There are hundreds of festivals taking place every month all over the world. They are often connected with celebrations of certain holidays, for example, New Year Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mother’s Day, May Day, Children’s Day, Halloween, etc. There are also some festivals, which are not connected with common holidays, but are cheerfully celebrated in certain countries. For example, Songkran – Thai New Year, La Tomatina, Oktoberfest, Glastonbury Festival, Guy Fawkes Night, Notting Hill Carnival, Holi.

I think that everyone enjoys participating in such festivals. As for me, I would love to see the Notting Hill Carnival and Holi. These two festivals are so different from the ones we celebrate each year. The Notting Hill Carnival is a street carnival, which takes place in England in late August. It is named after the London district, where it’s held. This festival has been celebrated since 1966 and it is considered to be the inspiration of black immigrants. The Notting Hill Carnival lasts for several days and is attended by more than two million people every year. The participants wear shimmering costumes, sing Calipso songs, play drum music, and present group dancing. Perhaps, the most inviting part during the festival is the tasting of exotic food.

Holi is another festival I’d like to visit. It’s a spring festival, which marks the abundance of wheat harvest. It has originated in India and is celebrated for a couple of days. The main idea of the festival is to show the triumph of virtue over evil through bright colors. The participants are seen singing and dancing in small groups. They also throw colors at each other. On this day people stop any quarrels, forgive each other and with good luck.