National_Geographic_Traveller_India_May_2017

■ WORLD
Play With Fire
Follow the crowds to these
nocturnal fire festivals
around the world
SHANGYUAN FESTIVAL, China
The Shangyuan festival, or the Spring Lantern
Festival, is celebrated on the 15th night of the
first month of the Chinese new year (February or
March). On this day, towns and villages across the
country bathe in the glow of lanterns. Red paper
globes fly among illuminated butterflies, dragons,
and birds, each written with a riddle—those who
solve them win a prize.
SUMMER SOLSTICE, Glastonbury,
England
Glastonbury Tor (or hill) has been sacred for
millennia, and on Midsummer Eve hundreds
gather on it. Children throw petals, holy water is
sprinkled, and the hill is blessed with fire. It marks
the important celebration of the beginning of
summer, the season of warmth and plenty.
FEAST OF SAN JUAN, Spain
At this June festival, revellers build bonfires that
blaze through the night to welcome summer.
According to tradition, jumping over a fire three
times on San Juan night burns your troubles away.
QUEMA DEL DIABLO, Guatemala
In early December, just before Christmas,
Guatemalans rid their homes and lives of the
devil. Garbage is cleared and homes cleaned, with
special attention paid to nooks and corners and
the area below the bed. All rubbish is then burnt
to celebrate Quema del Diablo or The Burning of
the Devil, and Christmas is welcomed with a clean
heart and home.
DAIZENJI TAMATAREGU SHRINE’S
“ONIYO”, Fukuoka, Japan
On the seventh day of the new year, after being
guarded at the temple for a week, the Oniyo or
fire devil is brought out to ward off evil spirits in
a ceremony at the Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine. As
part of a 1,600-year-old Shinto ritual, the flame is
transferred to six 45-foot-tall and three-foot-wide
torches, which are carried by men in loincloths.
Onlookers who have embers or ash fall on them
from the torches are believed to be blessed.
CHI HUNG CHEUNG