1+ 2
The Yi Peng Lantern Festival and the Loi Krathong Basket
Festival (in Thailand) are held every year in November. The
Yi Peng Lantern Festival celebrates merit, and tens of
thousands of lanterns are launched into the air and float
away.
3+ 4
The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival which is celebrated
on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar
calendar. It marks the final day of New Year celebrations.
5+6
Tet and Chinese New Year is the most important festival in
the region. It sees the biggest mass annual migration of
humans, with hundreds of millions of people returning to
their home towns to celebrate the beginning of the new year
with their families.
7+ 8
The largest hot air balloon festival in the world is a nine day
event and has over 500 balloons each day. It is held in
Mexico and the USA.
9+ 10
In Lerwick, Shetland (Scotland), on the last Tuesday of
January, they mark the end of Yule. The festival involves a
series of marches, culminating in a torch-lit procession and
the burning of a Viking galley.
11+12
Saint Petersburg, Russia, holds an annual month long arts
festival. Events include ‘Stars of the White Nights’.
13 + 14
Busan, South Korea, holds an annual International Fireworks
Festival. Tens of thousands of fireworks and state-of-theart lasers light up the sky in harmony with the theme song of
the festival against a backdrop of the sea.
15 + 16
Vivid Festival in Sydney, Australia, is a 23-day annual event
of light and music.
17, 18 + 19
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a five day event
celebrating good over evil. Oil lamps, diyas, are lit with people
coming together to eat and dance.
20
Christmas lights along the Medellin River, Columbia.
21+ 22
Fetes des Lumieres, Lyon, France, takes place in December.
23
Christmas lights in Lisbon, Portugal.
24
The Jewish festival Hanukkah, or ‘Festival of Lights’, is
celebrated in November or December
25+ 26
The Winter Light Festival in Kuwana, Japan celebrates the
winter solstice - the beginning of longer days.
Têt is the commonly used name of the Vietnamese New Year,
it is short for Têt Nguyên Đán which means “Festival of the
First Morning of the First Day”. Têt takes place at a
different time each year depending on when the first new
moon is in the lunar calendar. However, this is typically
between mid-January and late February. This celebration is
the most important Vietnamese national holiday. Many people
travel to be with their families, spending quality time
together and paying homage to their ancestors. Many
businesses will close and companies will give their workers
time off to allow as many people the chance to be with their
loved ones.