Introduction
Asian cultures have many holidays and festivals. Here are five of them that you can add to your 2019 calendar.
Xian International Light Festival
Xian International Light Festival is a festival of light and sound. It’s held in Xian, China, and it’s a large-scale cultural event that features many light installations and performances. The festival celebrates the city’s history and culture by bringing together artists from all over Asia to create interactive art installations for attendees to enjoy.
The first Xian International Light Festival was held in 2010 as part of an initiative by local government officials to revitalize tourism in this ancient city (which you may recall from our list of ancient wonders). The event has grown each year since then with more than 3 million visitors attending each year!
Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also known as Yuan Xiao Jie in Chinese, is a traditional holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese calendar. It marks the end of winter and symbolizes hope for good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year.
The festival originated from an ancient legend about two lovers named Zhinü and Niulang who were able to defy death by turning into stars after their tragic deaths. Today you can see people celebrating this story by decorating lanterns with wishes written on them or putting them up outside houses so they can be seen by all passing by!
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important holiday in Chinese culture that celebrates the full moon. It’s celebrated by people of all ages and backgrounds, but especially by children who look forward to this time of year because it’s a great excuse to go out and play!
The festivities begin on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar (usually sometime between September and October). Families will gather together at home or at restaurants for dinner before going outside to light lanterns or candles on their houses and trees. This tradition symbolizes brightness during dark times and hope for better days ahead.
Mid-Autumn Festival also means eating delicious food like mooncakes filled with lotus seed paste or red bean paste–a sweet treat served during this special time!
Songkran Festival
Songkran is a Thai celebration of the New Year and other holidays, which lasts for three days. It’s celebrated in Thailand on April 13-15 each year. To celebrate Songkran, people throw water on each other to wash away their sins and cleanse themselves before entering into another year of life. They also clean their houses, temples and boats during this time period.
The purpose behind this tradition is that it allows one to rid themselves of bad luck or evil spirits by washing them away with water from buckets carried around by temple workers who use them as offerings during ceremonies held at Buddhist temples throughout Bangkok throughout these days leading up to April 15th when Thais believe that all things begin anew with an equal chance at success (or failure) based solely upon merit alone without any outside influence interfering with those results beforehand!
Boat Racing Festival in Thailand
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a festival more colorful than Thailand’s Boat Racing Festival. The event is held annually in Thailand, and it’s a traditional celebration of the end of rainy season. The festival has been around since 1368, but its origins are unclear–some say that King Naresuan started it as a way to celebrate his victory against Burma; others say it commemorates Admiral Bayinnaung’s naval victory over Siam (modern-day Thailand).
Regardless, this celebration is one of Thailand’s biggest events: it’s celebrated on every full moon day between November and February (dates vary each year), and lasts for three days each time around. During this time, locals flock out onto their boats or into riverside restaurants where they can watch boats race past them while enjoying delicious food cooked over open fires on deck tables or under umbrellas set up along bankside paths lined with trees draped with lanterns made from bamboo sticks wrapped with colored cloths or paper cutouts featuring images from Hindu mythology like elephants wearing crowns atop their heads!
Asian cultures have many holidays and festivals.
The holidays of Asian cultures are a great way to learn about the culture and its traditions. They also provide an opportunity for you to celebrate with others who share your heritage.
The holidays are often tied to specific dates on the calendar, such as the Chinese New Year (January or February), which marks a new year according to lunar calendars; or Ramadan (September through October), when Muslims fast during daylight hours for 30 days in honor of Muhammad’s revelation of the Quran
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning about these five festivals from Asian culture. These are just a few examples of the many holidays and celebrations that are celebrated throughout the year in Asia. As we mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of other festivals that take place throughout this vast continent!
