Best Spring Festivals All Over The World In 2023 | RatePunk
When the temperature begins to soften up and there are more sunny days than before when buds of flowers and all the greenery spring out, you start thinking that finally, it's spring. Good weather brings good opportunities to grab some free days and travel somewhere. Most of the time it doesn't need to be Bali - sometimes all you need is just to have a little fun! So here is a list of spring festivals worldwide to make your spring break or spring vacation more fun!
By Eglė
Published: Feb 21, 2023 • min read
Fallas, Spain | 1-19th March 2023
During the first weeks of March, Valencia is taken over by Fallas celebrations, a festivity than combines tradition, art, and satire. It is a traditional celebration of the arrival of spring. Millions of people turn up in the streets to join the Fallas parade and to burn fallas. The tradition came from carpenters who celebrated the arrival of spring by burning pieces of wood that they used to prop up lights during the cold season. Nowadays it is a massive festival with music, costumes, and delicious food. Well, Spanish people know the best how to celebrate the festivals! On the final night of the spring festival, they burn various Fallas paper sculptures in a huge bonfire.
Holi festival, India | 7th-8th March 2023
Holi is a festival of colours and marks the beginning of spring and the end of the harsh winter. Like many festivals, it signifies the victory of good over evil. Each colour represents a different aspect of life and various emotions. Nowadays, the Holi festival is more about the time to come and celebrate together even if we are different. Truly a beautiful spring festival. This year the festival of Holi falls on March 8th, so get ready for it: buy some water guns and colourful powders.
Marzanna festival, Poland | 21st March 2023
Despite being a strongly Catholic country, Poland endured some pagan traditions til today. One of the most bizarre pagan traditions is the spring equinox celebration or simply festival. Marzanna is one of the most religious spring festivals worldwide that happens in Poland. The festival has its own rituals: people of villages make a doll of straws and call it Marzanna. This doll represents the goddess of winter, plague, and even death. Fearing Marzanna's icy wrath, polish people believe that the best way to protect themselves is to drown her. So people carry the doll out in a parade on the streets and then drown the doll in the river to mark the end of winter. Kinda a superstitious way to welcome spring, don’t you agree?
Cimburijada, Bosnia | 21st March 2023
Cimburijada is also known as the "Festival of Scrambled Eggs" and it is celebrated on the first day of spring (this year it's the 21st of March) in Zenica town. Cimburijada is a traditional feast dedicated to the new beggining. Residents of Zenica gather at the banks of the Bosnian River and celebrate this spring festival with a communal meal of scrambled eggs. Are you wondering why they eat eggs? General speaking, an egg symbolises the new beginning of a new life, and in this case, a new season! This spring festival is so popular that it attracts visitors from all around the world. Well, free food festivals are always charming and needed! I bet all the foodies already look for flight ticket…
Tulip Festival, Holland | 24th March - 15th May 2023
One of the most iconic spring flowers is the tulip. So no wonder there is a Tulip festival with 85 locations (public areas in Amsterdam, private gardens, city's museums, etc.) where visitors can see blooming beauties in Holland. The majority of the places are free to enjoy while some museum gardens take a fee. I would definitely recommend taking a tour of Keukenhof Tulip Garden. It should be open from the 23rd of March til the 14th of May 2023. I can guarantee that you will be mesmerised by the beautiful flower shows, ponds, and extraordinary pavilions. Moreover, on the 22nd of April in 2023 (it's going to be Saturday) for the 76th time dutch people are going to celebrate the flower parade. It is the most gorgeous spring parade in Holland. It might be because it uses dozens of spring flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips for parade decorations.
HANAMI - Cherry Blossom Festivals, Japan | late March - early April 2023
It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard about the enchanting Cherry Blossom Festival. It is that time of the year when the whole of Japan starts throwing picnics and hanami ("viewing flowers") under cherry trees. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful spring festivals in the world. If it happens that you too are planning a vacation in the month of April, check the Japan Cherry Blossom 2023 Forecast just to know the exact information on when and where in Japan you can experience such a beautiful spring festival. There are several gorgeous place in Japan where you can enjoy the most beautiful scenery of blooming cherry trees: Ueno Park, Hirosaki Park, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Izu Highland, Maruoka Castle garden, and lot more.
Sechseläuten, Switzerland | 17th -19th April 2023
I mentioned that Polish people have Marzanna, while Swiss citizens have “Böögg”. It is a giant snowman that represents the end of winter and it is decorated with old clothes and stuffed with fireworks. All because it is believed that the faster the Böögg burns, the warmer and sunnier summer is going to be. It is the main symbol of the Swiss spring festival - Sechseläuten that is celebrated in Zürich. This festival features also banquets, parades, and humorous speeches, and it is one of the most common traditions for spring festivals. Nevertheless, there are several different festivals (a few of them international jazz festivals) in Switzerland, and if you are interested in them, click here.
Semana Santa, Guatemala | 2nd - 8th April 2023
Semana Santa is a really famous spring festival in Antigua, Guatemala. Semana Santa literally means "Easter Week" which is celebrated pompously and full-heartedly. Vibrant parades take over the streets of Antigua city. People dress up with colorful costumes and wooden floats that weigh a hundred pounds! And each is carried by many hands to mark this beautiful spring celebration. Streets are covered with handmade carpets made of flowers which can only be used once as hundreds of people trample on them.
Songkran Festival, Thailand | 13th - 15th April 2023
Songkran festival is tied to the Thai New Year and last for 3 days in Chiang Mai city, Thailand. It is more like a welcoming festival in the upcoming years in Thailand. During this spring festival, people bring food to local monks and bathe Buddha statues in water, while younger Thais pour scented water on the hands of their elders in order to bring luck and prosperity. However, over the years this tradition has evolved to have a massive water fight where people splash water on passers-by. If you are staying in Thailand in the middle of April, carry a squirt gun to fight back the water splashes.
Portland Rose Festival, USA | 26th May - 11th June 2023
This annual spring festival has been celebrated for 115 years and fills the calendar with dozens of events over the city including various parades such as the Grand Floral Parade, Starlight Parade, and Junior Parade. During the Portland Rose Festival, is going to be CityFair and fleet week. At the end of the festival, the Rose Festival Court (special guests) will announce the results of the festival's Queen coronation. If you are interested in taking part in this festival, no problem- they are still looking for volunteers. Beautiful and flowery spring festival really good choice for those who live around Portland and love flowers.
Leave a comment