50 festivals to blow your mind

There's something about festivals, be it a giant, joyous party or a respectful honouring of tradition; a seemingly bizarre adherence to ritual or a celebration of a quirky obsession; it's a uniquely human thing to be involved in. We like to get together to dance, sing, eat, laugh, drink, dress up, light fires, take our clothes off, throw tomatoes at each other, roll around in mud--just about anything really, but we seem to like doing it in really large groups with bags and bags of enthusiasm. Why is it that we behave in this way? Because we're pleasure seekers? Because we're obsessives? We think it's because festivals are a life-affirming example of the inherent goodness in humanity. They take our desire to have a good time with our friends to a global level. They kick-start because of our passions and our wish to spread and share our joy with as many other people as possible. But they continue and thrive because they ignite curiosity and go on to promote understanding, compassion and a greater acceptance of the human race, and all the crazy fun and fervour that comes with it.