May, the start of summer break for students and the month of festivals around the world.
The summer is coming and you want to travel to other countries to enjoy your summer break by drowning yourself in an endless wave of summer festivity. Come to these countries and find out which fascinating festivals are waiting to be explored.
Cat Procession Festival in Ypres, Belgium
On the second Sunday in May in Ypres, Belgium, there will be an interesting festival, the Cat procession in the Grote market. Around this time, people came together to wear cat costumes from the period of ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages. There are even people dressed in the shape of cats in fairy tales. They would then gather in parades around town. The attraction of the festival is that people will process Kattenstoet – a giant fake cat. Besides, on these days, all the shops, shops along the streets will be filled with chocolate bars, macaroons, cat toys and many other related items.
Naghol Festival, Republic of Vanuatu
Naghol Festival is a famous festival held in the small island of Pentecost in the Republic of Vanuatu. Every year, on the Saturday between April and May, people here eagerly prepare for the big festival season of the year. In the main ritual of the festival, healthy men must display strength, enthusiasm and especially courage. They will have to tie ropes to their stomachs or ankles and then jump to the ground from a height of about 15-30m. The jump will be made from a tower built just for this special event. Besides, through the ritual, the man also wants to show the woman that they will never cheat.
Rose Festival, Morocco
In the middle of May, when Moroccans enter harvest time, the whole area is filled with the scent of beautiful roses. Coming to Morocco at this time, visitors can freely see the beauty of roses anywhere. During the three holidays, visitors can enjoy dance performances, parties and parades under the “rain” of rose petals. An interesting part of the festival is that there is always a beauty contest between the roses and to find the flower that is “crowned” each year. In particular, because roses are everywhere, visitors will feel like their own body is emitting a sweet and fragrant flower scent.
Horse Fair, Spain
If i have to use 2 words to describe the horse fair in Spain, it would be vibrant and . The festival takes place in the city of Jerez de la Frontera, which is famous for its brown wine competitions, flamenco dances and especially horse competitions. Coming to the city on this occasion, visitors can admire the colorful parade with hundreds of horses passing through the González Parque Hontoria market in the north of the city. In addition, when participating in the festival, visitors can also witness music and dance performances, bullfighting, horse racing, activities which more than million visitors every year.
Candle Race, Italy
This is a large scale giant candle procession on in Gubbio, Italy. Held on 15th of May every year, this festival is the opportunity for locals to pay homage to saint Ubaldo. The race has the participation of 3 teams dressed in 3 colors blue, red and yellow (representing each saint). Each team carries a candle (called Ceri) 4m long with a wooden pillar (weighing about 400kg), carrying a statue of one of the three saints (Saints Ubaldo, George and Anthony). After that, in the cheers of locals and tourists, team members start their race from the city to the slope of Monte Ignito.
Snake Festival, Italy
There is a bizarre festival in the town of Cocullo in central Italy, which is the procession of Saint Domenico or “Saint Snake”. This is a well-known festival, attracting many local as well as foreign tourists. The festival is held on the first Thursday of May in memory of Saint Domenico who saved the lives of many snake attack victims. The people here believe that, by carrying the “Saint Snake” around the town, the Saint will use his power to grant them protection against snake venom in the following year.
Elephant Procession Festival in Kerala, India
Traveling to India in May, visitors have the opportunity to participate in a unique festival Pooram (Elephant procession). The festival dates back to 1789 to pay homage to the god Shiva in Thrissur’s main Kerala temple. Every year, this festival intrigues festivals around the world. The highlight of this traditional festival is the parade of 100 meticulously decorated elephants, a truly satisfying sight for your eyes to behold.