When the whole world decks up for Christmas and gets busy making plans for New Year, there is a completely different euphoria that grips in some beautiful places on earth. Instead of confining yourself to traditional events and revisiting the place you have been to, give your bohemian soul a call and try to make it to these spectacular festivals this holiday season.
#1. Art Basel Miami Festival
This four-day spectacle of finest artworks in the Magic City is not something you would like to skip this December.
Where: Florida, US
When: December 3-6
This four-day spectacle of finest artworks in the Magic City is not something you would like to skip this December. While Miami Beach Convention Center is the epicenter of all the activities, there are several other satellite centers hosting art fairs under the sunny sky and by the golden beaches of Florida. Art collectors will have a time of their life hopping from one venue to another in search of the rarest and the finest. The diversity is dizzying, to say the least.
#2. Mevlâna Festival (Whirling Dervishes Festival)
Where: Konya, Turkey
When: December 10–17
Turkey can be a delightful destination this December as it will host the Mevlana Festival. Dedicated to the works of great Sufi poet and philosopher, Jalaluddin Rumi, the 8-day festival is a subtle manifestation of devotion to the Sufi saint and the art of dancing. While the dervishes enthrall the audience with their dance performances, it’s the final night (December 17) that will always be few notches above your expectations. You can derive maximum pleasure out of these elegant and trance-like dances once you have been to the Mevlâna Museum near the sports stadium in Konya.
#3. Junkanoo Parade
One of the oldest surviving street festivals in the Caribbean easily rivals Rio Carnival and Mardi Gras of New Orleans
Where: Nassau, Bahamas
When: December 26
If you think you deserve a Caribbean holiday this December, come to the Bahamas. Nassau, the city with a colonial hangover, slips into carnival mode as it hosts the night-long Junkanoo Parade. One of the oldest surviving street festivals in the Caribbean easily rivals Rio Carnival and Mardi Gras of New Orleans. As thousands of revelers with intricate costumes take to streets of Nassau after midnight, you feel tempted to join the Junkanoo group and perform to hypnotic music.
#4.Sunburn Festival
An impressive line-up, including Liquid Soul and Desert Dwellers, sway the jubilant crowd at the beautiful Vagator Beach
Where: Goa, India
When: December 27-30
After the Christmas Carol is sung and jingle bells are rung, it’s time to enjoy one of the biggest electronic dance music festivals of the world. As Sunburn Festival comes to Goa, merrymaking finds a new address. An impressive line-up, including Liquid Soul and Desert Dwellers, sways the jubilant crowd at the beautiful Vagator Beach. After the sun goes down the sea and dramatic cliffs turn red, meet your fellow Western backpackers over psychedelic music.
#5. Rhythm & Vine
Where: New Zealand
When: December 29 – January 1, 2016
How about attending the first festival in the world that welcomes the first sunrise of the New Year? There’s nothing like listening to an outstanding line-up of artists in a sprawling vineyard. The charm of New Zealand’s Rhythm & Vine festival is not confined to Waiohika Estate alone. Besides music, the temptation of playing beach volleyball, attending pool parties, taking boat trips to Tuamotu Island, and spotting dolphins in the ocean ups the happiness quotient.
Image Credits: PROBlanca Stella Mejia, Robert Thivierge, Whirling Dervishes, Nikola Spasenoski, Pdmsunburn, Erkki & Hanna