Journalism of Courage
March is a crackling month of pyrotechnic celebrations with grand fireworks, music festivals and an homage to the gentle giant — elephant. See how the world is celebrating this March.
National Pyrotechnic Festival (till March 15): Mexico celebrates the National Pyrotechnic Festival in honour of John of God — the patron saint of fireworks makers — in the municipality of Tultepec. Firework bulls, castles and figures are paraded around as competition and later set off in amazing firework displays. The festival attracts over a lakh people every year. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Frozen Dead Guy Days (March 11-13): This 14-year-old festival is held in Nederland, Colorado in the US to celebrate the discovery of corpse of a man called Bredo Morstoel. Trygve Bauge cryopreserved — preservation by freezing — the corpse of his grandfather, creating a media sensation. It ultimately culminated into the bizarre festival in which people compete in contests that involve sub-zero temperatures — like 'polar plunge' in frozen Colorado, a dance called 'Grandpa's Blue Ball', frozen salmon tosses, coffin races etc. (Source: YouTube screenshot)
Calle Ocho (March 13): Calle Ocho is the largest Hispanic street festival, held in Miami's Little Havana block. Over a million people attend what is considered to be the largest street party in the world spread over 23 blocks. The festival showcases the festive side of Hispanic culture — there's dancing, food, drinks and 30 stages of live entertainment. (Source: Buddha Juggles via Vimeo)
International Tango Conference (March 13-19): Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino is the most important tango festival in the world, celebrated in Buenos Aires — the tango capital of the world. It brings together tango enthusiasts, aficionados and teachers of every continent. It consists of several classes, seminars, live music and exhibitions, theatre shows etc. revolving around the popular dance form. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Pi day (March 14): Pi day is observed on March 14 (3/14) as 3,1,4 are the first three digits of the value of Pi. Pi day is celebrated by eating pies, throwing pies etc. apart from academic discussions on the significance of the figure of Pi. The town of Princeton in Jersey, United States, hosts numerous events on the occasion and even organises an Einstein-lookalike contest — as March 14 is also the birth date of scientist Albert Einstein. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Las Fallas (March 15-19): Las Fallas is a pyrotechnic festival held on a grand scale in Valencia, Spain. It dates back to the time when excess winter stocks were torched during spring cleaning. The fireworks are symbolic of this torching, ushering in the spring. Local people hold informal contests and compete to create the most thunderous boom by setting off explosives. Caricaturised and satirised papier mâché effigies are paraded on the streets, and ultimately perish in a blaze, except one which is retained as a symbol of prosperity. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Thirunakkara Arattu (March 15-24): Held at Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple in Kottayam district of Kerala, Thirunakkara Arattu is another one of Kerala's famous temple festivals. Apart from the decorated elephants, the highlight of the festival are the Kathakali dancers who perform throughout the night on the third and fourth day of the festival. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
SXSW (March 11-20): South by Southwest — or SXSW — which began as a music festival has now become a ten-day long festival encompassing music, technology and film. Its indie showings at its film festival have made it one of the most prominent film festivals in the world. SXSW is sprawled across several venues in Austin and draws tens of thousands of attendees. Several prominent musical talents — like John Mayer and James Blunt — were discovered at SXSW. (Source: Anthony Quintano via Flickr)
St Patrick's Day (March 17): St Patrick's day is one of the most significant religious days of Ireland and commemorates St Patrick — one of the foremost patron saints of the Irish — and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. All of Ireland takes on a hue of green as it celebrates its heritage and culture with great pride, plus alcohol restrictions are lifted for the day — lending the day its festive spirit that it is known for. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Beyond Wonderland (March 18-19): Beyond Wonderland is an electronic dance festival set up in the theme of Alice in Wonderland. Some of the biggest names in electronic music perform to ecstatic eccentrically-clad crowds. The venue has sections dedicated to iconic Alice in Wonderland characters like the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts etc. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Ultra Music Festival (March 18-20): Ultra Music Festival is an electronic music festival features hundreds of acts over two weekends in Miami, Florida. Artists like Dead Mau5, Tiesto, Diplo and other EDM legends. It is known for its pure party spirit. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Arattupuzha Pooram (March 22): Arattupuzha Pooram festival takes place in Arattupuzha village in Kerala, about 15km from the town of Thrissur. Sree Sastha temple — dedicated to Lord Ayappa — is the main venue of festivities. The festival is also known as Devamala as about 23 deities from neighbouring shrines are in attendance among decorated elephants and staging of percussion ensembles. It is considered to be the oldest temple festival in the Indian subcontinent. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Jaipur Elephant festival (March 22): This festival celebrates elephants — tastefully decorated and trained to compete in pageants. Elephant races and polo matches draw huge crowds, while a tug-of-war between elephants and men is the main attraction of the festival. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Holi (March 23): The festival of colours needs no introduction. Celebrating Holika dahan, the festival signifies the triumph of good over evil. It is an inclusive Hindu festival, the main philosophy behind the festivities of which is 'bura na mano, Holi hai'. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Easter Sunday (March 27): Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day of his burial after his Crucifixion. Decorated Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are prominent cultural symbols of Easter. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Molten Iron Throwing festival: It is a custom to celebrate the last day of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations by setting off firecrackers to scare off demons. Centuries ago, poorer populations of farmers and blacksmiths — who couldn't afford firecrackers — came up with an innovative way to observe the custom. Blacksmiths realised they could create interesting patterns by hurling molten iron on the city walls. Even today, people splash molten metal on brick walls, causing a rain of rapidly-melting metallic shards that look like fireworks. They only have sheepskin jackets and goggles for protection. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras: The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is said to be the most anticipated LGBT event in the world with a rowdy night-time Pride parade, film festivals, dance parties and glammed-up and flashy processions. The motto is the wackier, the better. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
