The evening of Wednesday, May 12, marks the beginning of Id al-Fitr (also spelled Eid al-Fitr) in many parts of the world. Id al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan, an Islamic holy month when Muslims may not eat or drink from morning until night. Muslims celebrate their accomplishment of the monthlong fast by offering gifts and charity and sharing festive meals. Id al-Fitr means Feast of Fast-Breaking in Arabic.

Id al-Fitr takes place during the first three days of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. It moves backward through the seasons, because the Islamic calendar is based on the moon. That makes the Islamic year much shorter than the solar year. Id al-Fitr is also called the smaller festival, in comparison with Id al-Ad-ha, the other major festival of Islam, which lasts four days.

In the morning on the first day of Id al-Fitr, Muslims gather in open spaces or in a mosque an hour after sunrise to perform a special community festival prayer service, which includes a special prayer called the salat al-id. The three days of the festival are filled with visits and meals shared with family, friends, and neighbors. Children receive gifts.

In Turkey, Id al-Fitr is called the sweets festival. A popular dessert is baklava, made of thin layers of pastry, honey, and chopped nuts. Another pastry, kadayif, is made with shredded wheat.

June 14, 2019

This weekend, June 15 and 16, one of Bolivia’s biggest celebrations takes over the streets of the city of La Paz: the Fiesta del Gran Poder (Festival of the Great Power). The dramatic festival celebrates El Señor del Gran Poder—The Man of Great Power, or Jesus Christ—but it also incorporates local culture and traditions of the area’s Aymara indigenous people. Tens of thousands of people take part in the festival’s main parade, which features colorful costumes, boisterous music and dancing, and spectators enjoying local food and drink.

A parade dancer is decked out in vibrant colors and a traditional mask during the Fiesta del Gran Poder in La Paz, Bolivia. Credit: © Niar Krad, Shutterstock

The origins of the Fiesta del Gran Poder stem from an anonymous religious painting donated to the city of La Paz in the 1600′s. The painting includes a representation of Jesus Christ with mestizo features. In this case, a mestizo is a person of mixed Spanish and American Indian descent. The painting gained a reputation for granting blessings and miracles, and it was eventually housed in a La Paz chapel. In the 1930′s, candlelit processions celebrating the painting’s Señor del Gran Poder evolved into a local festival. By the 1950′s, the festival had grown to include bands, dance troupes, and enormous crowds of people.

Costumed dancers take part in the Fiesta del Gran Poder parade in La Paz, Bolivia. Credit: © Niar Krad, Shutterstock

Today, thousands of dancers and musicians representing La Paz’s neighborhoods and folkloric groups parade through the streets. Parade costumes feature vibrant dresses, hats strewn with ribbons, and elaborate masks, all displaying the rich and diverse cultures of Bolivia. The handmade costumes are expensive and can take months to make. Popular dances during the parade include the Diablada (Devil’s Dance), the Morenada (Dance of the Slave), and the Waca Takhoris (Dancing Bulls).

In the days leading up to the festival, prestigious people known as prestes sponsor neighborhood parties, and Roman Catholic Masses, music, and feasts honor El Señor del Gran Poder. At the same time, the Aymara Ch’alla ritual thanks Pachamama (mother earth) for providing bountiful crops and fruits throughout the year. Because the Fiesta del Gran Poder follows a liturgical (religious) calendar, the dates of the festival differ from year to year. In 2020, it will take place June 5 and 6.

February 24, 2017

In many places, today marks the beginning of the annual festival known as Carnival—or Carnaval in Spanish and Portuguese. Carnival is a lively time of dancing, feasting, music, pageants, and parades prior to the beginning of Lent, a strict religious season observed in the spring by most Christians. People celebrate Carnival around the world. The largest and most famous Carnaval draws millions of people each year to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the United States, the best-known Carnival is held in New Orleans, Louisiana—an event capped by the city’s famous celebration of Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday).

Colorful and boisterous parades highlight the festivities during the world famous Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: © CP DC Press/Shutterstock

In some places, the Carnival season begins as early as January 6, a Christian holiday known as Twelfth Night marking the end of the Christmas season. The main events of Carnival, however, are packed into the Shrovetide—the final days before Lent. Lent is a time of spiritual discipline, fasting, prayer, and self-sacrifice running from Ash Wednesday to Easter—a period of about 40 days. To prepare for this lengthy period of physical denial, people have traditionally loaded up on things they abstain from during Lent such as eating meats or sweets or drinking alcohol. The word carnival comes from the old Italian word carnelevare, meaning a leaving off of (eating) meat.

Traditional pancakes are served at several different Shrovetide celebrations around the world. Here, a Russian woman offers fluffy crêpes during Maslenitsa, a week-long festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. Credit: © Shutterstock

Carnival festivals are most common in Roman Catholic areas of Europe and in the Caribbean Islands and other parts of Latin America. Shrovetide celebrations come in many different sizes and shapes. In parts of Scandinavia, delicious sweet rolls called semla or fastelavnsboller are eaten on Fastelavn (Fasting Evening), the day before Lent. In parts of Germany and Switzerland, the day is called Fastnacht or Fasnacht (Fasting Night). In the United Kingdom, Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday precedes Ash Wednesday. In many Russian and Ukrainian communities, the pre-Lenten Maslenitsa festival is a time for butter, cheese, and crêpes (thin pancakes).