Celebrations Across the Globe: Top Religious Festivals Around the World

In the US, 9% of American adults say they’re either atheist or agnostic. But that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate religion. In fact, many are interested in and respect theist practices.

Whether you’re an atheist, Christian, Muslim, or Jew, there’s no denying that religious celebrations are a beautiful thing. They allow people to come together and enjoy each other’s company!

Want to learn more? Then keep reading. Below are the top religious festivals around the world you should know about!

Christmas

While practically everyone celebrates Christmas, it’s easy to forget that it has Christan origins. After all, it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th every year!

People around the world celebrate Christmas by getting together, exchanging gifts, and spending quality time with one another. Because of this, it’s easy for non-Christians to celebrate Christmas.

Click here if you want to learn more about Christianity.

Rio Carnival

Brazil is known globally for its spectacular Rio Carnival displays. But we’ll bet you never knew it’s one of the top religious festivals around!

Carnival first started off as a Christian and Greek Orthodox festival. But like many other celebrations today, Carnival is now celebrated by people from all walks of life.

Rio Carnival happens 5 days before Lent, which places it in either February or March. When you’re in Brazil, you’ll see dazzling parades with brightly dressed samba dancers and revelers.

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is a religious tradition that’s celebrated in Mexico and in the US. “Dia de los Muertos” translates to “Day of the Dead”, and it’s when people gather to pray and honor those who are deceased.

This religious festival happens at the end of October and spans over 3 days. How it’s celebrated will depend on what your religion is, but generally, it involves sugar skull art, calaveras recitations, parades, live music, and altar decorations.

Holi

When it comes to world religious festivals, you don’t want to miss out on Holi. This is a festival celebrated in India and Nepal, and it’s held on the day after the full moon in March.

Holi is also known as the “festival of colors”, and for good reason. People gather in the streets to celebrate and throw around colored dye powder, which gets everyone looking like the rainbow! They also hold religious rituals in front of a huge bonfire.

This religious festival celebrates the end of winter and welcomes in the new year. It also gets rid of bad spirits, which sets a fantastic tone for the upcoming year.

Enjoy These Religious Festivals Around the World

Now that you’ve learned about the top religious festivals around the world, you might’ve been surprised to find that you knew about many of them before! And with the additional knowledge, hopefully, this has given you a newfound appreciation of these amazing celebrations.

Want to learn more about religions around the world? Then keep reading our blog posts!