1. Mardi Gras, New Orleans, United States
The Mardi Gras lasts for a couple of weeks before the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras itself stands for Fat Tuesday and is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday. Parades are usually held everyday, if the weather permits. A king and a queen head the parade and they go around on floats that are manned by people who throw trinkets to the crowd below. Female members of the crowd are encouraged to show their breasts in order to get a trinket. All inhibitions are let loose during Fat Tuesday, as Ash Wednesday marks the official start of the Christian Lent Season and is marked by abstinence and penance. |
| The Mardi Gras lasts for a couple of weeks before the beginning of Lent |
2. Las Fallas, Valencia, Spain
It's a bit of a cliché when it comes to some events, but Las Fallas really does have to be seen to be believed. A pyromaniac's dream come true, this is a festival that's centred around fireworks spectacles during the day as well as the night. Every day at 2pm the 'Mascleta' (a fireworks display that relies on sound) awakes the city with a BOOM. Over the course of rest of the festival is the burning of the 'fallas' – enormous and elaborate paper mache sculptures, painstakingly made over months and then set on fire. |
Las Fallas, Valencia, Spain in March 15th |
3. Carnival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Roughly a million people attend the festivities each year. The festival lasts for four days, with the highlight being the Sambodromo parade. It features neighborhood parades going up against each other to see who will get bragging rights as the best samba school. The yearlong preparation features gaudy floats and nearly naked women. A Masquerade Ball is also held, where participants wear masks, wigs and costumes. Celebrities grace this anonymous affair. |
| Roughly a million people attend the festivities each year |
4. St Patrick's Festival, Dublin, Ireland (and the rest of Ireland)
Every city, town and village in Ireland celebrates like never before on March 17th of every year, so if you're lucky enough to be in Ireland then be prepared for a day and night you'll never forget. If you're in Dublin before and after the event, don't expect a rest - in the capital, the festivities last for five whole days. As well as the parade on the big day, other events include street fairs, 'ceilidhs' (traditional Irish music dances) and much more. |
| St Patrick's Festival be held in March 14th - 18th every year |
5. Kanamara Matsuri, Kawasaki, Japan
This one is definitely not for the prude. The festival features transvestites carrying a giant pink penis all around town. Onlookers, from the young to the old, are given lollipops that are shaped like a phallus. Radishes are carved up like penis, and even playground staples like the swing are shaped like the male organ. The festival originally came into being in the 17th century with the aim of raising awareness on the dangers of syphilis. It is now staged to raise money for AIDS research. |
| Kanamara Matsuri is now staged to raise money for AIDS research |
6. Queen’s Day, Netherlands
Every year on April 30th (or the 29th if the 30th falls on a Sunday) millions of people in the Netherlands celebrate the country's national day – Queen's Day. In Amsterdam alone, over a million people take to the streets. If you're lucky enough to be there for the biggest festival on the Dutch calendar you'll witness one of the craziest and busiest events to take place on the planet. There are some things to note when at it – almost everybody wears something orange, the festival actually begins the night before (known as ‘Queen’s Night’), and make sure you have a few euro to buy something as there are people selling all types of everything everywhere as it’s the only day of the year where you can sell items openly on the street without having to have a permit. |
| Queen’s Day be held in April 30th |
7. Il Palio, Italy
This is horse racing extreme. Representatives from the 17 neighborhoods of Siena gather to compete in a bareback horse race that is staged around the Piazza del Campo. The neighborhoods rival one another, with intermarriages between members largely discouraged and even forbidden. The race oftentimes turns violent and you would hear a lot of bone crunching as the riders hit the pavement. It is a good thing that the race usually lasts less than a couple of minutes only. Winners celebrate with a baby bottle of wine, as the victory signals a rebirth for their neighborhood. |
| Il Palio, Italy |
8. Bastille Day, Cities and towns throughout France
Commemorating the uprising that marked the beginning of the French Revolution, Bastille Day is the biggest national holiday to take place in France. While there isn’t a city, town or village throughout the country that doesn’t do something to mark the event, the best place to celebrate it is in Paris. Here the celebrations start all over the city the night before, particularly around Place de la Bastille. Then on the big day itself a huge parade marches through the city and down the famous Champs-Élysées. Then the day ends in style with a mind-blowing fireworks display at the country’s most iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower. |
| Bastille Day in July 14th |
9. Diwali, India
It is also known as Deepavaali, or the Festival of Lights. It lasts for five days and the end of the festival expects new beginnings. Lamps and candles light up homes all over the country. Firecrackers are set off to ward off the evil spirits. Sweet delicacies are exchanged even between enemies. Quarrels are settled, grudges are set aside and hatchets are buried during this time of the year. Homes also undergo spring-cleaning and new clothes are bought that will bring in good luck and renewed fortune. The festival enjoins everyone, regardless of religion, belief or creed. |
| Diwali is also known as Deepavaali |
10. Notting Hill Carnival, London, England
Held every year at the end of August in the famous West London neighbourhood, the Notting Hill Carnival is arguably Europe’s most colourful and outlandish festival. It was founded in 1964 as a way for local Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their cultures and traditions. Over the two days, twenty miles of colourful costumes surround over 40 static sound systems and hundreds of Caribbean food stalls. Enjoying it are over one million revellers, assisted by 40,000 volunteers. It’s a gargantuan operation. Not to be missed if you are in London in August, it is the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe. |
| Notting Hill Carnival in August 25th and 26th, 2013 |
