What spring holidays are celebrated in 2024 in different countries of the world

The long-awaited spring brings sunshine, warmth and spring holidays to every city! I wonder what spring holidays are celebrated in different countries of the world? In this post, we will talk about what is customary to celebrate in spring in different parts of our planet.

Setsubun in Japan

The appearance of the Setsubun rite is associated with one of the concepts of Chinese philosophy – yin-yang. These are two opposite principles underlying existence. It was believed that at the junction of the seasons, these opposites confront each other, which causes the danger of various kinds of disasters and failures. Hence the rite of exorcism of evil spirits, which has several names – they are yarai, they are harai, tsuina, onioisiki.

The Japanese spring holiday Setsubun in 2024 is celebrated on February 3 in honor of the transition from winter to spring. The holiday is unofficial, but nevertheless it is celebrated by many Japanese.

There are many interesting traditions and rituals during the celebration of Setsubun, one of them is mame—maki: men born in the year of the corresponding animal according to the lunar calendar throw fried soybeans out of windows and doors of houses, shouting: "They are wa soto! Fuku-wa uchi!" ("Demons out! happiness in the house!"). In temples, fried beans are often wrapped in shiny foil.

On the Setsubun holiday, it is customary to eat giant Setsubun sushi rolls, which contain 7 ingredients. Such rolls can be up to 20 centimeters in size! They are inconvenient to eat with sushi sticks, and in general, they are unusual and strange to eat.

Holi in India

In 2024, the Holi Festival in India falls on March 25th. Holi is an ancient Hindu tradition, as well as one of the most popular holidays in Hinduism. He glorifies the eternal and divine love of Krishna. This day also marks the triumph of good over evil, as it is dedicated to the victory of Lord Vishnu in the form of Narasimha Narayana over Hiranyakashipu.

Holi is one of the most famous and popular festivals not only in Indian culture, but also almost all over the world. In addition, it is held in Nepal and northern India. Another name for Holi is the Festival of Colors. This holiday has many names, including Boshonto Utshob, which translates as "Spring Festival". Those who use the Bengali language call this holiday "Dolyatra".

Holika Dahan or Chotti Holi is the name of the first evening during which the event takes place. It is followed by a day called Holi, Phagwah, Dhulandi, Dhuleti or Rangwali Holi.

During the first day of the festival, bonfires are lit throughout India in memory of the burning of the goddess Holika. On the second day, people pour water over each other and scatter colored powder paint. At the very end of the festival of colors, which comes on the full moon on the fifth day of the event, a ceremony called Ranga Panchami is held.

Qing Ming in China

April 4, 2024 is Memorial Day in China. Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese spring festival celebrated in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as by ethnic Chinese from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Panama.

Qingming is an ancient holiday. Its predecessor is Hanshi Cold Food Day, which used to be celebrated separately before Qingming, and now they are held together.

Qingming today is a family holiday, everyone visits the graves of their ancestors, takes care of them, lays offerings in the form of food, wine, tea, flowers, incense. Offerings to the graves are made in the order of precedence. After visiting the cemetery and tombs, festivities begin, often right in the memorial park, which symbolizes the unity of the family with the ancestors.

Festively dressed people arrange picnics, sing songs, dance and launch paper kites into the sky, burn incense paper, walk with willow twigs or leave them on their doorstep.

Novruz in Turkey

On March 21, 2024, Navruz is celebrated in Turkey — Newroz or Nowruz (translated from Farsi — New Day) — the New Year according to the Zoroastrian calendar. It begins on the day of the vernal equinox.

Nowruz is a great national holiday for many peoples of Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Transcaucasia, and in Iran and Afghanistan it is an official celebration.

In the beginning, Nauruz was an ancient Iranian agricultural holiday. From time immemorial, peasants celebrated it as the beginning of spring field work, accompanying the fun with familiar rituals designed to promote a bountiful harvest.

Navruz is one of the oldest spring holidays in the world. In Novruz, a table is served with dishes from seven vegetable products — wheat, peas, beans, beans, millet and others. In some countries, sumalak is prepared for the holiday — an unusual sweet dish made from sprouted wheat grains.

Sometimes a mirror and painted eggs are also placed on the table, symbolizing the end of the old and the beginning of the new. In some countries, it is customary to light bonfires and jump over them seven times to be cleansed of sins.

Fallas in Spain

One of the most famous Spanish holidays is Las Fallas. This holiday is dedicated to Saint Joseph and is associated with an increase in daylight hours in Spain. Fallas is celebrated in absolutely all corners of hot Spain, and with a special celebration — in Valencia.

This holiday is also called the festival of fire — during the celebration, fireworks sparkle everywhere, firecrackers explode, and at the end of the celebration, incredible huge dolls are burned, which bear the name of the holiday — Fallas. Giant dolls often depict certain vices of humanity, politicians, fairy-tale characters, their size can reach 20 meters! In the spring season of the holiday, a huge delicious paella is being prepared for the whole city. In 2024, the Fallas in Spain will last from March 15 to March 19.

Gukanne viasny in Belarus

The Belarusian spring holiday "Gukanne Viasny" in 2024 is celebrated on March 13 and fully corresponds to its name — the calling of spring. During the celebration, everyone sings spring songs and decorates the house with thin twigs of willow and birch.

The name of the holiday came from the chorus to the spring songs -"Goo—oo-oo!". Following the call of spring on March 22, "Magpies" come — it is believed that on this day migratory birds return from warm lands. Housewives bake figures of various birds from the dough, more often larks with raisin eyes. In some villages, baked birds are still impaled on sticks decorated with ribbons, different colors and carried through the streets, saying: "Larks, come, take away the winter!"

May Day in Germany

German May Day is also known as Maifeiertag, "May Day" and it is traditionally celebrated on May 1 every year. It starts the day before, on Walpurgis Night — all the celebrants jump over bonfires, sing and dance until morning. At the same time, the famous maypole is decorated. Maibaum is a pillar decorated with figurines, ribbons and flowers.

Previously, there was a custom of kidnapping and ransoming a maypole — villagers competed among themselves who would steal a neighbor's tree faster and more dexterously and receive a reward. Now the May holiday is accompanied by fairs, concerts and various folk festivals.

Maslenitsa in Russia

The spring Eastern Slavic traditional holiday of Russia is Broad Maslenitsa, celebrated during the week before Lent. In the folk calendar of the Eastern Slavs, the holiday separates winter and spring. The date of the celebration of Maslenitsa changes every year depending on the day of Holy Easter. In 2024, Maslenitsa in Russia is celebrated from March 11 to 17.

The main attribute of the spring festival is a straw effigy of Maslenitsa, around which they sing songs, dance around and have fun. At the end of the week, the effigy is burned in order to celebrate spring.

The main dish of Russian Maslenitsa is pancakes, they are served everywhere: on the streets, in cafes and restaurants, on trays and in every house, mixed with various jams, honey, syrups and sour cream.