Few events encompass a culture’s core values and most traditional features quite like a festival whether it be celebrations bursting with passion and colour that last long into the night, like the Rio Carnival, or a peaceful affair dedicated to symbolism and natural splendour, like hanami in Japan, these events present the ideal scenario to immerse yourself in a culture entirely unlike yours.Â
Festivals often vividly depict the history, beliefs, and people that built the foundations on which each culture stands in contemporary society. More often than not, experiencing a cultural festival will become the centrepiece of your trip. Furthermore, they are frequently the first memory that comes to mind when reminiscing about your adventures.
The mere mention of Rio de Janeiro creates images of excitable street parties, free-flowing caipirinhas, outfits of immeasurable flamboyance and an entire city dancing into the early morning hours. The world’s largest carnival is a veritable hotspot for anyone looking to let their hair down truly. Our tours take you right into the heart of the festivities, staying close to the biggest Rio Carnival event of them all – the Sambadrome.
From April 13th-15th of every year the entirety of Thailand becomes drenched as it plays host to the world’s largest water fight. A celebration of the Thai New Year and symbolising purification from all the negatives of the year that has passed, Songkran sees locals and tourists alike take up arms in the form of water pistols, buckets and hoses before soaking each and every person that crosses their path. Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand sees the country’s most extravagant celebrations of the festival erupt in street after street of aquatic chaos and smiling faces. Myanmar celebrates its national equivalent, Thingyan, at the same time of year.
Despite coinciding with Halloween, Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is in fact an event of joy and celebration rather than horror and gore. The festival is a tradition dating back to pre-Colombian times in Mexico and is a time to remember ancestors who have passed away. Whilst the theme of death and skeletal decorations may suggest a somewhat macabre tone to most, the festival is in fact based on the belief that passed loved ones return to our world for the day and therefore we should greet them with vibrant displays of love and happiness. The colourful celebrations run from 30th October to November 2nd every year.
A festive explosion of colour and happiness, Holi Festival is becoming increasingly popular as its joyful rituals have begun to slowly emigrate to other parts of the globe. However, nowhere celebrates this resplendently chaotic festival quite like India, where it originated. Occurring in March in accordance with the start of spring, Holi is a day of love and forgiveness where people throughout India dance, laugh and launch brightly coloured powder at each other, culminating in rainbow seas of joyous revellers. Parties tend to continue into the night and are particularly raucous in India’s northern regions, where local music and colourful party goers pack the streets.
Coinciding with the blooming of the cherry blossoms around the end of March, hanami signals the end of winter and the arrival of spring. More peaceful than some other festivals, during hanami locals gather under the cherry blossoms in parks and public spaces to enjoy a picnic feast with friends and family. The true joy provided by hanami is witnessing Japan at its most quintessentially picturesque, with the gently sloping roofs of ancient temples emerging through the delicately rose-tinged sea of the cherry blossom canopy. Some parks hang paper lanterns in the evening, providing a magical experience for those planning on enjoying the blossoms through to the chilly evenings.
Responsible for one of the largest human migrations on the planet as relatives reunite across the nation, Chinese New Year is a time for family gatherings and chaotic celebration. During the celebrations China becomes a sea of red, as lanterns are hung, fireworks are fired and doors are adorned with paper hangings. This represents luck and protection against fabled beasts, such as Nian, who was said to have been afraid of anything with a crimson hue. The festivities are also a time to remember and honour ancestors, before concluding with the magnificent lantern festival on the night of the first full moon. It is a cultural phenomenon and a real feast for the senses.
The antithesis of the chaos of Songkran’s water fights, Loy Krathong is Thailand’s lantern festival at the end of the rainy season. The festival sees locals light candles and send them down local waterways on krathongs – small, elaborately decorated boats traditionally constructed from leaves – as well as releasing countless paper lanterns into the night sky as a peaceful yet dramatic symbol of respect to water spirits or to represent a wish for the coming seasons. The warm glow of thousands of lights glimmering on the water’s tranquil surface and gracefully floating through the clear night skies is a spellbinding sight.
Argentina is the home of tango! Whether you are a tango master or an absolute novice, the Tango Festival held in Buenos Aires every August is an event that should not be missed. Brimming with passionate elegance, this event attracts some of the most talented tango dancers in the world for a two week extravaganza and also incorporates the Tango World Cup, where 400 dancers go head to head to be crowned the best of the best. The festival includes all things associated with the dance style, from live tango music to tango-inspired theatre, and is an excellent chance to vividly experience the tango lifestyle in the city that it calls home.Â
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