Facts for Kids

People have held festivals for thousands of years. Long ago, ancient communities in places like Greece, Rome, and Egypt held big public gatherings to honor gods, thank nature, or celebrate leaders. For example, the Roman celebration called Saturnalia mixed feasting, games, and gifts and later helped shape winter holiday customs in Europe.

Over time, festivals changed. Some traditions survived from before the 1400s, while other kinds of festivals grew later. After World War II, many new forms of festivals, especially art and music events, became popular and spread to cities around the world.

Every festival has its own special things people do, and many end with big feasting—shared meals that make people feel warm and connected. Traditions can include wearing certain clothes, making crafts, singing old songs, or telling stories about the past. Elders often teach these customs to children so they continue.

Festivals also mark important moments: a hero’s victory, a saint’s day, or changes in the year like the first harvest. Because everyone takes part, festivals help people meet neighbors, relax, and remember what matters to their group.

Festival means a special time when people come together to celebrate something important to their group. A festival can be about religion, a season, a harvest, art, or just fun. You might see parades, music, games, dancing, or special food. Some festivals are small and local, like a town fair, and some are national holidays that many people share. Festivals help people feel like they belong and keep old traditions alive, because families pass songs, recipes, and stories to children. What kind of festival would you like to create with your friends or family?

Many festivals come from religion and mix prayer with culture. These religious festivals often include rituals, songs, and decorations that people use to show thanks or remember a story. Examples you might know are Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Rosh Hashanah, and the two Eids. Some celebrations move each year because they follow the moon or the seasons, like Easter or Passover.

At these times, families may clean their homes, light candles, visit a house of worship, or join a parade. Religious festivals teach beliefs and values, and they also bring people together for shared meals and joy.

Today many festivals mix old customs with new ideas. Art festivals like the Avignon Festival or the Edinburgh Fringe showcase plays, music, and street shows, and they inspire similar events everywhere. Festivals can be run by communities, not-for-profit groups, or businesses, and some become tourist attractions that bring visitors and money to a town.

Beyond money, festivals still do what they always did: they entertain, preserve culture, thank people or nature, and help people make friends. Some modern festivals also teach about the environment, celebrate local food, or support charities. What kind of festival would help your town?

A lot of festivals follow the seasons and the food cycle, so people celebrate when crops are ready. The word harvest means gathering food, and harvest festivals say thanks for what people grew. In some places, the farming year shapes the whole festival calendar: autumn brings pumpkin fairs and corn festivals, summer brings solstice bonfires, and spring can bring flower and planting festivals.

Other seasonal sights shape celebrations too: in the Alps, cows come down from mountain pastures in autumn and people decorate them, while places that use lunar calendars celebrate New Year at different times. Which season has the festivals you like?