Ethnic Festivals

Unusual festivals in the world never fail to draw in large crowds. While many people are
curious to learn about the festivities, some simply want to experience an extra-ordinary
event they rarely get to see. Here are some of the world's strangest festivals:

Naked Man Festival

Also known as Hadaka-matsuri among the Japanese, the Naked Man Festival has been around for
more than 1,200 years. Only one man is assigned as the Naked Man of the festival. He then
becomes some sort of a vessel for bad luck, which is transferred when the half-naked men
touch him. Despite the traditional belief, the Naked Man is not doomed for bad luck as he
goes through a "purification ritual" as he approaches the shrine.

Tapati Festival

About 1,800 miles south of the Equator is the Eastern Island, home of the Tapati Festival.
The festival is known for its sports activities and theatrical presentations (parades with
floats, crowning of festival queen, etc.). The carnival-type activities are part of its
main attraction. For instance, one sporting event includes sliding down a cliff, wherein
the declared winner is the one who stays the longest on a log. Another good example of
such an activity is having to run around the lake with banana bunches riding over the
shoulders.

Zombie Walk

If you haven't heard of the Zombie Walk before, this is because it is an underground
activity. The event is commonly held in large cities in North America. You'll more likely
get news about it through message boards online and word of mouth. The participants have
to wear zombie costumes and, true to its name, act like zombies as they parade themselves
toward a cemetery or some public place.

Many tourists travel across the world just to witness these festivities. Aside from the
festival highlights, the spirit of the festival are felt through the warm reception of the
people.

Many of us know how to dance. Indeed, dancing is a great art and expression. Many people enjoy some rhythmically body movement, combined with music and heart. Dancing gives several meanings. It can mirror the emotion of the person. It can also give reflections on past, present, and future generations. Dancing has been a part of many cultures and traditions. This is the reason why dance festivals have been celebrated in different parts of the world.

One of the most popular and well-celebrated events in the US is the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. This event is a celebration of different ethnic dance groups performing several dance styles; from classical to folk dancing. This festival highlights the presentations of different dance companies from several genres.

Since it was introduced in 1978 , many community group dancers have been participating in this joyous event. It emphasizes the rich culture of different communities through dancing. This festival encourages new generations to appreciate the culture and traditions of their communities through body movements, heart, and mind. Ethnic dance festivals are part of the remarkable history of men. They provide wide windows to the unforgettable diversity of traditional and contemporary dance styles. You should try watching this festivity. I guarantee that you are going to love every minute of the event.

Boston, Massachusetts is celebrating the yearly New England Folk Festival, a festival for traditional music and dance. A lot of volunteered individuals perform in the festival, and participated with people who love to dance, sing, jam, and do other exciting festival activities. Mary Gillete spearheaded a vision that the dance, crafts and songs of ethnic groups of New England can be shared and be presented for some audience.

In 1944, Mary Gillette, Ralph Page and Grace Palmer were the parents of the concept. A simple chat at Boston YWCA was resulted to a big folk festival. This idea became an interest of many, until Philip Sharples, founder of Belmont Country Dance Group, tied-up with Mary and Ralph to call other leaders to discuss the idea over. A lot of recreation organizations and some ethnic group representatives were sent to discuss further the concept for more vivid vision.

The committee decided to retain the atmosphere of a non-commercialism fair with high standard of authencity and quality performance. The opening festival was held on October 28 to 29, 1944; attended by some 200 people.

One reason for traveling abroad is to be immersed in the wide array of cultures. Appreciating a country can be best enjoyed if you will be a participant in the local celebrations or festivals. Festivals allow you to glimpse the cultural traditions and heritage of the people involved. Festivals are also historical links to the past. Hence, some festivals can be considered as the living relics of the past. Festivals may either be religiously motivated or simply connected to the most common economic activities of the people such as farming or cattle-raising.

The ironic thing about some festivals is that they are becoming more commercialized. Festivals are sometimes held just to attract tourists or direct foreign investments. The core value of traditions is sometimes forgotten. Local people are sometimes reduced as mere entertainers and performers for foreigners.

One ethnic festival held annually is the Nadan Fair of the Mongol. This festival is held between July and August each year. Nadan literally means “recreation or game”. This festival is highlighted by horse racing, wrestling, archery, and other traditional activities which can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty.

Ghana is an ancient African nation that's so rich in culture and traditions. They even celebrate the beginnings of the rainy season. This celebration is called the "Durbar". The name Durbar was given to Ghana by the British people. This celebration is so full of colors and practices. The people of Ghana really put in a lot of effort to make the Durbar happen every year.

The Durbar festival is celebrated with brightly colored and designed umbrellas, one for each Ashanti chieftains. The people of Ghana would gather at the specially appointed Durbar grounds. The Ashanti chieftains would then arrive to pay tribute to the "paramount chief" in their ancestral tribe villages. Of course, the Ashanti chieftains would be dressed in Ghana's hand-woven dresses. Each of them would be carrying a "gilded cane" corresponding with their position of office. All the arrivals would, of course, be accompanied with Ghana's tribal music. There are the complete tunes from the ethnic drums. The singers would chant the traditional festival music. The appointed followers would walk after the chieftains.

The most important participation would be of the court linguist. The Ashanti chieftains would only converse with the inferiors through selected interpreters. The highlight of the festival is when the paramount chief is carried to the Durbar ground palanquin. This is when everyone would start to dance and move around with the beat of the lively music. For the Ashanti chieftains, this would symbolize the coming of rain sent down by Nyame, or the Sky god. Nyame symbolizes the sun. He's in charge of the farm's abundant rain showers, sunlight, and flooding.

In Palestine, they traditionally celebrate and welcome the spring season, called the Pesach. Spring always brings Palestine the best weather condition for harvest. The Palestine Spring Festival originated from the Jew's tradition. In Hebrew terms, the Pesach means "passover." Every time the spring season comes, the Hebrew herdsmen would sacrifice a lamb to the god of fertility. The people would welcome spring time by celebrating and preparing good meal feasts.

There are two rites to start the Pesach. To start the feast, they must only eat the "unleavened" bread served on the feast table. Rightfully, before the harvest, the people would bring a sheaf of grain to the Temple priest. These two rites are symbolizes for a never ending assurance of flocks and grains. Nowadays, the Pesach isn't just for harvest and spring, the Pesach is also the Festival of Freedom. The reason being, that this was also the same period when the Jews were freed of being slaves in Egypt. Of all the Jewish festivals, the Pesach is something that they sincerely celebrate and cherish. The Passover also symbolizes God's kindness because He did not include the first-born Jews, in the smote of first-borns in Egypt. The Pesach lasts for eight days, the first two days and the last two days are practiced as holy days wherein, everyone doesn't go to work. The days in between are "semi-holidays" for festivities and celebrations. There are so many interesting rites and traditions in the Pesach festival, it's just the best eight days in Palestine.

One of the ethnic group festivals in China is the Shoton Festival of Tibet. Held in Lhasa, this Tibetan feast also means Yogurt Banquet, which celebrates the end of the one hundred days of the monks' summer retreat. The month of August is deemed the perfect time for the Shoton festival because of the appearance of the new moon at the last part of the Tibetan's sixth month.

Tibetan dance dramas or operas called Ache Lhamo are performed during the feast, together with the serving of yogurt. People also turn up at the parks, where they can shop for various products in the fair or just have picnics with sweets, cakes, and tea. Shoton festival is very popular throughout Tibet and lasts for more than five days, as decreed by the government.

There's nothing like cold breeze cutting your inner nostril walls to intensify the feel of the Tibetan outdoors. Stinky horses are everywhere. Short horses are not meant for track racing events , but they sure can gallop the hilly terrain of this part of Tibet. The people here are probably not what you are used to seeing, or what you would like to see, rather, depending on your taste. But back to the horses, since this is a horse festival, after all.

The Litang horse festival have been traditionally held in this same exact spot for generations, and even the Chinese people cannot stop native Tibetans from practicing this most important of Tibetan customs. Tibetans used to be part of the Mongol horde, and these horses, though small in size, are among the hardest in the world. These particular Tibetans are nomads, and the plains below Kathmandu are their realm. Taught to ride a horse since early childhood, the men look ill at ease on foot.

In the town of Puri, in the state of Orissa, in India, there is a festival celebrated there every year that might not be famous worldwide, but is the origin of a word deeply ingrained in our language. The Festival of Rath Yatra is celebrated every July, and commemorates a story from the Rig Veda (the Hindu Holy book) where the god Vishnu and his siblings visit their aunt.

The festival is celebrated by parading an image of Vishnu, in one of his forms, Jagannath, in a massive chariot weighing some tons and pulled by many devotees through the streets of Puri from the Temple of Jagannath and back.

A spectacle that attracts various tourists and curiosity-seekers, the Festival of Rath Yatra gave us, through the word Jagannath, the word juggernaut, which means an unstoppable force. Now don't tell me I never taught you anything.

Ethnic festivals, to the uninitiated, might seem archaic and without value in today's world of high technology, gadgets and scientific advancement. But in truth, now, more than ever, people need to celebrate these "old fashioned" festivals.

Ethnic festivals become more valuable as time goes on because they are reminders for the people celebrating it to not forget the old, time-honored values and traditions, the traditions that defined peoples and ethnic groups. Ethnic festivals provide people with an identity to hold on to, in this world where many people are defined by what they wear, earn or own.

Ethnic festivals are more than just excuses to wear old costumes or dance in strange ways: They are one way by which a people are defined.

The Monterey Park Lantern Festival will be held at Garvey Ave. The said event may come on February 11 and 12 to join in the festivities.

There will be at least 150 booths that participants may check out on the said event. The booths are offering a variety of services like merchandises, Arts and Crafts, etc.

Several food courts, Kidzone, and Chinese Cultural Art Center will grace the event. Various cultures will be displayed for the festivities. Lion dances will awe the participants during different times of the day. Musicians, dance groups, demonstrations of martial arts will be presented on 2 stages.

Guests will be glad to know that admission to the event is free. Shuttle service and parking are likewise free of charge too.

A little off the beaten path, in one of the most populous islands of the Philippine archipelago, come January, will be one of the strangest spectacle you'll ever witness as a festival tourist. You'll want to get out of that Yuletide funk and shed that Christmas snow, as you'll be entering one of the most humid tropical weather in the region. Many parts of the island of Panay is sitting just a little below sea level, and in the city of Iloilo where the biggest version of the ati-atihan festivals is held every third week of January the air will be like a warm blanket over your already sweating body.

An "ati" is an aboriginal inhabitant of the island of Panay, and the new settlers have thought it fit to celebrate the golden and distant past when all the inhabitants of the islands are innocent little people.

There are a lot of new hotels now in city, so a sudden avalanche of tourists will most likely be accommodated.

Every last Saturday in November, the streets of Taxco, Mexico, are lined with silver jewelry. That's because this is the time when all of Mexico's greatest silversmiths gather in this city to celebrate the Mexico Silver Fair, first started in 1953 to honor the greatest silversmiths throughout the nation.

Aside from being a celebration, the Silver Fair has also become a competition of sorts, with the best creation earning a trophy, a cash prize and a reputation amongst local and foreign jewelers, often leading to international orders due to the beauty and creativity exhibited here.

This year's Silver Fair will be held from November 24 to December 1. If you adore silver, and want to see the best that Mexico's silver artisans have to offer, head on out across the southern border and knock yourself out.

Every year, the citizens of Mobile, Alabama gather to celebrate their international festival, which attracts thousands of participants, visitors and guests as more than 60 countries come and showcase their unique national identities in a gathering meant to foster ideals of goodwill and harmony with our fellow man.

The Mobile International Festival always has a theme for each year, and for 2005 it's all about the fabrics of each nation around the world. But visitors and guests should expect more than just fabrics here; a bewildering array of food, music and goodies from the world over will be on display here.

Head on out to Mobile, Alabama and sample what the world has to offer you at the Mobile International Festival on November 19, 2005.

Celebrate the unique culture of Northeast Scotland with the Doric Festival, which will be celebrated on the 30th of September and ends on the 16th of October this year.

The festival aims to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of Northeast Scotland through song, poetry and readings in the unique dialect of the North-Easterners, Doric. The festival will also help to promote singers, writers, musicians and stage actors who wish to specialize in the use of Doric as their language.

It is hoped that through this festival, the native peoples of Scotland can come to celebrate their unique language and culture.

Attend the Doric Festival on September 30th to October 16th and be entralled by the language of Scotland.

Go back in time to a place of unmatched elegance, beauty and chivalry. The Maryland Renaissance Festival, which runs from the weekends of August to October, gives its visitors a chance to appreciate the crafts and art of times past. It also gives the modern man or woman the opportunity to indulge in a medieval fantasy where knights, princesses and kings are not only allowed, but encouraged to participate!

There are numerous activities for young and old including free pony rides, a maze and shopping for souvenirs like various leather goods, crystals and jewelry.

This fun fantasy festival is held in Crownsville, Maryland, at the intersection of Route 450 and of Crownsville Road in Anne Arundel County, 30 miles from Washington, DC.

While the festival may say "Oktoberfest", the action starts usually in mid- to late September, and the beer doesn't stop until eighteen days later. During this time, Munich, Germany becomes a beer-drinker's version of a noisy, crowded paradise as the beverages and beautiful serving girls come in seemingly never-ending waves.

The festival's fame has spread even beyond its native country's borders, as millions of tourists flock to the beer halls and tents to partake of this tidal wave of beer that commemorates a wedding celebration first held in 1810 between Bavaria's King Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.

From that lavish wedding reception the legendary Oktoberfest has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, with many nations celebrating their own Oktoberfests. Which just goes to show you what lengths people are willing to go just to have an excuse to drink beer.

Everybody loves a Fiesta. Don't try to deny it. Once you hear the catchy beat of a Mexican tune, you're uncontrollably dancing to the infectious rhythm. The fine folks down at Indiana know it, and that's why they celebrate the Fiesta! Indianapolis.

Every year for the past 25 years, Indianapolis has celebrated the Fiesta! Indianapolis to preserve and promote Hispanic culture through this festival. Founded in 1981, Indiana's Hispanic community has gathered in Indianapolis to come together and celebrate their unique culture and promote the ideals of tolerance and brotherhood. Head down to the American Legion Mall on September 17 for a fiesta to remember!

This is Mexico's equivalent to the Fourth of July. Their nation may be smaller, but the celebration is no less grand. All over Mexico, the people are eager to take this day as a chance to be grateful for their independence. And come September the 15th, they'll get the chance to thank their lucky stars they still have it.

If you've never been to one of these, then it's high time you were at one. Imagine a fiesta in a southern desert state, like Arizona. Then imagine it being celebrated in a whole country like Mexico. Exciting, isn't it?

So what are you waiting for? If you love a loud, festive and enjoyable party atmosphere, reserve September 15 and make your way across the border!

Mount Fuji is a grand and imposing sight, and has been a source of mystery and awe, not just for the locals, but for tourists as well. Many adventure seekers climb up its steep slopes, hoping to gain a better appreciation of the mountain's natural beauty and stand in awe of its presence.

But climbing the mountain is a seasonal affair, and in the days that round out the climbing season (August 26-27) a grand fire festival, the Yoshida no Hi Matsuri, is celebrated to mark the end of the climbing season. Grand bonfires are lit along the mountainside, often running deep into the night, and the festival reaches its climax with a parade featuring a huge paper lantern shaped like the mighty mountain through the torchlit streets of Yoshida.

Every August in India the festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated. This festival is held in order to strengthen the bonds between siblings of the opposite gender - between brother and sister.

During the festival, there is a very simple ceremony in which the sister ties a cord - called a rakhi - around the brother's wrist, signifying the eternal bond between a brother and a sister. The brother then extends his wrist, symolizing the promise of protection over his sibling.

In fact, the word "raksha" signifies protection, and "bandhan" is an association that signifies an enduring sort of bond, a bond reinforced by the cord-tying ceremony.

Often celebrated on the 15th of August, this simple festival serves as a reminder to the peoples of India that the family is the most important unit of society.