Festivals probably rank high up in terms of happiness and ‘why we work so hard’. And honestly there are ample festivals in every country to keep locals occupied but why be satisfied if you can roam around the world and see what others are celebrating. Fireworks and crowd are everywhere but different. Here are 12 of them to add to you travel plans for the rest of 2016.
1. Open’er Festival – Gdynia, Poland – July 01
Poland’s largest annual music event is uncommonly cool. Many fans refer to it as a low-cost Glastonbury Festival, since it has similar big-name bands and avant-garde theater and arts, but for a much smaller price tag. The festival takes place in Kosakowo Airport in Gdynia.
2. Wife Carrying World Championship – Sonkajarvi, Finland – Jul 03
Wife carrying (Finnish: eukonkanto or akankanto) is a contest in which male competitors race while each carrying a female teammate. The objective is for the male to carry the female through a special obstacle track in the fastest time. While the sport has been considered by some as nothing more than a joke, competitors take it very seriously, just like any other.
3. Fiesta de San Fermín – Pamplona, Spain – July 06 – 14
The festival of San Fermín in Navarre is a deeply rooted celebration held annually. the opening of the party is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo, to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the Pobre de Mí. While its most famous event is the encierro, or the running of the bulls, which happens at 8:00 am from 7 July to 14 July, the week-long celebration involves many other traditional and folkloric events.
4. Burning Man – Nevada, United States – August 25
Burning Man is an annual gathering that takes place at Black Rock City—a temporary community erected in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The event is described as an experiment in community and art, influenced by 10 main principles, including “radical” inclusion, self-reliance and self-expression. Some of these generous out-pourings of creativity can include experimental and interactive sculpture, building, performance, and art cars among other mediums, often inspired by the yearly theme, chosen by organizers.
5. La Tomatina – Valencia, Spain – August 26
La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, a town located 30 km from the Mediterranean, in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in this tomato fight purely for fun. It is held on the last Wednesday of August, during the week of festivities of Buñol. La Tomatina started the last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent the time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade.
6. Hajj – Mecca, Saudi Arabia – September 09 – 14
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. The magnificence and enormity of the festival is breathtaking. The Pilgrimage is exclusively for Muslims.
7. Oktoberfest – Munich, Germany – September 19 – October 4
Oktoberfest is the world’s largest funfair 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. Locally, it is often simply called Wiesn, after the colloquial name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) themselves. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the original Munich event.
8. Diwali – India – October 23
An ancient celebration with deeply spiritual roots, this Festival of Lights (Diwali) is technically a tradition with a religious foundation, but all that are willing to share in the season of abundance are welcome. Thousands of oil lamps, fireworks, lavish feasts, fragrant flowers and colored sand in the form of lotus blossoms adorn India in this annual home coming that is Diwali.
9. Pirates Week Festival – Cayman Islands – November 06
Every November, the Cayman Islands play host to an onslaught of scallywags and rapscallions at the annual Pirates Week Festival. Though the festival is known as Pirates Week, celebrations actually last for 11 days. This fun-filled event comes complete with a simulated pirate invasion and plenty of fancy dress.
10. Lantern Festival – Chiang Mai, Thailand – November 07
The undisputable highlight of Yi Peng and Loy Krathong is the spellbinding show that happens when thousands of people converge to release khom loi (lit lanterns) into the night sky. Prior to the big spectacle, the setting is joyful and serene as monks perform chants during an on-stage ceremony.
11. Budapest Christmas Fair – Budapest, Hungary – November 27 – December 31
Christmas at Central Europe is enchanting. Every city has its own fair, or more than one! With plenty of food and drinks, it’s a nice way to stay warm. The annual, month-long Budapest Christmas Fair, open-air and free to enter, is held in central Pest’s Vörösmarty Square, at the end of the Váci utca, or “Fashion Street;” if you find yourself in front of the Great Market Hall, turns around—you’ve gone in the polar opposite direction. A sparkly, toe-tapping and downright tasty introduction to all things Hungarian, the fair is one-stop shopping not only for your holiday presents, but also for your exploration of the country and its culture.
12. Hogmanay Celebration – Edinburgh, Scotland, UK – December 30
Forget sitting in front of the TV and watching the ball drop in Times Square—the best New Year’s party is happening at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay .From December 31st through January 1st, tradition sends many Scots to clean their houses and settle debts, all in the name of getting a fresh start. When night falls, however, the Hogmanay celebration is in full swing with fireworks, parades and performances, all with a Scottish twist.
Sources: wikipedia.org | 500px.com | whenonearth.net