Festivals Around the World

It’s amazing to see how people around the world celebrate festivals differently. Some of these are based on years of tradition and play a role in the culture and religion of the people there, but some of these are just for pure fun. No matter what the reasoning is behind most of them, they look amazing and we want to be there! Everything from throwing colored powder at each other to dancing dragons, we got it covered in this list of festivals around the world that you don’t want to miss!

La Tomatina
Buñol, Spain
Last Wednesday in August

There is no other reason for La Tomatina than the sole purpose of throwing tomatoes at each other. It all began in 1945 when locals began throwing fruits and vegetables during a parade and it just grew over the years! One of the best (and messiest) festivals to be a part of, tons of people come together to dance, laugh, and throw a couple of tomatoes. There are even tomato-streaked slides created on the roads. And after the festival’s over, you’re just in time for the massive water fight that follows!

Chinese New Year
Throughout China and nearby Asian Countries
January 21st to February 20th

Chinese New Year is by far one of the best festivals to celebrate. It is the biggest Chinese holiday and is filled with lanterns, fireworks, and of course, dragons. It’s super easy to get caught up in the celebrations because it will be present throughout China – as a matter of fact, you don’t even have to be in China or any of the nearby countries because all of the Chinatowns in North America will be celebrating just as extravagantly while major locations such as Paris, London, and Sydney will join in on the fun as well.

Pingxi Lantern Festival
Taiwan
February

Imagine the night sky lit up with thousands of floating lanterns – it’s absolutely magical and not to be missed if you’re in Taiwan! The world’s largest lantern festival, people in Taiwan come together to set the sky ablaze for a week in February. It started as a way for the town to let others know that they were safe, but now people wishes and beautiful messages on the lanterns and send them up, creating a beautiful display of floating lights.

Holi
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka – Celebrated by Hindus around the world
February/ March – Full Moon Day

Holi is known as the Festival of Colors, and rightly so as everyone joins in on the fun by spraying dyed water from water guns, flinging colored water-filled balloons, and throwing colorful dye all over the place. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring (and all its colors) and the end of winter, and festivities start the night before as families come together around a Holika bonfire and sing and dance. People prepare for the color fight the next day, and anyone outside is fair game, friend or stranger, young or old.

The Carnival of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
February/ March

The Carnival of Rio de Janeiro, or Carnaval as it’s been dubbed over the years, is a week-long party that everyone wants to be a part of! The festival draws over 2 million people during each day of the festivities and was simply floats, adornments, and a few performances when it started in 1823. Now, Carnaval is world-famous and considered the biggest carnival in the world – the entire week is filled with colors, dancing, colorful costumes, giant parades, samba music, and alcohol, and that’s a combination we want to be a part of.

There have been talks of cutting down the festivities because of Brazil’s recession hitting hard, but so far nothing has been confirmed.