These humans sure know how to party...

I recently bought this fill-in journal called "My Future Listography," which is essentially a bunch of to-do-lists including Things to explore online and Unique sights to visit. Although I'm aware that I might not get to do everything that I want to do while I'm still alive, I think it's my responsibility to try my best. That said, I believe that planning is half the fun. Making lists and pondering about the road ahead serves as great inspiration to continue moving forward at all times. So, for today's post, I decided to share the list of festivals that I plan on attending at some point.

CARNEVALE DI VENEZIA

Where: Venice, Italy
When: Before Lent, more specifically, it starts 40 days before Easter and ends on Mardi Gras, or the day before Ash Wednesday.
What: One of the oldest and most iconic festivals in the world.

Estimated that 30,000 people visit Venice daily during the festivities.

Started in 1162, as a celebration of the victory of the “Repubblica della Serenissima” (what Venice was called back then), over Ulrico (Patriarch of Alquileia.) However, the use of masks, which makes the Carnival of Venice particularly unique, didn’t begin until 1268.

Masks hide one’s identity, rendering it impossible to make any distinctions between social classes. Also, the masks allow people to enjoy themselves fully, by encouraging them to lose all inhibitions and to stop fearing judgement.

Different types of masks:

Bauta

Colombina

Medico della peste (Plague doctor)

Volto

In addition to the mask contest (La Maschera Più Bella, Most Beautiful Mask), there are a lot of other forms of entertainment during the Carnival of Venice, including: puppet shows, private parties (masquerades), and street performers.

CARNIVAL IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
When: Saturday before Ash Wednesday until Mardi Gras
What: Biggest carnival in the world, with an estimated 2 million people joining every day.

More than 500,000 foreigners visit every year.

Dates back to 1723.

Considered to be an act of farewell to all bodily pleasures before Lent.

Characterized by excesses and euphoria, where people dance, sing, drink, party, and just enjoy life.

The highlight of the event is the parade of samba schools in the Sambadrome, which features over 3,000 performers scantily dressed in feathers, beads, and sequins dancing on floats as they compete for the title of best samba school.

HOLI

Where: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Suriname, Trinidad, etc.
When: Last full moon of the lunar month Phalguna (usually in either February or March)
What: Religious spring festival of fertility and harvest celebrated by Hindus.

Also known as the Festival of the Colors, it is a celebration of new life.

People throw colored powdered and water at each other.

The strict rules of separation between castes are abandoned.

At the end of the first day, bonfires are lit with the purpose of purifying the air of evil spirits.

The smearing of paint and throwing of colored powder happens on the third day.

There are references to similar festivals in Sanskrit texts, where people would go to the temples to apply red paint not only onto Krishna icons (images and statues) but also onto themselves and their families/friends. The red color represented passion and the practice of smearing the paint symbolized their commitment to diverting their desires for the wellbeing of society and in order to become one with Krishna.

GION MATSURI

Where: Kyoto, Japan
When: July
What: Most famous festival in Japan.

It is the festival of the Yasaka shrine, located in the Gion district of Kyoto.

The festival started in 869 as a way to appease gods during an epidemic that had hit the city. At this time, mikoshi, or portable shrines, were paraded through the streets of Kyoto.

Mikoshi

Nowadays, the main event of the festival is the Yamaboko Junko, or procession of floats, which takes place on July 17.

There are 2 types of floats: Yama and Hoko.

There are 23 Yama floats that carry life-size figures of famous and important people. The Yama are about 6 m in height and weight about 1.2-1.6 tons.

The Hoko, of which there are 9, represent the 66 spears used in the original purification ritual and are significantly larger than the Yama, weighing in about 12 tons and standing up to 25 meters tall.

Hoko

Both Yama and Hoko floats are adorned with beautiful tapestries.

During Gion Matsuri, the streets of Kyoto are lined with street vendors selling: yakitori (chicken skewers), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), and a whole array of Japanese sweets.

Yakitori

Takoyaki

Okonomiyaki

LA TOMATINA

Where: Buñol, in the province of Valencia, Spain
When: Last Wednesday in the month of August
What: The world’s biggest tomato fight.

In the 1940s, during a parade of “gigantes y cabezudos,” a group of friends started a tomato fight (it is unknown if they were rebelling against authority or simply fooling around amongst themselves) in Buñol’s main square. Passersby decided to join in and had so much fun that they decided it to make it a yearly tradition, even if at the beginning they met some resistance from the police.

About 90,000 pounds of tomatoes are used up every year.

The festivities start at 10am, when people try to climb a greased pole that has a ham sitting at the top. Once someone is finally able to knock the ham down, a shot is fired and the launching of the tomatoes can begin. After exactly one hour, a second shot is heard, signaling the end of the tomato fight.

The tomatoes have to be crushed beforehand in order to avoid injuries, and the use of goggles and gloves is recommended. (I'd probably wear a hair cap, too. lol)

Don't they seem like a ton of fun??? Who's coming with??? ;) Comment below and if you've got any suggestions, please let me know. Until next time.