, its customs are clear: the festival is marked by eating zongzi (rice dumplings), drinking realgar wine and, of course, racing traditional dragon boats.
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Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 9Inti Raymi. Cusco, Peru. June. The winter solstice in South America: right about the time when the Incas would have been fervently worshipping the sun god, offering prayer and sacrifice so that the sun’s life-giving light would return. Today, modern Cuzqueños and visitors honour the ancient tradition by reenacting Incan rituals, with actors representing figures from Incan royalty and mythology. A grand procession marches through the streets up to the fortress overlooking the city, where the Sapa Inca (Sun King) delivers a speech and a white llama is (only symbolically) sacrificed to the Mother Earth goddess, before a dance ritual is held around a great bonfire. The tone of the day is celebratory but reverent, with the week prior to the ritual day marked by more lighthearted festivities, such as street fairs concerts. [Photo: Nyall & Maryanne/Flickr]
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14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 11Naadam. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. July. Not quite as old as the Olympics, but certainly less political and modernised, it is said that Mongolia’s premier sporting festival predates Genghis Khan. Competitors in three disciplines – wrestling, horse racing and archery – vie for grand titles, while spectators cheer (and jeer), fuelled by sips of airag, or fermented horse milk. [Photo: OTSCHIR/Flickr]
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Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 12Esala Perahera. Kandy, Sri Lanka. July/August. In the mountain town of Kandy, one of Buddha’s teeth – purportedly taken from his funeral pyre – resides in a temple by a lake. And once a year, it’s taken out for an elaborate stroll. For 10 days, devotees hold processions that get progressively larger, until the last 5 days are a feverish mass of drums, dancers, fire-breathers and lavishly clad elephants making their way through the streets. Come early to get a front-row seat, get ready to be swept up in the energetic atmosphere. [Photo: Ashan96/Wikimedia Commons]
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Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 13Vegetarian Festival. Phuket, Thailand. September/October. The unusual way the Chinese Taoist community in Phuket observes this religious festival – self-punishment is a prime feature, with people walking on burning coals, or piercing their skin with sharp objects – has gained it notoriety with fascinated tourists, but there’s more to this celebration than its shock value. All about cleansing the body, mind and spirit, participants wear white, eat no meat or animal products, and take to the energetic streets for processions and rituals. Expect booming firecrackers and streets thronging with entranced devotees committing feats of physical fortitude. Keep your own energy up by visiting the many street food stalls serving vegetarian fare. [Photo: Binder.donedat/Flickr]
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Events
14 Amazing (And Ancient) Cultural Festivities Around The World.
Slide Nr 15Día de Muertos. Mexico. November. Celebrated in Mexico and parts of Latin America, the “Day of the Dead” is a time to remember lost loved ones. But if you think this is a weepy waterworks fest, think again – instead it’s a vibrant day of remembrance. Elaborate altars, or ofrendas, are set up for the dead, with photos, candles and their favourite foods, and families host feasts in their honour. People paint their faces and enjoy eat skull-shaped sweets – you may even catch a parade, depending on where you celebrate. Though modern-day observances are tied to the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (1 and 2 November, respectively), the tradition dates back thousands of years to pre-Columbian times, particularly to the Aztec civilisation.
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