Festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Festival (disambiguation).
"Festivity" redirects here. For the ship, see MV Festivity.
Village Feast. Facsimile of a woodcut of theSandrin ou Verd Galant, facetious work end of 16th century (edition of
1609
Procession in onor o! "sisdepiction of the !gyptian "a#igium $sidis festi#al %y Frederick &rthur 'ridgman (190(
& festival or gala is an e#ent ordinarily staged %y a community, centering on and cele%rating some
uni)ue aspect of that community and its traditions, often marked as a local or
national holiday, mela or eid.
Festi#als often ser#e to meet specific purposes, especially in regard to commemoration and*or
thanksgi#ing. +hey are associated with cele%ration and may also pro#ide entertainment, which was
particularly important to local communities %efore the ad#ent of mass,produced entertainment.
+hese cele%rations offered a sense of %elonging for religious, social, or geographical groups.
Festi#als that focus on cultural or specifically ethnic topics also seek to inform mem%ers of their
traditions and the in#ol#ement of community elders sharing stories and e-perience pro#ides a
means for unity among families.
& festi#al is a special occasion of feasting or cele%ration, usually with a religious focus. &side from
religion, and sometimes folklore, another significant origin isagricultural. Food (and conse)uently
agriculture is so #ital that many festi#als are associated with har#est time. .eligious
commemoration and thanksgi#ing for good har#ests are %lended in e#ents that take place
in autumn such as /alloween in the northern hemisphere and !aster in the southern.
$n &ncient 0reece and .ome, festi#als such as 1aturnalia were closely associated with social
organisation and political processes as well as religion.
2132(3243
$n modern times, festi#als may %e
attended %y strangers such as tourists, who are attracted to some of the more eccentric or historical
ones.
253
Contents
2hide3
1 !tymology
( +raditions
4 +ypes of festi#als
o 4.1 .eligious festi#als
o 4.( &rts festi#als
o 4.4 Food and drink festi#als
o 4.5 1easonal and har#est festi#als
5 1ee also
6 .eferences
6 Further reading
7 !-ternal links
Etymology2edit3
& Festi#al at &ntwerp, 17th century
8ountry Festi#al in 1wa%ia
+he word 9festi#al9 was originally used as an ad:ecti#e from the late fourteenth century, deri#ing
from ;atin #ia <ld French.
263
$n =iddle !nglish, a 9festi#al dai9 was a religious holiday.
263
$ts first
recorded used as a noun was in 16>9 (as 9Festifall9.
263
Feast first came into usage as a noun circa
1(00,
273
and its first recorded use as a #er% was circa 1400.
2>3
+he term 9feast9 is also used in
common secular parlance as a synonym for any large or ela%orate meal. When used as in the
meaning of a festi#al, most often refers to a religious festi#al rather than a film or art festi#al. $n
the ?hilippines and many other former 1panish colonies, the 1panish word fiesta is used to denote
a communal religious feast to honor a patron saint.
Traditions2edit3
=any festi#als ha#e religious origins and entwine cultural and religious significance in traditional
acti#ities. +he most important religious festi#als such as 8hristmas,/anukkah, @iwali and !id al,
&dha ser#e to mark out the year. <thers, such as har#est festi#als, cele%rate seasonal change.
!#ents of historical significance, such as important military #ictories or other nation,%uilding e#ents
also pro#ide the impetus for a festi#al. &n early e-ample is the festi#al esta%lished %y &ncient
!gyptian ?haraoh.ameses $$$ cele%rating his #ictory o#er the ;i%yans.
293
$n many countries, royal
holidays commemorate dynastic e#ents :ust as agricultural holidays are a%out har#ests. Festi#als
are often commemorated annually.
+here are numerous types of festi#als in the world and most countries cele%rate important e#ents or
traditions with traditional cultural e#ents and acti#ities. =ost culminate in the consumption of
specially prepared food (showing the connection to 9feasting9 and they %ring people together.
Festi#als are also strongly associated with national holidays. ;ists of national festi#als are pu%lished
to make participation easier.
2103
Types of festivals2edit3
Religious festivals2edit3
Main article# $eligious !estival
&mong many religions, a feast is a set of cele%rations in honour of 0od or gods.
2113
& feast and a
festi#al are historically interchangea%le. =ost religions ha#e festi#als that recur annually and some,
such as ?asso#er, !aster and !id al,&dha are mo#ea%le feasts , that is, those that are determined
either %y lunar or agricultural cycles or the calendar in use at the time. +he 1ed festi#al, for e-ample,
cele%rated the thirtieth year of am !gyptian pharaohAs rule and then e#ery three (or four in one case
years after that.
21(3
$n the 8hristian liturgical calendar there are two principal feasts, properly known as the Feast of the
"ati#ity of our ;ord (8hristmas and the Feast of the .esurrection, (!aster. $n the 8atholic, !astern
<rthodo-, and&nglican liturgical calendars there are a great num%er of lesser feasts throughout the
year commemorating saints, sacred e#ents or doctrines.
'uddhist religious festi#als, such as !sala ?erahera are held in 1ri ;anka and +hailand.
2143
/indu
festi#als, such as /oli are #ery ancient. +he 1ikh community cele%rates the Vaisakhi festi#al marking
the new year and %irth of the Bhalsa.
2153
Religious festivals
Cleaning in preparation
forPassover (c.1320)
Radha celebrating Holi, Kangra,
ndia (c1!"")
# Christ$as $ass at theCh%rch of
the Hol& 'ep%lchre, in(ethlehe$,
srael (1)!))
Arts festivals2edit3
Main article# %rts !estival
&mong the many offspring of general arts festi#als are also more specific types of festi#als, including
ones that showcase intellectual or creati#e achie#ement such as science festi#als, literary
festi#als and music festi#als.
2163
1u%,categories include comedy festi#als, rock festi#als, :aCC
festi#als and %uskers festi#alsD poetry festi#als,
2163
theatre festi#als, and storytelling festi#alsD and re,
enactment festi#als such as .enaissance fairs.
Film festi#als in#ol#e the screenings of se#eral different films, and are usually held annually. 1ome
of the most significant film festi#als include the 'erlin $nternational Film Festi#al, the Venice Film
Festi#al and the8annes Film Festi#al.
Arts festivals
P%sh*in Poetr& +estival, R%ssia
,elevision st%dio at the H-tel
.artine/ d%ring the Cannes +il$
+estival, +rance (2000)
,he opening cere$on& at
the1oodstoc* roc* festival, 2'#
(1)0))
Food and drink festivals2edit3
Main article# Food !estival
& food festi#al is an e#ent cele%rating food or drink. +hese often highlight the output of producers
from a certain region. 1ome food festi#als are focused on a particular item of food, such as
the "ational ?eanut Festi#al in the Enited 1tates, or the 0alway $nternational <yster Festi#al in
$reland. +here are also specific %e#erage festi#als, such as the famous <kto%erfest in 0ermany
for %eer. =any countries hold festi#als to cele%rate wine. <ne e-ample is the glo%al cele%ration of
the arri#al of 'eau:olais nou#eau, which in#ol#es shipping the new wine around the world for its
release date on the third +hursday of "o#em%er each year.
217321>3
'oth 'eau:olais nou#eau and the
Fapanese rice wine sake are associated with har#est time.
Food and drink festivals
'o3eto 1ine +estival, 'o%th #frica
(200))
4a ,o$atina, 'pain (2010)
(eer horse cart fro$ the
Hofbr5%ha%s bre3er&
at6*toberfest 7er$an& (2013)
Seasonal and harvest festivals2edit3
1easonal festi#als, such as 'eltane are determined %y the solar and the lunar calendars and %y the
cycle of the seasons, especially %ecause of its affect food effect on food supply, as a result of which
there is a wide range of ancient and modern har#est festi#als. &ncient !gyptians relied upon the
seasonal inundation caused %y the "ile .i#er, a form of irrigation, which pro#ided fertile land for
crops.
2193
$n the &lps, in autumn the return of the cattle from the mountain pastures to the sta%les in
the #alley is cele%rated as %lmabtrieb. & recogniCed winter festi#al, the 8hinese "ew Gear, is set %y
the lunar calendar, and cele%rated from the day of the second new moon after the winter
solstice. @ree Festi#al of the &patanis li#ing in ;ower 1u%ansiri @istrict of &runachal ?radesh is
cele%rated e#ery year from Fuly 5 to 7 %y praying for a %umper crop har#est.
2(03
=idsummer or 1t FohnAs @ay, is an e-ample of a seasonal festi#al, related to the feast day of a
8hristian saint as well as a cele%ration of the time of the summer solstice in the northern
hemisphere, where it is particularly important in 1weden. Winter carni#als also pro#ide the
opportunity to utilise to cele%rate creati#e or sporting acti#ities re)uiring snow and ice.
Seasonal and harvest festivals
.ids%$$er dance b& #nders 8orn,
'3eden (1")!)
7rand Parade at the '&dne& Ro&al
9aster 'ho3, #%stralia (200))
Hallo3een p%$p*ins sho3 the close
relationship bet3een a harvest and
religio%s festivals
See also2edit3
Culture portal
Holidays portal
8on#ention
!#ent planning
Fair
Festi#e ecology
?rocession
+rade show
References2edit3
1. Jump up ^ .o%ertson, "oel (199(. Festivals and legends# the !ormation o! Gree& cities
in the light o! public ritual (.epr. ed.. +orontoH Eni#ersity of +oronto ?ress. $1'" 0>0(069>>0.
(. Jump up ^ 'randt, edited %y F. .asmusD $ddeng, Fon W. ((01(. Gree& and $oman
!estivals # content, meaning, and practice (1st ed. ed.. <-fordH <-ford Eni#ersity
?ress. $1'" 97>,0,19,969609,4.
4. Jump up ^ ?ickard,8am%ridge, 1ir &rthur (1964. 'he dramatic !estivals o! %thens ((nd
ed. ed.. <-fordH &t the 8larendon ?ress.$1'" 019>15(6>7.
4. Jump up ^ ?icard, @a#idD .o%inson, =ike ((006. 9.emaking WorldsH Festi#als, +ourism
and 8hange9. $n @a#id ?icard and =ike .o%inson.Festivals, 'ourism and Social
(hange. 8hannel View ?u%lications. pp. 1I4. $1'" 97>,1,>5651,(67,>.
6. J Fump up toH
a

b
9festi#al, ad:. and n.9. <!@ <nline. =arch (015. <-ford Eni#ersity ?ress.
&ccessed &pril 16, (015.
6. Jump up ^ festi#al (ad:. at the =iddle !nglish @ictionary. &ccessed &pril 16, (015.
7. Jump up ^ 9feast, n.9. <!@ <nline. =arch (015. <-ford Eni#ersity ?ress. &ccessed &pril
16, (015.
>. Jump up ^ 9feast, #.9. <!@ <nline. =arch (015. <-ford Eni#ersity ?ress. &ccessed &pril
16, (015.
9. Jump up ^ 'errett, ;a=ar 8.D <gden @. Belly (1996. )iscovering the *orld o! the
+ible (4rd ed., re#. ed.. ?ro#o, EtahH 0randin 'ook 8o. p. (>9.$1'" 0,9106(4,6(,6.
10. Jump up ^ 1ee for e-ampleH ;ist of festi#als in
&ustraliaD 'angladeshD 8anadaD8hinaD 8olom%iaD 8osta
.icaD Fi:iD $ndiaD $ndonesiaD $ranD FapanD ;aosD=oroccoD "epalD ?akistanD ?hilippinesD .omaniaD +
unisiaD +urkeyDEnited BingdomD Enited 1tatesD Vietnam.
11. Jump up ^ &ncient !gyptian festi#als could %e either religious or political.'leeker, 8. F.
(1967 2196>3. ,gyptian !estivals. ,nactments o! religious rene*al. ;eiden, +he "etherlandsH !.
F. 'rill.
1(. Jump up ^ 9/e%,1ed (!gyptian feast9. ,ncyclopedia +ritannica. .etrie#ed 16 &pril (015.