I ran into this when I was doing a survey, and feel curious now about what other countries celebrate yearly events like this one. This is celebrated in India, and I worked in a Hindi drama here at viki and they showed how they celebrated this
#1 Diwali
Hindu Festival
Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated mainly by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”
Beginning on Thursday, more than a billion people around the world will began the annual celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that many consider to be the start of the new year.
Typically, the festival is marked by celebrations both at home and in large community gatherings by people of many faiths in both India and the diaspora. In recent years, celebrations have become increasingly mainstream in America with large events in Disneyland and Times Square as well as convention centers across the country.
#2SAN jUAN BAUTISTA
In my Island, Puerto Rico we have ‘‘Las fiestas de San Juan Bautista.’’ The night before you eat a hard boil egg and ask the Patron Saint to show you in the dream that night, who you will marry. A friend of our had a dream of herself in a coffin and we laughed it off but by the next year she got cancer and died. Coincidence?
About the Festival
The Festival de San Juan Bautista takes place every year on June 24 (Midsummers Day, or the summer solstice) and is marked by a few interesting traditions and customs. It’s the most important of the hundreds of fiestas patronales , or patron saint festivals, that cities and towns throughout Puerto Rico hold each year to honor their chosen patron saint.
While the festival is, of course, rooted in the Catholic traditions of the island, there are a few folkloric highlights that set it apart. It’s most well-known event actually takes place the night before on beaches around the island. As midnight approaches on the 23rd, you’ll find the locals gathering on the beach. At the stroke of midnight, custom dictates that you fall backward into the water 12 times for luck. This is somehow a harbinger of good luck for the rest of the year, and it also serves as the unofficial kickoff for the festival.
As with most patron saint festivals, the Festival de San Juan Bautista begins at the church and moves onto the streets. Old San Juan becomes an open-air street party with crowds making their way through the old city, parades, live bomba y plena music, dances and folks in colorful traditional clothing on full display. Vejigantes are always part of the pageantry, often on stilts to add a little dramatic effect to the visual. And a coronation of a King and Queen of the event takes place each year.
Of course, no parade, party or celebration in Puerto Rico is complete without food, and you’ll find food kiosks and delicious local goodies available. It’s a carnival-like atmosphere, with smaller festivals around the island taking place in the days leading up to and following the 24th. But there’s no doubt that the main party takes place in San Juan. It’s a fantastic, colorful, boisterous and unique way to celebrate the local culture. I miss my Island and those festivals full of so much happiness.
If you ever want to visit my enchanting island and experience this feast here is some info…
#/media/File:Erzs%C3%A9bet_h%C3%ADd_and_Gell%C3%A9rthegy_%E2%80%93_lit_in_Finland's_honour.jpg)
