01. Diwali - India
Diwali - India: The best-known Hindu festival is known as the "festival
of lights." Diwali (or Deepavali) means "rows of lighted lamps" and,
during this time, houses, shops and public places are decorated with
diyas (small earthenware oil lamps), elaborate feasts are prepared and
spectacular fireworks displays light up the skies. The five-day festival
celebrates the triumph of good over evil and is celebrated throughout
India and around the world (in Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago,
Mauritius, Myanmar and London among many others)
02. Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) - England
Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) - England: "Remember, remember the
fifth of November - gunpowder, treason and plot" goes the nursery rhyme,
chanted in the run-up to Guy Fawkes Night. It goes back to 1605 when
Guy Fawkes, one of the members of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while
guarding explosives in the House of Lords, London. With the plot to
blow up the House of Lords - and kill King James I - foiled, Londoners
lit bonfires around the city in celebration. The bonfire tradition
continues to this day, and usually there's an effigy of Guy Fawkes
placed at the center of it. One of the biggest celebrations is in the
town of Lewes in Sussex where, in recent years, effigies of various
current figures, including those from the U.K. banking world, have been
burned.
03. Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine's "Oniyo" - Fukuoka, Japan
Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine's "Oniyo" - Fukuoka, Japan: Fukuoka, capital
of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island, is one of Japan's largest cities
and hosts one of its oldest fire festivals. Daizenji Tamataregu
Shrine's "Oniyo" (Fire Festival) is a ceremony to drive away evil
spirits that has been practiced for 1,600 years. It's held in early
January each year. A "devil fire" that has been guarded at the temple is
transferred - at around 9 p.m. on the seventh day - to six massive
torches measuring one meter in diameter and 15 metres long. The torches
are transported around the grounds of the shrine by a group of men in
loincloths. It sounds like a potential health-and-safety issue, but it's
considered to be good luck if embers or ash from the torches fall on
them.
04. Jeongwol Daeboreum Deulbul Festival - Jeju, South Korea
Jeongwol Daeboreum Deulbul Festival - Jeju, South Korea: In early
February, the Jeongwol Daeboreum Deulbul Festival takes place on the
island of Jeju off the coast of South Korea. It's a fairly new festival,
younger than 20 years old, but its origins go back to the time when
families kept cows. To keep the grass grazeable, farmers set fire to the
fields in the mountains to destroy old grass and kill harmful insects.
Today, a hilltop is set alight to pray for health and a good harvest in
the coming year. There's a torchlight march, straw-rope making
competition and deumdol (rock) lifting.
05. Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil) - Guatemala
Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil) - Guatemala: In early December
Guatemalans ready themselves for the Christmas season by driving the
devil from their homes and burning him in the streets! For centuries -
at least since the 1700s - the traditional ceremony has been performed
to chase bad spirits from homes and neighborhoods. By watching bonfires,
firework displays and burning devil figures in the streets, locals say
they are spiritually cleansing themselves. The tradition is best
experienced in Guatemala City and Antigua, but many towns throughout
Guatemala host similar ceremonies.
06. Samhain 2012 - Out of the Darkness - Altoona, Florida
Samhain 2012 - Out of the Darkness - Altoona, Florida: More than 500
pagans gather in Florida for the state's largest pagan festival. Each
day is filled with feasting, rituals, drumming, dancing and live
entertainment. The main ritual in 2012 is centered around the "Burning
Times" when so-called "witches" were put to death. (QMI Agency)
07. Ottery St Mary - Devon, England
Ottery St Mary - Devon, England: In the small town of Ottery St Mary,
the bonfire and fireworks are not the focal point of the community's
celebrations. It will be the local townspeople carrying flaming barrels
of tar through the streets. In a tradition that predates even 1605 it is
said, 17 barrels are carried, starting in the afternoon, with small
barrels for boys, medium barrels for youths and women and big ones for
the men. Traditionally, the barrels are set on fire at pubs and hotels
around the town and a strict schedule is followed until midnight when
the final barrel is carried in the square. (AFP)
08. Up Helly Aa, Lerwick - Shetland Islands, Scotland
Up Helly Aa, Lerwick - Shetland Islands, Scotland: If you've ever wanted
to see Vikings, this is the festival to see! Described as a Northern
Mardi Gras, its origins stretch back 1,200 years, although the festival
started in the 1870s. It's held on the last Tuesday of January (January
29 in 2013). On that evening, nearly 1,000 men march in ranks, carrying
fencing posts topped in paraffin-soaked sacking. At 7:30 p.m. a rocket
cresting over the Town Hall marks the start. Torches are lit, bands
start playing and the men march with the Guizer Jarl (the head of the
festival) who stands at the helm of a longship. Dragged to the burning
site, the Guizer Jarl will leave his ship for it to be set alight. As
the longship is engulfed by flames, the Vikings sing "The Norseman's
Home" before heading to halls for feasts of mutton soup, bannocks and
plenty of warming drinks.
09. Bonfire Night - Newfoundland
Bonfire Night - Newfoundland: When English and Irish people, in search
of a better life, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, they took their
traditions with them. The English took Guy Fawkes Night, the Irish took
Samhain and over time the traditions merged into Mischief Week. With a
belief that certain types of naughty behavior (soaping windows, taking
pins from gate hinges or stealing old tires for bonfires) is permitted
at this time, many of Newfoundland & Labrador's close-knit
communities hold bonfires and celebrations. (Fotolia)
10. Sadeh - Iran
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