For much of Europe, the weather is nice and it’s time to enjoy the outdoors. The perfect way to do this is through a festival of course! Here are some of Europe’s best festivals to go to this spring.
Las Fallas, Spain, March 15-19
Valencia celebrates spring with the Las Fallas festival. Residents make large puppets out of paper mache called ninots. The ninots are made to look like public figures. After they are constructed they are set on fire. The purpose of the fire is to symbolize getting rid of bad and unnecessary things and welcoming spring. A new tradition has been born as well. The best ninots will actually get spared from the fire and be displayed in the Fallas Museum.
St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland, March 17-20
In most places, St. Patrick’s Day is only celebrated for one day, but in Dublin it’s actually a 4-day festival. For the past 20 years this holiday has featured marching bands, street performers, puppets and huge floats. One of the favorites among adult attendees is the Irish Craft Beer and Whiskey village. For the kids, there are numerous carnival rides and plenty of food for everyone. Many of the buildings in Dublin will be lit up in green to celebrate this holiday.
Koningsdag, Holland, April 27
One of the biggest festivals in Amsterdam takes places at the end of April. Koningsdag, known as King’s Day, is a relatively new celebration as it first took place in 2014 after the inauguration of the first male monarch in the Netherlands after an astounding 123 years. The festival starts with everyone wearing orange as a way to show their pride. The festivities include dancing, music and parades that consist of decorated boats that go down some of the city’s more well-known canals. The festival can get out of hand at times will around 1 million people in attendance each year.
Beltane Fire Festival, Scotland, April 30
What better way to kick off spring than with a big fire and huge procession? This festival started as a way for the Celts to celebrate the dark and cold winter being over. The procession begins at the National Monument with a big performance taking place at Carlton Hill. As participants, that are decked out as mythological creatures, make their way up to the hill they are led by the Green Man and the May Queen. Spectators generally deck themselves out in body paint before they attend the big bonfire and listen to the music that consists of mainly drums.
