Top 5 Festivals To See Around The World

1. Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The World’s most grand parade is held in Rio de Janeiro. Samba schools from around the world prepare for a long time and aim to look and perform better than their competitors in the Samba Parade. This festival is fun and involves a lot of dance spirit.

King ‘Momo’ is the name of the Greek God of mockery and is jolly and does graceful Samba. When he dances, everyone is required to dance with him. He is the head of the event and must never fail to engage his audience in the best of Samba performances.

The carnival is like a formal Samba competition between different Samba schools. Every school’s parade is well planned and organised and every member’s participation, costume and make-up has a purpose. A school group is divided into sections called ‘wings’. Each wing consists of at least 100 members who wear the same costume and look similar. The costumes are very colourful, unique and their design is elaborate. The design is decided around a year in advance and it takes at least 8 months to prepare the costumes of one school of Samba dancers.

The rhythm of the parade needs to be playing continuously and therefore trained musicians are allowed to play the Samba rhythms. Schools have a special audience that does another act to impress the judges or display the theme of the school. The competition is hard, but the experience is very different and unforgettable. There are four judges. They give every performance marks ranging from 5 to 10 and then decide a winner.

2. Halloween, USA

Among those festivals celebrated in high spirits, Halloween is celebrated to pay a tribute to the dead. It is believed that the festival is celebrated in a humorous way to face the power of death. Although celebrated in many countries, USA celebrates the festival in a quirky way by dressing up in colourful but sometimes scary costumes.

Pumpkin carving is common in the USA because at the time, pumpkins are at harvest. At the time of Halloween, many christians encourage abstinence from meat and eat vegetarian food. Pumpkin carving is a fun activity often carried out in schools.

Halloween is a festival that is celebrated in high spirits and it is good to see a festival dedicated to the dead by doing activities like ‘trick or treat’.

3. La Tomatina, Spain

Originated in Bunol by a group of teenagers who fought by throwing tomatoes at each other, today, the festival is largely celebrated in many parts in Spain and is World famous. People gather in a street and wait for the lorries that bring tomatoes. Once they are bought, the tomato fight starts and ends only when contestants hear the second shot.

There are some rules to follow while playing. One must always make way for lorries, squash the tomato before throwing and only use tomatoes and not other articles such as bottles or any other objects that may hurt the participants.

4. Running Of Bulls

This event is among the most dangerous and requires physical fitness and quick reflexes. In the race, a group of runners wearing white and red clothes wait at the entrance of the place where the angry bulls are taken care of. The third shot is an indication that the gates have been opened and the bulls can come anytime. The bulls run fiercely behind the crowd of runners. They are irked and will injure anyone who is in their way. Many a times, people have got seriously injured by bull attacks.

Before the race, the bulls are angered in the arena in which they are kept. The race has traditional roots from the past, when bullfighters fought with bulls. The fight resulted in the animal’s death. Although, it is not recommended to run, watching it is not a problem as there is sufficient protection for spectators.

5. The Carnival Of Venice

The highlight of this carnival is the mask. They are very beautiful, with sharp features and different designs. On the day of celebration, people wear venetian masks and organise balls and other functions.

Although there is little evidence about the origin of wearing masks, today, Venice is recognised by the elaborate masks and attractive costumes people wear. In the past, people wore appropriate masks depending on their professions. Some masks had names of their owner and were made in such a way that the person could be recognised by the unique design of the mask.