The beauty of diversity is that every culture follows the same traditions in different and unique styles. Every Country has some festivals or events close to the culture of that region and is celebrated by the locals with utmost zeal. Many of the festivals have become popular and grand events that attract a lot of foreign tourists.
HOLI- INDIA
Holi is the festival of colors celebrated by the Nation with great enthusiasm and is one of the most popular events in the world that now has a global celebration. Universities across USA, U.K, AUSTRALIA, are flooded with Indian students and most of these organize grand Holi celebrations in their vicinity dance, DJ, food, and of course colors! ISKCON has played a major role in propagating the worship of Lord Krishna and the devotees across the globe have manifolded.
Not only Indians but other nationals also show a keen interest in Holi celebrations happening majorly in ISKCON. This has made Holi a Global Event and is observed as a colorful fest. Holi is a great way to let go of the grudges, bonds, and differences by getting masked in. colorful faces. Holi is celebrated by Indians living across the globe but is majorly a festival of Hindus living in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nations like Indonesia or Malaysia with a Hindu population.
Let us have a look at the various Countries celebrating their version of Holi !!
BORYEONG MUD FESTIVAL - SOUTH KOREA
The Boryeong Mud Festival was started to promote City's mud business and later on turned out to be one of the most fun-filled fests. Boryeong city lies in the coastal area of Chungcheongnam province of South Korea. The festival happens at Daecheon Beach and this introduced the beautiful beach to the world.
However dirty this looks, this mud is rich in minerals good for exfoliating, anti-aging & rejuvenating the skin. The festival takes place for two weeks and the last weekend is the most famous one.
SONGKRAN FESTIVAL - THAILAND
A traditional festival that marks the beginning of the New Year in Thailand and is celebrated in April. Water being a crucial element of Songkran, the festival revolves solely upon splashing and throwing water. If you’re planning to visit Thailand during the festival, be prepared to get sloshed! People can are roaming around with their water pistols and casually soak anyone in the way.
Gratitude towards family is another meaningful element of the festival. Families get along, and people head towards their hometowns to meet older relatives. Buddhists dwell in temples and pour water on Buddha images as a mark of respect.
LA TOMATINA - SPAIN
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara was an outstanding movie but what made it an ultimate pleasure to watch was the picturization of the Tomatina festival. It was only after this movie that most of us came to know about it. Tomatina is celebrated in Spain and is their version of Holi which is played with tomatoes.
People gather at a particular spot and wait for huge trucks loaded with tomatoes to head their way. People smash each other with tomatoes and squeeze the juice to color each other. Held annually in the Vatican city of Bunol, Spain in around August.
CHINCHILLA MELON FESTIVAL - AUSTRALIA
Still, stuck on tomatoes? Well, we got you something bigger and tastier !! The Australian festival of watermelons takes place in the town of Chinchilla in Queensland, which is also the "Melon Capital of Australia". Chinchilla Watermelon Festival is a bilingual festival and takes place every two years.
The event is full of games and activities like Melon Skiing, Melon Pip Spitting, Melon Chariot Races, melon head smashing, melon eating competitions, and Melon Bungy. Add this to your bucket list because this is not worth missing.
BATTLE OF ORANGES - ITALY
It's fruits again !! Battle of Oranges known as Carnival of Ivrea is the Italian version of Tomatina, which takes place in the Vatican city of Northern Italy. It is one of the largest food fights, where people throw and hit each other with oranges. The fun event happens in February.
This festival is a re-enact of a battle that took place in the 12th century led against a Nobel who use to misbehave with brides on their wedding day. One such bride planned to avenge him and led the local people to fight his army. Since then people re-create the battleground with oranges.
HARO WINE FESTIVAL - SPAIN
We are back in Spain !! This Battle of Wine is a fun wine drinking and splashing fest that takes place in the summer month of June. People soak each other with wine, it's just like playing Holi with water, only its wine inside the water guns. HARO WINE FESTIVAL is celebrated at the Chapel of San Felices de Bilibio.
Haro is a town of grapes and has massive wine production that adds to the economy of the country. This festival is to celebrate wine production on such a large scale. Initially, the festival was not that popular as women avoided staining their clothes, but the tourist and pilgrims revived the festival.
Excited already?? So are we !! All these festivals make us add them to our bucket list right away !! Well while you plan on which one of these to cover first, munch on to some amazing snacks from across INDIAN CULTURE.