Our suggestions and readers’ tips!
Summer and spring are renowned for their festival offerings but winter packs a punch when it comes to festivals too!
In fact, if you look into it, there are a number of different festivals all around the world throughout the winter period, from snowy celebrations to religious revelries. Here’s our pick of some of the top winter festivals…
Viking Fire Festival, Shetland Islands
Located off the north coast of Scotland, the Shetland Islands rarely get much of a mention, but the Viking Fire Festival puts it well and truly on the map. Also known as “Up Helly Haa”, it takes place for a full 24 hours on the last Tuesday in January in the town of Lerwick, come rain or shine (or even snow or sleet as the case may be!) A community event, it is put together by many dedicated members of the public and takes 364 days to plan! It sees marches in traditional Viking style costumes to celebrate the island’s heritage followed by the burning of a galley ship, rounded off by a more than hectic all-nighter complete with feasts and fancy dress!
Carnival of Venice, Italy
One of the most photographed festivals in the world is hosted in the beautiful city of Venice each January. Its roots go back to the midst of the 15th century and following a hefty break, the celebrations returned in the 1970’s. This winter, it takes place between 26th January and 12th February 2013 and sees the usual deluge of elaborate, mysterious costumes and distinctive masks, the latter of which is a focal point of the festival with the best mask awarded at the end of the celebrations. Visit this stunning city in winter and time it to coincide with this traditional event for a different view of Venice.
Snowbombing, Austria
Lasting for one whole whirlwind week, Snowbombing festival is hosted each year in the town of Maryhofen, Austria. This year, the festival will run from 1st – 6th April 2013 which may seem too late in the year to be considered a winter festival, but with the ground and mountains still blanketed in powdery snow, the winter atmosphere is still in full swing! Spend your days skiing and snowboarding and when darkness sets in, make your way to mountain top music stages where you can enjoy awesome live performances from some of your favourite artists and DJs! You can book packages including entertainment and accommodation for the full 5 nights starting at just over £300 per person with the option to add all sorts of extras and various activities.
Sapporo Snow Festival, Japan
Undoubtedly one of Japan’s largest festivals, Sapporo Snow Festival is a highly anticipated event that sees the city transformed into a winter wonderland, literally! The streets around Odori Park, Tsudome and the main street in Susukino are lined with snow and ice statues and sculptures in addition to plenty more entertaining attractions like snow slides and mazes. More than 2 million visitors make their way here each year both from Japan and abroad. Join them this year and visit the festival between 5th and 11th February 2013.
Readers’ Tips:
@PrivateDayTrips of ReadyClickandGo.com suggested a trip to the Harbin Ice Festival in China. They visited in 2007 and the temperature got as low -26! Brr! Despite the chilly temperatures you can expect a month long festival featuring amazing ice sculptures with lasers and lights! It’s considered one of the largest ice festivals in the world and is definitely worth considering for January 2013.
Is there a winter festival that you visit every year? Or do you prefer festivals to be accompanied with hot weather? Perhaps we’ve missed a few blinders off the list? Let us know in the comments section!
