Unique Festivals around the World

Festivals means happiness, harmony and peace which represents different cultures, traditions and heritage. There are different kinds of festivals around the world. We may find some of them interesting, scary, funny or boring. So it is not surprising that we will not like every festival. But I am interested to know about different festivals , different cultures around the world, which gives me pleasure.

1. Carnival of Venice:

The Carnevale of Venezia is one of the most famous carnivals around the world, and a charming characteristic of the city. Its origins are centuries old, and it still attracts thousands of tourists each year who arrive in Venice to admire the sumptuous costumes and masks parading in the streets and squares. Creating masks is, indeed, an art in Venice, a tradition dating back hundreds of years, making the carnival of Venice truly unique.Every Spring people from across the globe descend on the floating city to take part in this unique celebration, a joyous riot of colour, sound and spectacle. Extraordinary costumes, elaborate masks and fascinating historical re-enactments all make Venice's two-week long party an unforgettable experience.

2. Harbin International Ice Festival:

The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme in Harbin, China, and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world.It consists of many ice sculpture competitions, snow sculpture competitions, winter fishing, winter sports, winter activities, celebrations, parade, events etc.

3. The Ma’Nene Festival:

The Ma’Nene ritual of Indonesia is the festival of ancestor worship. When a person dies, the body is mummified with natural ingredients and buried in rock tombs. On the festival day,  people proudly display their dead relatives after digging them up and dressing them in new clothes in an ancient ritual that is meant to show respect for their loved ones. For us it may be scary, but for them these are still the faces of their beloved relatives.They believe death is not a final step, but just one step in an ongoing spiritual life.

4.Cherry Blossom Festival:

Japan is known around the world for its cherry blossom festivals. Known as hanami in Japanese, cherry blossom festivals are an important custom and are held all over Japan during the spring. Unlike the aristocrats of yesteryear, today people in Japan make fun a key component of cherry blossom viewing. They drink and eat, making the tradition of blossom-viewing more like a picnic under the trees.

5.Underwater Music Festival:

Underwater music festival of Florida takes place completely underwater, which promotes awareness of coral reef protection. Equipped with guitars, horns, drums and other musical instruments, divers descend into the depths and play along to a playlist of water-inspired songs that are piped underwater via speakers. Because coral reefs provide an important ecosystem for sea life, it’s important that they remain protected and the festival focuses on this.

6. Monkey Buffet Festival: 

The Monkey Buffet Festival is held annually in Lopburi, Thailand. Lopburi, in central Thailand, is already famous for its Khmer temple crowded with monkeys, but every year in November the whole town goes ape when visitors from Thailand and beyond come to watch 2,000 macaques feast on a lavish buffet laid out in their honour during the Monkey Buffet Festival.

7.Cheung Chau Bun Festival:

Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong.The trademark of the festival are the huge bamboo mountains covered with handmade buns which are set up near the Pak Tai Temple where the majority of the celebrations take place.The week-long festivities encompass a wide range of activities from the prayers and offerings to the god, to floats, parades, lion dances, and the culmination of the festival with a "bun scrambling" contest at midnight of the last day.

8.Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race:

The Yorkshire pudding race is a famous English festival held by the people in Yorkshire. This is celebrated as a day to have fun and to celebrate this idea of Simon Thackray. It all started in 1999 when he pondered the idea of sailing down the river in a giant Yorkshire pudding boat. Giant Yorkshire pudding boats are made from flour, water, eggs and then finished with layers of yacht varnish to prevent them from going soggy. Many people from far and near come to watch the humour of people falling down and attempting to come with the largest and best Yorkshire pudding boat.

9. Water Gun Festival:

The water gun festival has been selected as Seoul’s most iconic festival 4 years in a row! Packed with fun events from water gun fights to street performances, this festival is famous to tourists in summer to have fun with family and friends.

Photo reference:

1. https://traveltriangle.com/blog/venice-carnival/
2. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/florida-music-festival-takes-place-underwater-180972613/
3. https://www.factsuphindi.in/2023/08/manene-indonesia-dead-people-festival.html
4. https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/festivals/worlds-largest-ice-snow-festival-harbin-china
5. https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/monkey-buffet-festival