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Religious festivals have been in existence ever since the beginning of history. In fact, there are many strange festivals around the world. However, some of the religious festivals have become more popular than others. This is possibly due to the large number of people that celebrate them or because of the attention that it receives. Religious festivals are some of the oldest festivals that have been constantly observed over centuries. Below includes a list of the top 10 religious festivals celebrated around the world.
#10: Christmas
This widespread Christian tradition, one of the biggest religious Christian festivals in the world, observes the birth of Jesus Christ each year on December 25th. People celebrate Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus. As the Messiah, he came and died for people’s sins so that they can be saved from the eternal wrath of God. People in over 160 countries around the world celebrate the event. In fact, it captures the attention of everyone, including non Christians.
Typically, people celebrate Christmas by giving gifts and feasting on various meals. Additionally, most families come together to celebrate. The traditional story around the birth of Jesus is well known Biblical story. The celebrations run for three days, the first being Christmas eve on 24th, the second being Christmas itself on 25th and finally boxing day on the 26th.[1]top rating list – Top 10 Religious Festival Of The World
#9: Hajj and Eid-Ul-Adha
Hajj and Eid-Ul-Adha are Muslim festivals that take place one after the other. These are the biggest Islam festivals in the Muslim religion. Every Muslim must celebrate Hajj, a ceremony in the Muslim calendar, by making a pilgrimage to Mecca. This event is the single largest Muslim gathering yearly. Muslims normally celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha immediately after Hajj. Muslims undertake the pilgrimage as a religious duty which is part of the five basic pillars of the Muslim faith. Additionally, it is a show of unity among the Muslims as they show submissiveness to Allah, their god.
Eid-Ul-Adha is a three day celebration. It begins with Muslims dressing up in their best clothes and going to the mosque for prayers to give back thanks to Allah for blessing them. The celebration is a time to get together with family and friends to celebrate. It is also a time to give back something to the community, especially the poor so that they can celebrate as well. There’s also feasting where families slaughter an animal in memory of Abraham’s obedience to Allah.[2]IslamiCity – The Hajj ending in Eid-ul-Adha
#8: Easter
#7: Chinese New Year
Chinese people around the world celebrate the Chinese New Year, also referred to as the spring festival, at the end of winter to mark an end to the coldest days. It celebrates fresh starts and new beginnings. Like Easter, the event has no set date. It can happen on any day between January, 21st to February 20th. According to tradition, Chinese New Year is a day for dedicating prayer to the gods and to fight off any mythical monsters.
Additionally, the event has the highest number of fireworks of any festival on the particular night. This is because traditionally the fireworks and firecrackers help ward off monsters. The event goes on for about forty days, making it the longest celebration. The celebration is mostly a family event. As such, Chinese people travel from all around the country to visit their families. In fact, so many people are traveling during this period that it is officially the largest movement of people at one time in the whole world. Additionally, a weird tradition with this event is that it is prohibited to take a shower on New Year’s Day because of the belief that you can wash off the good luck brought by the young year.[3]Chinese New Year 2018 – 21 Things You Didn’t Know About Chinese New Year
#6: Diwali
Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, is a religious Hindu festival. Hindus celebrate it over a five day period. During Diwali, people celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Additionally, they remember the lord of virtue who returned after fourteen years of exile. Revelers celebrate the event by lighting candles and setting off fireworks. Additionally, they clean houses in order to decorate them with colorful patterns drawn on the floor know as rangoli. During this time, people also give back to the community and the less fortunate. People also get to put on new clothes and visit friends and family in a bid to celebrate together. It is common for people to exchange various gifts and sweets as well. Lastly, each evening, Hindus offer prayers to Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck and prosperity.[4]aljazeera – Diwali 2017: When is it and how is it celebrated?
#5: Ramadan and Eid-Ul-Fitr
Muslims consider Ramadan a holy month in Islam all over the world. Muslims practice fasting as one of the five basic pillar of Islam. The month is also for reciting the Holy Quran. People around the world hold the festival in high esteem as being among the most religious and spiritual festivals in the world. Ramadan takes place in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar as a ceremony to renew oneself spiritually.
Muslims believe that during this period the gates to heaven open while hell is sealed up. Believers of the Muslim faith normally pray more than usual during this period as a way of feeding the spirit. Eid-Ul-Fitr is the event that marks the end of the fast. Muslims celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr by breaking the fast and gathering together families to celebrate. People exchange gifts. This includes giving to the less fortunate people in the society. Also, special prayers are held at the mosque.[5]Islamic History – Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr
#4: Pentecost
Pentecost is another Christian holiday. Christians celebrate it to mark the coming of the holy spirit or the birth of the church. Some churches do not celebrate it. However, most do by focusing on remembering the first Pentecost through sermons and worship. In addition, people use colors and symbols as decorations. Red signifies the fire of the holy spirit. Some churches use this time to receive new members. The new members normally wear white on that Sunday. This gave rise to the name White Sunday. The ceremony signifies many things including the presence of the Holy Spirit, the central role of the church in doing God’s work, the mission and multi-lingual nature of the church, and the all-inclusive ministry of the church among others.[6]patheos – What is Pentecost? Why Does It Matter?
#3: Setsubun
In Japan, people celebrate several religious festivals at the beginning of spring. This particular country festival is a cleansing ceremony from all evil spirits that cause disease so that the subsequent year may be free of evil. Japanese people mark this event with several events. Typically, families throw out roasted soybeans out of their house out of their house. Additionally, and one family member dresses up as an evil spirit. Afterwards, the rest of the family chants a song to chase away evil spirits. Visitors can view the event publicly in temples across Tokyo and Japan. There are also ceremonial foods that are consumed during this ceremony like the special sushi setsubun roll. Traditionally, people must eat the roll in total silence after making a wish.[7]Savvy Tokyo – Setsubun: Japan’s Bean-Throwing Tradition
#2: Krishna Janmashtami
Primarily Hindus celebrate this event to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna. The religious festivals take place in temples where people decorate the Lord Krishna’s image with flower garlands. It starts before dawn and extend throughout the day until midnight. Traditionally, there is singing of the lords name with the other devotees of the faith. Additionally, Hindus give more private and intimate prayers. Furthermore, it is common to prepare a large feast and perform dances and dramas. However, the young and healthy must fast for the entire day.
Burning of incense and reading of scripture are important parts of the ceremony as well. Hindus bath the deities with an array of auspicious liquids in an ablution ceremony called Abishteka. The ritual can take as two hours or more to complete. Finally at midnight, the priests pull back the curtains to reveal the dressed deity Krishna seated on a colorful alter.[8]Krishna – How to Celebrate Janmashtami
#1: Navaratri
This is the final event that is among the ten popular religious festivals in the world. Navarati is a traditional Hindu festival and one of the big religious festivals of India. Hindus celebrate the festival over a period of nine days. Out of the nine days, Hindus dedicate three days to the worship of Maa durga (the goddess of valor), Maa Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth), and Maa Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge.
During the celebration, Hindus give priority to fasting and feasting above all the normal activities of the day. The evenings witness religious dances in the worship of the goddess Durga Maa. Also, Hindus recite texts in a bid to invoke vanquished demons. After completing nine days, the tenth day, also known as Dussehra, Hindus usually celebrate this day with a lot of religious zeal.[9]Encyclopedia Britannica – Navratri
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