All around the world, different cultures celebrate their own holidays in unique ways. With the holiday season in full spring, it’s exciting to see what is going on in different countries. 

For instance, though China celebrates some of the same things the states do, they also have seasonal holidays and days dedicated to the community. Like the U.S., China highlights New Year’s Day, but at the end of the month from January 31st to February 6th, they celebrate the Spring Festival, widely known as the Chinese New Year.  

For the week, they take time off from work and school and spend time with their family. You often will see family reunions and outdoor banquets. The celebration is meant to help transition out of the past year and bring in luck along with prosperity for the new one. The holiday is highly favored for its fireworks displays and dragon dancing.  

In Brazil, just four days before Ash Wednesday, an annual festival is celebrated, best known as Carnival. It typically starts on a Saturday, giving the citizens the last chance to party before the fasting period of Lent. Lent is where people, typically Christians, partially fast for 40 days and confess their sins to God.  

Though Carnival is honored in some regions of the country, the most “eye-catching” performances take place in Rio de Janeiro. Extravagant parades and pageants are displayed and start when school ends. The students have a chance to participate to raise money for Brazil and the schools. Tourists can always take part in the carnival, buying a costume and dancing in the parade. 

Worldwide in Mexico, on November the 1st and 2nd, the Day of the Dead or Día de Los Muertos is not a celebration of death, but life. It commemorates the loss of family members through decorations, food, costumes, and reliving memories in their honor. November 1st is All Saints Day or Día de Todos Los Santos; it is dedicated to deceased children.  November 2nd is devoted to deceased adults, known as Faithful Dead’s Day or Día de Los Fieles Difuntos. 

The festivities consist of flowers, favorite foods, and offerings being left at the gravesite. For decorations, it’s likely to see pictures of loved ones, things that were theirs, water, bread, and candles. The candles are usually put in the shape of a cross to represent “cardinal directions” or a compass to guide souls back to the land of the living along with marigolds, the traditional flowers for the celebration. 

As the world continues to expand, people from all over continue to celebrate things that are important to them such as new beginnings, breaks from reality, and family. Even though U.S. culture is different from those in other countries, it is always fun to learn new traditions and find more things to commemorate.