Category: Festivals

After getting to the end of the year, we all want to celebrate Christmas to mark the end of it. Although we do not do it like the rest of the world, Christmas is also huge in India.

The most important part is that we grasp the spirit of Christmas, which is forgiveness, love, and sharing with the less fortunate. People in most parts of the world celebrate Christmas by pomp, color, and show with enthusiasm.

It is the same with some parts of the country too. Different customs and traditions define the variety of flavor into the celebration so here are some of the best examples to check out.

1. Goa

The name Goa denotes celebration in itself. It has one of the largest concentrations of Roman Catholics in the country hence the reverence of Christmas. It is also influenced by Portuguese culture hence the pomp and color.

The Catholic faith is known to be zealous and enthusiastic. Here, the city turns into the party capital in the Christmas season. You will feel the real warmth of Christmas if you are present in Goa.

Decorations of poinsettia flowers and lighting to make unique midnight filled with carols, which go to the early hours of the morning. The entire city turns red with restaurants serving Christmas specials and bands play around the streets and beaches. ( Read 10 Best Things To Do In Goa )

2. Puducherry

Puducherry has tons of French influence to enjoy. It has a unique place to celebrate Christmas because it is peaceful. There are many Roman Catholic faithful here to meaning the Union Territory has also a big way to celebrate the joyful occasion.

It highlights Christmas like a bright event where you will definitely enjoy being part of the people here. There is a huge mass conducted in Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the height of the occasion.

3. Daman and Diu

The Portuguese influence contributes to the charm you will find here. It is situated off the coast of Gujarat and a lively place to celebrate Christmas.

It is home to many cultural shows, as there are many Portuguese events and dance forms. There are vibrant lamps to brighten the night sky making it phenomenon and fantastic.

4. Mumbai

Mumbai is a renowned city around the world but you may have never known it for a place to spend Christmas. You will have a unique occasion here as you enjoy the desserts in the bakeries.

There is all you need to give the best feel of the festival. The western suburb of Bandra is a great place because of the lit-up environment. There are many churches to complete your Christmas day in full.

5. Dadra Nagar and Haveli

Although barely spoken about, these destinations are lucrative and have the potential for the most attractive tourist locations in the entire country. December is also the best time to visit thanks to the grand celebration expected.

6. Bangalore

Bangalore brings an exuberant spirit to your Christmas. This entire city gets decked up during the advent season with malls, markets, and restaurants with huge discounts and special menus. It is predominant with Christians and magnificently decorated.

7. Manali

If you want a white Christmas in India, Manali is the place to be. It is the most popular destination for a perfect real deal. It often snows in Manali during Christmas giving you a chance to enjoy the skiing and making a snowman or throw balls at each other.

You may also want to spend time in the log huts to enjoy an ancient mood of Christmas. Remember to make early bookings because the hotels are high on demand when December comes.

8. Delhi

You may know Delhi for many other things apart from Christmas. The fact is; this is a place with a great environment for celebration mood.

There are many Christians in Delhi who are enthusiastic about the occasion. They make decorations with thousands of shimmering lights, clubs, and lounges and parties.

9. Kolkata

This is a city known for its joy in brightness from the aroma of the fruitcakes and pastries to the sweet air. The markets are filled with crowds of shoppers hassling for the heavy discounts available in stores in Kolkata. For example, Park Street is one of the places to enjoy because it is extravagant in its festive mood.

10. Shillong

Shillong offers you a beautiful experience to complete your December holidays. Although it does not attract many people during winter, you have a chance to celebrate Christmas in a unique Indian setting. 

11. Kerala

Kerala is home to many churches and therefore, a place you want to be in the company of the locals when Christmas comes.

Almost every street has decorations with the churches remaining open all night with long colorful restaurants where food and drinks have heavy discounts.

Most importantly, there is a touch of the local culture into the celebrations, which turn the beaches, backwaters, and streets in

Read Top 5 Best Family Holiday Destinations in Asia

Read Top 10 Festivals in Southeast Asia

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Read 8 Rituals And Customs To Follow In Chinese New Year

More than lights and mythical beasts, Lunar New Year 

(LNY) festivities change contingent upon the nation in which you celebrate. With celebrations occurring the world over, here are eight LNY conventions.

The occasion all the more suitably called LNY, as it denotes the beginning of another lunar cycle. This  is a standout among the essential occasions in Asia.

From mouth-watering treats to great fireworks, these are eight different ways that individuals celebrate this festival.

Meet friends and family

Firstly, LNY can be used to make up for the lost time with friends and family. LNY is an opportunity to head home. So prepare to have your cheeks squeezed, your plate filled, and your life decisions addressed.

This festival is best celebrated with family and friends.  LNY travel is  proclaimed as the ‘world’s biggest human relocation’. 

Light up with some shading

Secondly, various lights are lit in the LNY. Being related with riches and favorable luck, red designs are hung to avert Nian – a lion-like beast that fears the shading red, as indicated by LNY folklore.

In parts of China, where the occasion is called Spring Festival, decorative designs and natural product trees light up homes and lanes.

In Korea, winged creatures join these enhancements – beautifying cranes symbolize life span while jaybirds speak to favorable luck.

Offer gifts

Thirdly, gifts are offered to friends and family. Parcels and gifts are presented to the near and dear ones. These red parcels are money blessings that can extend from a couple of dollars to very heavy sums. 

Watch fireworks

Fourthly, firework shows are seen during this time of the year. LNY wouldn’t be finished without fireworks. In China, New Year’s fireworks are produced using strings of moved red paper.

The conviction is that the noisy clamor of the sparklers serves to terrify Nian, the lion-like beast who legend says ascended from the ocean for a blowout of human tissue on the New Year.

Nian folklore likewise happens amid lion moves crosswise over LNY merriment’s – a standout among the most universally perceived customs in light of its noticeable quality in diaspora festivities. 

Prepare for a new beginning

Fifthly, cleaning is performed to wash away the misfortune of the previous year.  In the days paving the way to LNY, windows are cleaned, floors cleared, and furniture tidied.

Cleaning house may not appear the most upbeat of customs, yet as a custom, it sets the tone for the New Year to begin new. 

Visit an LNY showcase

Also, in New Year’s Day, outdoors showcases sell designs, red parcels, toys, and garments. 

Visit the sanctuary

Further, visiting the sanctuary is another ritual in the LNY. The LNY season is a bustling time for sanctuaries. Admirers normally visit the sanctuary on the third day of LNY to light incense, implore gods for gifts and good karma in the year ahead.

Have happy treats

And finally, people eat good food to observe LNY. In northern China, individuals get ready and eat dumplings,  as a major aspect of LNY Eve. In addition, different foods like mandarin oranges, sugar-coated products are usually eaten to observe the LNY.

You should call yourself lucky in case your trip to South-East Asia coincides with a festival. Celebrations in this part of the world are quite unique for a western traveler.

From the planet’s greatest water fight in Thailand (Songkran), to the exotic festivals in Bali, South-East Asia’s festivals are something you should look out for.

Here’s our pick of the best celebrations in Southeast Asia

Songkran – Thailand (April)

Songkran is a popular festival in Thailand.  It is often referred to as the largest water fight in the entire world. Three entire long periods of wild and watery commotion happen over the whole nation amid the center of April in Thailand. No one  is excluded from a dousing. Individuals, youthful, and old participate in this joyous festival.

The Songkran Festival commends the Buddhist New Year in Thailand. The thought is to rinse the wrongdoings of the earlier years.

Fortunately, the celebration happens at the most sizzling season. Chiang Mai and Bangkok are the absolute best places to celebrate  Songkran, as vacationers and local people riot in beautiful shirts and fight it out. Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have comparable celebrations as per the Buddhist New Year.

Loi Krathong – Thailand (November)

This is one of my most loved celebrations in Southeast Asia and a standout amongst the most excellent celebrations.

During the evening of the full moon in November individuals assemble in the lanes to discharge paper lamps into the sky. The thought is to discharge their ‘durkha’, or enduring, sending their stresses high into the sky.

Just as lamps, individuals additionally skim vessels on streams and lakes everywhere throughout the nation. A few people place old photos or notes onto the water crafts. 

In Chiang Mai, the celebration is otherwise called Yi Peng Lantern Festival. This is a great time for photography enthusiasts to take enchanting pictures of this magnificent festival.

Nyepi – Bali (March)

Truth be told, at this exceptional celebration in Bali, you really won’t hear anything by any stretch of the imagination.

Nyepi, which happens each year on March ninth, is Bali’s yearly Day of Silence. The celebration is novel to the Hindu culture of Bali and remembers the ‘Isakawarsa’ New Year.

Nobody is permitted on the shoreline or in the lanes and are encouraged to state inside your lodging. An exhausting day for a few, yet an intriguing day socially.

The day after Nyepi, known as Ngembak Geni, is the official Balinese New Year’s Day and individuals are back in the city breathing life into them again.

Tet – Vietnam (February)

Tet or Vietnamese New Year is the greatest occasion in the Vietnamese Calendar. The more extended name for the celebration is Tet Nguyen Dan, which signifies ‘The Feast of the First Morning of the First Day’.

The celebration imparts numerous likenesses to the Chinese New Year, which occurs in the meantime.

Numerous individuals will clean the house before Tet and cook unique nourishment, for example, bamboo soup and sticky rice.

Youngsters are given fortunate red envelopes containing cash and it’s additionally observed as a promising time to satisfy an old obligation, settle an old quarrel, begin something new or open a business.

On the off chance that you’re traveling in Vietnam right now, you’ll see the shops loaded up with red paper lights and selling moon cakes.

The evening of the full moon individuals riot and make as much commotion as they can, utilizing drums, firecrackers, sparklers, gongs and some other uproarious instrument they can discover.

The thought is to avoid fiendish spirits which might stay nearby prepared to attack the new year.

Thaipusam – Malaysia (January)

A standout amongst the most stunning of the celebrations in Southeast Asia, Thaipusam occurring each January.  The celebration is held to pay tribute to the Hindu God of war, Lord Murugan, child of Shiva and Parvati and is praised by Hindus everywhere throughout the world.

The most exceptional piece of the celebration is the ‘kavadi attam’, which deciphers as the ‘load move’. Lovers perform expound goes about as an exhibit of their commitment to Lord Murugan, including penetrating the skin or tongue with sticks or hauling a substantial chariot by metal guides punctured into the tissue.

You will likewise observe numerous individuals conveying an overwhelming ‘kavadi’ around their bodies as they stroll up towards the caverns. 48 days before the day itself individuals start to plan for Thaipusam through supplication and fasting.

Boun Bang Fai (Rocket Festival) – Laos (April)

The celebration happens more than three days including all the standard buoys, music and move exhibitions. Be that as it may, the third day is the point at which the fun truly begins. 

The celebration is an unquestionable requirement go to for anybody going around the towns of Laos and country Thailand.

Naga Fire Ball Festival – Nong Khai, Thailand (November)

Sparkling red and orange wads of flame are said to ascend from the stream many meters into the air.

Statues of the Naga can be found in a few places around the town of Nong Khai. Others have proposed that it is caused as the consequence of a characteristic combustible substance in the water. 

Phuket Vegetarian Festival – Thailand (October)

The name of this celebration is to some degree deluding. It appears to recommend a social affair of veggie lovers tucking into some new, solid products of the soil.

Truly, the orderlies of this celebration do eat (exclusively) veggie lover nourishment so as to get ready for this celebration. Notwithstanding, the headliner is somewhat an alternate issue.

Bangkok, the city of angels has a very vibrant culture. Quite renowned for its laid-back lifestyle, the city enjoys Songkran, the water-fun festival annually.

Thai culture has been immensely popular among people worldwide and for all good reasons. Songkran is full of pure Thai vibes with people going totally care-free, energetic, loving and all-smiles.

The festival is celebrated in the second-third week of April, annually. For Thai people, it is a symbol of welcoming the summer season with open arms. And they do it in style with love, laughter, cheers and lots of water all around.

Bangkok sees a great number of tourists every year. In recent years, massive growth in the number of foreign tourist attending the Songkran festival was recorded.

The possible reason for this is probably strong digital marketing strategies. However, this article is not about that. It is all about the Songkran and once you’ve been to the festival, you wish to be there every year. Here’s a guide about everything that goes at the vibrant Songkran Festival.

What is the Songkran Festival?

The Songkran Festival marks the beginning of a new year in the Thai calendar. Traditionally, the festival was celebrated on the dates as per astrology.

However, now April 13,14, and 15 have been officially booked in the calendars for Songkran Festival. During these dates, mostly schools, offices, banks are shut off.

Thai people generally travel to their hometowns or the families just re-unite elsewhere to follow some rituals during the three days.

While the locals visit their family and enjoy the special occasion, the visitors come out on the streets to celebrate the festivals with all the water fun.

Day 1 of Songkran

The 1st day of the festivals in Thai culture is dedicated to the elders. It is officially celebrated as the National Elderly Day in Thailand.

On this day, Thais the traditional ritual named Rod Nam Dum Hua. The ritual sees young members of the family pouring water into the palms of elders. This humble action of the youngsters is reciprocated by the elders with blessings.

Day 2 of Songkran

The 2nd day is dedicated to Buddhist culture. This wake up early on this day and offer alms to the Buddhist-monks and bath the idol of Buddha.

The day is celebrated with the whole family enjoying Buddhist ceremonies and making merits. The day is officially celebrated as National Family Day in Thailand.

Day 3 of Songkran

The third day officially marks the end of the festival. But lucky for you, the festival continues for at least a week or so. The 3^rd day sees a lot of water fun activities on the streets.

Thai people usually visit the famous temples in the city. With music, cheers and a loving spirit, the rest of the days of Songkran are celebrated passionately. 

A warm welcome to the summer

This phrase is meant both literally and metaphorically for the festival. April being the hottest month of Thailand gets up to 40 degrees warm.

However, that does not take away the spirit of people who celebrate the new year with all their love and warmth. Thai people wish ‘Sawasdee Pee Mai’ to one another which roughly translate to ‘Happy New Year’.

Too cool for the summer

Again, the phrase is meant metaphorically and partially literally. Given, the scorching heat of the summer, people dress up in the coolest clothes with a lively spirit.

Many people sport the famous white or sky-blue T-shirts and cotton shorts with black sunglasses. The warmth is summer is cooled down for a while by throwing water at each other in a friendly manner.

The streets are full of party scenes with water, food, music, love, and laughter.

The water throwing has been a ritual in Thai culture. Traditionally, people splash a little bit of water on their family members, near and dear ones.

This splash is believed to wash off the difficulties and bad memories of the year gone by. This wish for a fresh and better new year for one another.

Where to attend the Songkran festival in Bangkok?

In different regions of Bangkok   ( Guide to Best Areas to Stay in Bangkok   ), the festival is celebrated with some unique qualities. But be rest assured, every region is full of love, fun, and happy vibes. Here are the best places to visit in Bangkok during Songkran.

Silom: Quite famous for the vibrant Patpong market, Silom sees the best part action on Songkran. With thousands of happy young people and lots of alcohol, the place is full of festive vibes.

Phra Phradaeng District: If you wish to be a part of the traditional Songkran celebration, this is the place to be at. A lot of Thai people gather here and celebrate the festival. Fun events and food fairs are organized at Wisutkasat region.

Khao San Road: If you wish to be part of the biggest water fun parties, this is your place. On the entire road, there are thousands of people totally soaked in water going absolutely crazy in a good way.

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Regardless of your location on the planet, there is always a partying city on New Year’s Eve. If you are in Southeast Asia at this time, you are likely to be spoilt for choices when it comes to places and ways to celebrate the occasion.

There are beachside parties, rooftop bars, and many more options to welcome the New Year in a unique style. Here are some cities and the best options you can enjoy

Bangkok, Thailand

Although Thailand maintains its April 1^st New Year’s date, they still pull one of the biggest breathtaking parties on December 31^st. One of the most appropriate places here on this special day is by the Chao Phraya River.

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You will experience the best open views of fireworks when midnight comes. They are creative and fantastic enough to move any adult to marvel.

The grand show is considered a super work of art and if you want a bird’s eye view, there are many great rooftop bars to enjoy the best displays, which you will never forget.

If you would rather drink instead of watching the fireworks, there are loads of cheap alcohol in magnificent pubs such as the backpacker haven especially on Khao San Road, which has plenty of these.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

There is more in Thailand for your New Year’s expedition outside of Bangkok. In fact, Chiang Mai has the most beautiful element of the celebration according to many tourist reviews as well as locals.

This is the people’s choice for a place to spend on their New Years. You will notice the crowds flocking towards Chiang Mai but not as many as Bangkok.

Every year there are thousands of candle-lit lanterns that illuminate the sky of Chiang Mai after being released drifting off into the mountainous highlands you will never forget. This is not a memory you will ever lose in your life.

Traditional music combined with modern live music is an obvious part of the package to keep you entertained all through the night before and after the moment.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

KLCC Park in Kuala Lumpur is magnificent lit up the city on New Year’s Eve. The festivities here are majestic thanks to the street lighting, scenic fountains, lakes, and the iconic Petronas Towers.

It is the perfect place for families and friends with great views of the fireworks, and huge fountains on the backdrop of impressive skyscrapers. If you want to be in a party mood, you can find Changkat Bukit Bintang with many pubs and bars for drinks.

The equivalent of Kuala Lumpur is the Times Square where there is never a dull moment as you party with the locals. Everyone deserves to spend one of their NYEs in Kuala Lumpur in their lifetime. You will never regret this treat as you will always carry it in your memory.

Singapore, Singapore

We all want a city with a fantastic fireworks show and Southeast Asia’s Singapore has the best night skies for Christmas. Marina Bay is known to light up the sky for the best sights, which attract even the elderly.

You can never outgrow watching fireworks as some people may assume. The dazzling display of fireworks is free for all and from long distances. This means you can be in high-rise buildings for an aerial view while enjoying your drinks with friends and family.

Being further away is better because when you finally get close, you will realize it is quite busy. You can only enjoy them from far at your convenience and comfort while you are on another fun activity.

The best location for most people in the Bay East Garden where a panoramic view is sufficient to kick in the New Year with the best style.

Bali, Indonesia

The travelers know Bali as a favorite destination and you will never be disappointed if you visit. Ku De Ta is the place to be if you want an Indonesian NYE.

There is a lot of activities from giant beach parties and street party forms. If you are a partygoer, there are dances that run late into the night to the morning.

The settings offer the best NYE ever in the country to try it out. It is a tropical paradise with certainly an appropriate place to deal with your year’s hangovers and stresses instead of your sofa.

Koh Phangan, Thailand

Courtesy: AnjaStreng

If you want a beach party, Thailand’s Koh Pangan offers the famous full moon party. This would be an open paradise on the expansive beach.

It is a great way of welcoming the New Year. There are popular DJs to play you popular tracks for a perfect entertainment night you will never forget. It will set your mood for the year.

The overall mood at the beach is a great experience with a feel-good spirit on the lifestyle of Thailand. It will create a stunning NYE thanks to the cheap drinks on a stunning location.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

New Year’s Eve in Vietnam can be an exciting expedition in this period. You can still count on a big party on the beaches. This is a popular location both foreigners and locals like to spend their last day of the year.

Read Best Places To Celebrate New Year In India

Read Songkran festival in Bangkok