The 10 Most Important Pagan Festivals in the World

The Pagan celebrations Are those celebrations that are not motivated by any of the Great religions Monotheists; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The term pagan was a term used in the late Ancient Epoch, by the early Christians of Southern Europe. It was used to designate those who practiced other types of rituals and ceremonies that did not correspond to those imposed by the Christian Church.

Pagan celebrations Data players. Roman fresco"Osteria della Via di Mercurio"(VI 10.1.19, room b) in Pompeii. Saturnalia, ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn.

Owen Davis speaks in his book Paganism: A very short introduction , Of the derogatory meaning connoted by that adjective, which was also used to describe the people of the country.

Pagans did not believe in one true God. They used to be polytheists or atheists and used rites to pay homage to the gods of nature, usually at harvest times, to ward off evil spirits and superstitions or for simple amusement.

Pagan ceremonies gave a fundamental role to music, according to the book A Book of Pagan Rituals By Herman Steler.

Many of these rituals have reached our days in the form of festivals and traditions. However, in most cases, these celebrations have lost the character of offering or superstition that they had and have become part of popular folklore.

The ten most important pagan festivals in the world

1- Carnival

Carnival is one of the most widespread festivities in Western culture.

It has its origin in the Greek and Roman civilizations.

In Greece, what is now the Carnival was a tribute to the god of wine, Dionisio .

In Rome, this celebration was known as Saturnalia . On this feast he paid homage to Saturn, God of Agriculture with a sacrifice and then a feast was celebrated in which men spent an entire day as worshipers of the Bacchus God.

At the beginning the dates coincided with the time in which we celebrate Christmas today, but the Catholic Church moved this celebration to Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, where you can not eat meat for 40 days.

The term Carnival is related to this tradition, since etymologically it comes from Italian"carnevale"that means"to take away meat".

The way to celebrate Carnival has its own peculiarities according to the part of the world in which it is celebrated. Among the best known carnivals are the Rio Carnival, the Carnival of Venice and in Spain, the Carnival of Cadiz and the Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Each of these carnivales stands out for different aspects.

-Rio de Janeiro. This carnival is one of the biggest shows in the world, there are various spaces where to celebrate in all the streets of the city. It is famous for its color, for the musicality and for the typical Brazilian dance, the samba.

-Santa Cruz of Tenerife. This festival is declared as a World Heritage Site. It also stands out for its colorful in the streets, its musical groups; The murgas and comparsas and by the Queens of the Carnival.

- Cadiz. This city began to celebrate the carnival due to its cultural importance to become one of the main ports of Spain towards America. There sailors of all possible origins passed leaving much of their traditions. One of the most characteristic features of the Carnival of Cadiz are its musical groups: Comparsas, Chirigotas, Cuartetos and Coros, that every year participate in a contest celebrated in the Great Theater Falla and that also act in the street making a song to the freedom expression.

- Venice. It is unique because of its great differences with previous festivities. This carnival dates back to the 11th century and is characterized by typical masks and period costumes, which transfer the city to the seventeenth century.

Other notable carnivals are the Mardi Gras, held in New Orleans in the state of Louisiana or the Carnival of Binche in Belgium.

2- Halloween

It is one of the most popular festivals in North America and some Anglo-Saxon countries like Ireland and United Kingdom. Little by little, this celebration has spread to other parts of the world as a result of globalization.

This feast, although influenced by the Christian calendar and the celebration of All Hallow Eve, has pagan origins.

Halloween has been linked to the harvests and the Roman tradition of Pomona , Goddess of fruit.

His interest in the supernatural can come from the Celtic tradition and the feast of Samhain Or Samuin, in which the line separating the two worlds becomes narrower allowing the entrance of good and evil spirits. One of the motifs of the festival according to Celtic tradition is to drive away those evil spirits.

Today it has become a celebration in which people disguise themselves, usually of scary characters, they organize parties, parades, carve pumpkins (jack o'lantern) and the children ask candy by the houses with the famous" Trick or Treating".

On the same dates, the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico, where they have a curious way of seeing death. In this country, altars are given with offerings to pay homage to those who have left.

3- Winter Solstice

The celebrations that celebrate the arrival of the Winter take place by almost everybody. In fact, what today is known as Christmas, although it is a religious festival has many pagan elements.

Among the most striking parties held at the winter solstice, the Inty Raymi or Festival del Sol, held in the city of Cuzco, Peru, stands out.

This ritual, of Inca origin, is a homage to the Sun God who is offered a sacrifice to obtain good harvests and the Inca emperor.

With this ceremony, the ancient Incas feared that the Sun would not return and prayed for their return.

Today it is considered the second largest festival in South America.

4- Summer Solstice

There are also parties whose motive is to celebrate the entrance of summer.

The best known of these celebrations is the Feast of St. John. Although it is now considered a Christian festival, its origins and rites are pagan, because it comes from the Litha Or summer solstice.

It used to be celebrated the 21 of June, day of the arrival of the summer, but with the adoption of the celebration on the part of the Christianity was changed by the day of San Juan.

Today, the festival consists of lighting bonfires that, according to their pagan origins, serve to frighten the evil spirits and purify themselves inside.

The festival of San Juan is celebrated in many European countries like Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, etc.

In Poland and Ukraine this rite is known as the feast of Ivan Kupala.

Outside the European continent, there are similar celebrations like the June festivals in Latin America.

5- Holi or Festival of Colors

The Holi is a Hindu festival that welcomes Spring. It is celebrated the day after the first full moon of February or March.

Although it has a religious character because it is characteristic of Hinduism, it is still considered within the term that we have defined as pagan, since it belongs neither to Christianity, nor Judaism nor Islam.

The Holi opens by lighting a bonfire, the night of the full moon, where everyone meets. This festival, celebrated in India, Nepal and other countries outside the Asian continent, is also known as a festival of colors, since one of the rituals carried out is to spray with colored powder to convey joy to everyone.

Elephants also play an important role in this feast. The animals are also decorated and participate in races and other games.

6- New Year's Eve party

The celebration of the New Year, although by religious tradition, in many of the countries is framed within the Christmas Festivities, has a pagan origin, since the objective is none other than to celebrate the entrance in a new annual calendar.

The New Year celebrates the last day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar.

The customs vary greatly with respect to the country in which they are celebrated, although one of the elements of this holiday that matches in almost all countries are the fireworks, toasting with champagne or other sparkling drinks and festive atmosphere.

In Spain and Venezuela, it is tradition to take the twelve grapes on New Year's Eve night.

In Chile, rites and cabals are common to attract good luck in the new year.

In other countries such as Germany, the future is played by a ritual with molten lead that is allowed to dry out and one has to try to find out what shape it has. According to the figure that forms, that will be what you will find the new year. This game is known as Bleigiessen.

7- Festival of Lanterns or Chinese Lanterns

One of the most striking New Year holidays in the world is the Chinese Lantern Festival.

This tradition has more than 2000 years and ends the celebrations of the new year according to the lunar calendar.

The lights that are sent to the sky, symbolize the way home of the guests to the party. They are also a source of harmony and unity for the whole year.

The lanterns are usually made with fine paper of rice and a support made with bamboo that adds rigidity to the structure, which will then be let fly.

8- La Tomatina

Buñol is a municipality belonging to the Valencian Community, Spain, with less than 10,000 inhabitants.

However, the last Wednesday of August, tourists from all over the world arrive, completely changing the panorama of the city.

The reason? The curious party that takes place that day.

Although its cultural interest is not especially relevant, it has become world-famous for the original and the fun that results.

The Tomatina de Buñol is relatively recent. Its origin is as curious as the party, since it began with the fight of two young people during the festejos of the town in the year 1945. This confrontation resulted in a pitched battle with tomatoes that had in a place of vegetables near.

Although this confrontation was dissolved by the police, the following year the young people again organized another fight. This time with tomatoes brought from their homes, until year after year has been consolidated as the party that is today and in 2002 was declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest.

Finally, it should be noted that the tomatoes used for the party are those harvest surpluses that do not meet the quality requirements demanded at the national level.

9- Burning Man

Although fairly recent, dating back to 1986, each year in September, thousands of people congregate in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to attend the Burning Man party.

This party consists of building a huge wooden man, then burn it in a spectacular way. Something similar to what happens in the Fallas de Valencia, which are a World Heritage Site and are not included in this list because of its Christian character.

This celebration was founded by Larry Harvey and Jerry James. At first it began to be celebrated the 24 of June, to celebrate the summer solstice, although later the date was changed.

Some of its peculiarities are that it is a festival organized by its own citizens, ecological, because they are not left traces of the fires, as well as cultural and artistic.

10- Oktoberfest

The Bavarian city of Munich receives more than 6 million visitors every year to attend the largest brewery in the world.

Although called Oktoberfest, the festival is usually held in September. The date was changed to enjoy better weather conditions.

The first Oktoberfest took place in the year 1810 to celebrate the marriage formed by Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

References

  1. Buñol Town Hall. Taken from buñol.es.
  2. City council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Taken from carnavaldetenerife.com.
  3. Carr, John. (2013). Discovering Asia: China. Sunshine.
  4. Davis, O.. (2011). Paganism: A very Short Introduction . Oxford: OUP Oxford.
  5. . Is it wasting food throwing tomatoes in La Tomatina?. February 16,2017, by Verne, El País. Website: verne.elpais.com.
  6. Galvan, J... (2014). They do what A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World . California: ABC CLIO.
  7. Hamre, B.. (2016). Inti Raymi, Festival of the Sun. February 16, 2017, from About Travel. Website: gosouthamerica.about.com.
  8. Kadodwala, D... (2004). Holi . London: Evans Brothers.
  9. Rogers, N. (2003). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  10. Oktoberfest.de. Die Website zur Wiesn. Taken from oktoberfest.de.


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