February Festivities Around the Globe
February Festivities Around the Globe
The month of February is known as a month of love and romance throughout the United States with starry-eyed lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day on the 14th, but this time of year brings many celebrations from across the globe. From the enchanting Lantern festival in Taiwan to the vivacious Carnival celebrations in Brazil, the world is a party! Whether you’re looking to break away from the cheap assorted chocolates in search of romantic inspiration or marking your calendar for future travels, Yampu has you covered! Take a look at some of the month’s featured celebrations below;
La Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria; Puno, Peru February 2nd – 12th
Peru is famous for its many cultural festivals celebrated throughout the year all over the country, but La Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria is a unique celebration full of folkloric dances, colorful costumes and a wonderful ambiance of excitement. Taking place in the port city of Puno, home to the iconic Yampu reed boat, the fiesta celebrates an incarnation of the Virgin Mary. Although the festival is worship based, many of the celebration’s include pre-Columbian traditions that were used during the growing season in the region.
While exploring the option of attending La Fiesta, consider taking a lake crossing into Bolivia across the highest elevated navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. While there, be sure to visit the famous floating islands of Uros, pieced together by the talented reed craftsmen of the community. For those seeking a full lake crossing experience, combining Peru with Bolivia is an excellent option for a multi-country itinerary.
Carnival; Brazil and throughout Latin America Fri, Feb 21, 2020 – Wed, Feb 26, 2020
Considered to be one of the largest celebrations in the world is none other than the colorful festivities of Carnival! The greatly anticipated merriments occur in several different countries throughout Latin America, including Belize, Peru, and Colombia, with all eyes on the pulsating Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Recorded in the Guinness World Records as the world’s biggest carnival, Rio welcomes several million people every year from around the world to this colorful event to celebrate the coming of Lent with animated dancing, parades, music and outlandish costumes! Enjoy the fusion of African and European cultures while dancing to the signature Brazilian sound of Samba, a genre of music influenced by African slaves brought to Brazil by the Portuguese. Samba has gained such popularity since its acknowledgment in 1917 that Samba schools have been established where groups compose their own performances to compete against one another during the festivities.
With the southern hemisphere reveling in their warm summer months, Brazil is the perfect destination to escape the northern hemisphere’s frigid winter with its numerous beach escapes outside of the Carnival antics. If you are looking to get a feel for Latin America as a whole, we highly suggest partying throughout the continent with Yampu’s Festive South America with Rio de Janeiro.
Taiwan Lantern Festival – Saturday, February 8th 2020
Just east of China is the small island nation of Taiwan, capping off our month of celebrations. Although the country may be limited in stature it certainly has a vibrant personality! Being such a small destination, many travelers opt for extended layovers in the vibrant capital of Taipei as a fun extension to any Northeast Asia itinerary. Not far from Taipei is where thousands of lanterns are set off every year in the region of Pingxi during the Annual Lantern Festival. Although the festival takes place on Saturday, February 8th the festival is seen as an exciting continuance of the Chinese New Year celebrations with tens of thousands of lanterns taking wishes, hopes and prayers into the evening sky all in a spectacular blaze. Joined with a festive light parade and high-spirited dancers, spring is ushered in with a festival of light and cheer!
Festivals are exciting, once in a lifetime opportunities for world explorers to thoroughly immerse themselves into the local culture and party alongside gleeful locals as they celebrate their life, history, and culture. Traveling with Yampu tours ensures memorable and exciting experiences of world festivities with a local guide who can assist with understanding and thoroughly partaking in the fun!
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