One of the best ways to get to know a new place is to attend the most amazing festivals held there. Every year, in many communities all across the globe, people gather to honor the distinctive customs and values that make their area special. Some popular festivals in the world are an excellent opportunity for people like us who aren’t native to the region to learn about and participate in the local culture.
This page serves as a global festival calendar and compiles the 10 most popular world festivals around the world in 2022, so you may attend one of these events or at least learn more about the customs of different people. Whether searching for the pinnacle of cultural diversity, the glitz of a Cannes film festival, important film festivals, the most out there and craziest festivals, indigenous cultural beliefs or the pure delight of the biggest music festival, you’ll find it all here. You will also find that betting in online casinos will help you fund your trip to any of these amazing festivities.
10 Songkran
Songkran festival is the name given to the Thai New Year’s event. Dates are different every year because of the lunar cycle, but it always occurs in April.
Songkran is celebrated by returning to one’s family and sprinkling the elderly with perfumed water as a gesture of respect.
Over the years, the Songkran festival, however, has evolved into a three-day public water war. Any time you move, water is sprayed at you. Travelers will go to Thailand for the best festival, and Songkran is not one to miss out on.
9 Saint Patrick’s Festival
St. Patrick’s Day, the holiday most Americans connect with Ireland’s patron saint, was originally a religious holiday commemorating the saint’s death.
Since its inception, the St. Patrick’s Day celebration has expanded to become one of the best world festivals.
People around the world don their best shamrock- and green-themed garb on March 17 to participate in or observe the extravagant parades that fill the streets with entertainers.
More than 500,000 people attend Dublin’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, making it one of the world’s largest and most well-known events.
The streets across the entire city are filled with traditional Irish folk music, and there’s plenty to eat and drink now that Lent has over.
8 Carnival
Twelfth Night (January 6) marks the beginning of the Carnival season in the United States. The famous cultural festivals begin ten days before Shrove Tuesday, the latter date being the most important.
Typically, people may fast or give up something they like to gain spiritual strength via the act of sacrifice.
Each of the more than 50 nations celebrating Carnival has distinct customs and rituals, although there are certain commonalities.
7 Oktoberfest
The fantastic festival known as Oktoberfest has gained international acclaim. However, the actual celebration of Bavarian heritage and beer takes place in Munich, Germany.
As one of the top world festivals, this event is a must see for anybody travelling to the continent. Over six million people attend this event every year, making it one of the most popular in the world.
There will be Bavarian cuisine, traditional dances, entertainment, and a funfair in addition to the beer tents. A necessary addition to any beer lover’s office!
6 Dia De Los Muertos
Dia de Los Meurtos is a centuries-old custom in Latin America and Mexico City. It’s commemorated in several ways. While the brightly coloured costumes and painted skulls certainly draw attention, there is much more to the Day of the Dead than just that.
It’s a three-day festival when families commemorate and pray for the dead. Some visit cemeteries to make offerings and decorate graves with marigolds and candles.
It’s important to respect the numerous tenets of these best cultural festivals before attending. Don’t forget to enjoy the parades and other events, either!
5 Diwali festival
Diwali, the ancient Hindu Festival of Lights, is one of the most important national holidays in the Hindu calendar. It’s one of the more popular religious festivals honoring the “winning of light against darkness, good over evil, and wisdom over ignorance,” much like Holi.
Devotees of Hinduism across the globe honor the goddess Lakshmi by lighting candles and oil lamps in their homes and doing puja (prayer rituals).
Diwali may be more recognized in India, but Nepal’s Tihar festival, which honors the same deities, is just as grand and magnificent.
Travel to any country in October to catch this famous festival.
4 Hogmanay
Scotland celebrates New Year’s, or Hogmanay, on December 31 and January 2.
It starts with an enormous torchlight procession and continues with music festivals, fireworks, and the singing of the traditional Scottish hymn, “Auld Lang Syne.”
There are also gentler Hogmanay customs to follow. To welcome in the New Year, many households do a thorough cleaning, clearing out the fireplace or fire festival of any accumulated ashes, and blessing the home with water from a nearby stream.
3 Lantern Festival
The Taiwan Sky Lantern Festival, held annually in the Pingxi area, is undoubtedly one of the best festivals in the world.
Thousands of people visit the hamlet on the final day of the Lunar New Year for the celebration, during which they write wishes on paper lanterns and then set them free into the sky.
This custom originates with the usage of lights to reassure neighboring towns that everything is all right. The deceased is being remembered with well wishes for a bright New Year.
2 Carnevale
In the weeks before Easter, Italians celebrate Carnevale. Carnevale in Italy is the last great party before the joyous celebration of Lent and Easter.
Celebrations, masquerade balls, entertainment, music festivals, and festivities are all staples of Italy’s massive Carnevale celebration each winter. Children playfully hurl confetti, flour, and raw eggs at one another.
In Italy, Carnevale is a time for pranks and mayhem; the phrase “a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale” translates as “during Carnevale, everything goes.”
1 Mardi Gras
For those unfamiliar, a unique festival, Mardi Gras, takes place on the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday and is modelled after Carnival.
The festivities culminate on Mardi Gras Day. It’s the day of the year when people throw the biggest parties; New Orleans is unrivaled as the world capital of such merriment.
Beads, doubloons, and other objects are often thrown by costumed parade participants as “throws” during these citywide celebrations.
This is the last day before the start of Lent; therefore, it’s traditionally used to get any “bad” habits out of the way. It’s probably reasonable to expect that hedonism and alcohol will be in plenty.