The (northern hemisphere) summer holiday season is now well and truly upon us, complete with major celebrations. On July 1, our Canadian friends feted Canada Day, a commemoration of the country’s 1867 quasi-independence from the UK. Today, July 4, Americans fire up the barbecue (and dodge firecrackers) to mark the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. On July 14, the French head en masse to the military parade on the Champs-Elysées to observe Bastille Day, the 1789 storming of the eponymous prison.
Fourth of July in the USA. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Michele Markel Connors
Of course, there are at least a dozen more ‘national independence days‘ in July and scores more, including plain ‘national days‘ throughout the year, pretty much at least one for every country on earth… and even some that aren’t officially recognised.
Why bring this up, other than as an obvious excuse to wish our American readers a very happy Fourth of July? Well, independent travellers with a particular penchant for direct, deep and engaging discovery – something sometimes called experiential travel – of new lands and cultures often wrap their travel plans around major happenings, like festive national days.
Here, then, are some of our favourites.
Like countries throughout Asia, China celebrates the New Year with a splash in some areas
New Year, Asian Style
New Year’s Day is a time to bid farewell to the year that was and greet the year that will be with joy and hope for positive change. It is celebrated all over the world and often welcomed with a bang (literally). In the Western world, festive New Year’s events occur on the 1st of January, the first day of the Gregorian calendar. However, for millions of people on the other side of the world, the Asian New Year is ushered in on different days of the year, often in keeping with the lunar calendar.
Read more about other awesome Asian festivals:
- Bisket Jatra: Ringing in the New Year in Bhaktapur, Nepal
- Monsoons in Goa, India: Paradise in the Rain
- Photo of the Week: A Jhakri (Shaman) of Darjeeling, India
- A Glimpse of the Colourful and Legendary Festivals of Bhutan
Unlike in Rio, the dances in Oruro never change because each one corresponds to a Bolivian folk story. These Caporales dancers depicted, represent the story of the Yungueno slaves and their rich costumes show the money that their slave owners paid for, and profited from them. Photo courtesy of Maureen Valentine
Carnival!
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a well-deserved reputation as host of the biggest Carnival celebration in the world. Nowhere else on earth is this gloriously wanton Christian holiday of feasting before fasting quite as grand in scale. In fact, all over Brazil, wild and massive celebrations compete for the Carnival spotlight. This makes it easy to forget that Carnival is celebrated with the same passion and gusto in many other parts of the world as well!
Read more about boogying in the streets:
- Photo of the Week: Tudo é Jazz Festival, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- The Curious Carnival Celebration of Curitiba, Brazil
- Inside The Candelaria Festival of Puno, Peru
- Photo of the Week: Tshechu Dancers, Bhutan
On the Vanuatu island of Pentecost, a yearly ritual of death-defying land jumps, called Nagol (or N’gol), is performed in celebration of the yam harvest. Photo courtesy of John Nicholls
The Pentecost Jump, Vanuatu
Much has been written about the island of Pentecost (part of the Vanuatu archipelago) and its yearly ritual of death-defying land jumps performed in the south of the island in celebration of the yam harvest. The Nagol (or N’gol) ritual of land diving has been performed for hundreds of years, and also doubles as a male coming of age ceremony. Following the wet season (January to April), men and boys above the age of seven tie elastic vines to their ankles. In accordance with the height required by the jumpers, the other ends of these vines are then tethered to different levels of a specially constructed tower.
Read more about unique cultural rites of passage:
- Pasola: The Heart-racing Horse and Harvest Festival of Sumba, Indonesia
- Engagement Ceremonies in Malawi
- Sikh Pilgrimage in Pakistan: Following in the Footprints of Guru Nanak Dev
Free Christmas expression at its best during SantaCon, here celebrated in New York City. Photo courtesy of Flickr/ÐIÐËO
End-of-Year Renewal: Out with Old Year, In with the New
The end-of-year holidays do funny things to people. They’re annual stock-takings that can prompt bouts of deep introspection or draw people outside of themselves. Sometimes the guiding force is spiritual, other times much more concrete. Whatever the case, we usually welcome the flip of the calendar page, the fall of another digit in our steady forward progress through time.
We also think that year end is a magical time to travel, a special chance to take in places dressed up in their best and eager to embrace all.
Read more about end-of-year celebrations: