Day 7: Celebrate

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Celebrate
Joining in a local festival, holiday or special event is a great way to learn more about a local culture. Share the story of a celebration that meant something to you on your travels.

Covered in paint during Holi, in India

Oh, where to begin with this subject? Who doesn't like a good celebration, really? In my humble opinion, I feel that being somewhere for a local festival, holiday, or special event is one of the best things that can happen to you on your travels. The country is celebrating, and their actions and involvement will  give you an inside look into some of the traditions that have moulded that society and their way of life. Not to mention, it's pretty damn fun getting involved as much (or as little) as you're comfortable with.

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Floats during Caribana, Toronto

Now I've spent the past 6 years living in Toronto, Canada... one of the world's most culturally diverse cities, when examining the the demographics of those who inhabit it. With such diversity, I've been spoiled with endless cultural festivals happening almost every single week. Sometimes 3 or 4 happening on the same weekend! These festivals can range from Caribana - the world's largest Caribbean festival outside of the Caribbean, Salsa on St Clair - a latin food and music festival, Taste of the Danforth - a MASSIVE greek food and music festival with over 1 millon in attendance, and so forth. Festivals for me are the icing on the cake to an enjoyable vacation somewhere, and have planned several trips with that particularly in mind. 

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Subway ride to the Samba Drome, Rio De Janeiro

One of the festivals on the International scene that I've attended would be Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, which I must admit is one of the most fun weeks I've ever had in my life. The entire country seems to be in celebration mode for weeks leading up to the Grande Festival weekend, which changes dates every year, often falling on one of the weekends in February. I've never seen so much life, excitement and energy.. often our nights would be ending at 11am and the music was still playing out in the streets by our condo as we finally drifted to sleep for the day. 

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Elephants on Parade, Varkala India

A recent festival I was able to bare witness to is the famous Holi festival in India, which is a festival of colours and people through bags of powdered paint at each other. India is a special place for finding festivals mind you, and if you check local guide books and calendars, I'm sure you'll be able to find an exciting festival to attend at almost any time of year. In the same 2 week trip, I also attended a Vishnu festival where elephants were promenaded through the streets to bless all the houses of the town that left offerings out for it, and then the procession ends as the elephants are lead up into a temple. at the top of a high staircase. This was happening around 2am... then the parade started.... then the fireworks - we had to pull the plug just due to fatigue around 5:30am, yet the party was still in full effect.

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Cherry Blossom Trees, Nikko, Japan

The trip that was most significant in terms of planning around festivals, however, was my trip to Japan during the Cherry Blossom festival. This is a HUGE natural event with substantial cultural significance. The cherry blossom trees only are in bloom for a couple of days, and can happen at varying times all across the country (and even within the same city, when at different elevations). People follow the patterns as they are broadcast on the news, and you will find parks filled to the rim with people sitting under the blossoming trees, sipping on sake and having picnics. Multiple other incredible festivals were happening across the country during this time, and fortunately for me, they just happened to happen at the same time as many of the blossoming trees were in full bloom in those cities. From Geisha festivals, to ancient marionette presentations, to archery exhibits, there wasn't a dull moment during those few weeks. 

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Lastly, I should also mention of course that celebrations don't of course have to be some elaborate festival. It may be something as common as a birthday, or winning a race or sporting event (if you want to see crazy, sit on the winning side of the stadium at a soccer event in Brazil.. wow!). One of my most memorable celebrations was my 20th birthday in Northern India, in a village where the Dali Lama has taken refuge, McLeod Gang. It was the most peaceful place I can remember, and it just so happened they too were celebrating the 40th anniversary since they built a school for the refugee children there, and let's not forget Diwali, India's festival of lights, was taking place at the same time. I spent a good part of the day in meditation in the mountains close to a towering waterfall. A very introspective celebration, for my own life, my accomplishments thus far, and what was yet to come. This was followed closely by a night full of Kingfishers and firecrackers.

Life is full of reasons to celebrate. I live by the philosophy of trying to celebrate Life as much as possible, wherever, whenever - I don't need much encouragement to get out there and participate. As far as we know, we only live once, right?