#ShortList : Masked Festivals of the World
If you could choose to be anyone, I would definitely encourage you to be yourself. But every now and then, we call on the persona of someone or something else and this is no different in cultures around the world. Invoking the spirits of ancestors or the spirits of nature can be a very intense way to connect – here in this list, we have found masked festivals of the world that you can jump in and play your part.
Día de los Muertos, Mexico
Literally, Day of the Dead. The day when the spiritual and physical planes of existence converge and spirits are said to walk amongst the living. Families honour their deceased loved ones in a day filled with marigold flowers, sugar skulls and skull masks.
Carnevale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
Starting two weeks before Ash Wednesday, in the lead up to Easter, the Carnevale di Venezia offers a veil of anonymity for revelry. The name possibly comes from latin “carne” + “vale”, which literally means “farewell to meat” – as is the tradition during Lent.
Carnevale di Venezia!???????? #venice #carnevale #italy #throwback #hejkanaklejka✋????
A photo posted by Karolina Marek???? (@karaararaa) on
Carnival de Rio, Brazil
Perhaps the largest carnival in the world, Carnival de Rio boasts more than 2 million spectators daily during its five-days of festivities. Loud, proud and full of energy.
Halloween, USA
Trick-or-treat! A day for dressing up in a scary costume and scaring the living day lights out of your neighbours. The jack-o-lantern is an iconic feature of this holiday, where pumpkins have faces carved into their flesh.
Pumpkin pals. ???????????? #savetheseeds #pumpkins #jackolantern
A photo posted by @erin.prendergast on
Traditional Sing Sing (Mask Festival), Papua New Guinea
A sing-sing is a traditional gathering between many tribes or villages and whose aim is to peacefully share traditions. Masks play an important role in Papua New Guinean beliefs, insofar that they represent ancestors and sometimes spirits of nature.
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