Editing Festival (section)

===Religious festivals===
{{main|Religious festival}}
Among many [[religion]]s, a feast is a set of celebrations in honour of [[God]] or [[gods]].<ref name="Bleeker">{{Cite book |last=Bleeker |first=Claas Jouco |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35M3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA29 |title=Egyptian Festivals: Enactments of Religious Renewal |date=1967 |publisher=Brill Archive |language=en |access-date=August 27, 2022 |archive-date=August 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828130716/https://books.google.com/books?id=35M3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA29 |url-status=live }}</ref> A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable. Most religions have festivals that recur annually and some, such as [[Passover]], Easter, and Eid al-Adha are [[moveable feast]]s – that is, those that are determined either by lunar or agricultural cycles or the calendar in use at the time. The [[Sed festival]], for example, celebrated the thirtieth year of an Egyptian [[pharaoh]]'s rule and then every three (or four in one case) years after that.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Heb-Sed (Egyptian feast)|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/258986/Heb-Sed|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-date=May 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504215701/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/258986/Heb-Sed|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the [[Ashanti people|Ashantis]], most of their traditional festivals are linked to gazette sites which are believed to be sacred with several rich biological resources in their pristine forms. Thus, the annual commemoration of the festivals helps in maintaining the buoyancy of the conserved natural site, assisting in biodiversity conservation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Robson|first=James P.|date=2007|title=Local approaches to biodiversity conservation: lessons from Oaxaca, southern Mexico|journal=International Journal of Sustainable Development|volume=10|issue=3|pages=267|doi=10.1504/ijsd.2007.017647|issn=0960-1406}}</ref> Vodoun days is also one of the religious festivals of Benin which invites surrounding countries like Togo and Ghana because of the almost identical culture and tradition. Vodoun days is a festival of Vodoun.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benin : the nationale vodun festival is now: "vodun days" |url=https ://globalvoices.org |website=www.globalvoices.org}}</ref> Even in Togo Godogbe za of Gblinkomegan is a traditional celebration based on ancestor worship. 

In the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[liturgical calendar]], there are two principal feasts, properly known as the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas) and the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter), but minor [[patronal festivals|festivals in honour of local patron saints]] are celebrated in almost all countries influenced by Christianity. In the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox]], and [[Anglican]] liturgical calendars there are a great number of lesser feasts throughout the year commemorating saints, sacred events or doctrines. In the [[Philippines]], each day of the year has at least one specific religious festival, either from Catholic, Islamic, or indigenous origins.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calendar of Philippine Festivals and Monthly Observances / Theme {{!}} Tourism Promotions Board |url=https://www.tpb.gov.ph/tpb-calendar-of-promotions-and-marketing-activities/calendar-of-philippine-festivals-and-monthly-observances-theme/ |website=www.tpb.gov.ph |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=September 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927171735/https://www.tpb.gov.ph/tpb-calendar-of-promotions-and-marketing-activities/calendar-of-philippine-festivals-and-monthly-observances-theme/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Hindus celebrate many festivals, such as [[Navaratri]], [[Holi]], [[Rama Navami]], [[Karva Chauth]], [[Diwali]], [[Pongal (festival)|Pongal]], [[Kartika Purnima]]; among others. Most Hindu festivals are not celebrated by all Hindus.<ref name=Encyclopedia></ref>{{rp|pages=226-227}} One example of a Hindu festival is [[Ganesh Chaturthi]], which is dedicated to the god [[Ganesha]] and is celebrated throughout India, but especially in [[Maharashtra]].<ref name=Encyclopedia>{{Cite book |last=Lochtefeld |first=James G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbWazgEACAAJ |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M |date=2002 |publisher=Rosen |isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|p=237}} During the festival, [[Murti|idols]] of the god Ganesha, traditionally made of clay, are worshipped, and on the same day or after 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 or 11 days, are immersed in water.<ref name=Business_Standard>{{cite web |author=Sonika Nitin Nimje |date=9 September 2024 |title=Ganesh Visarjan 2024: Why is Visarjan done on different days? |url=https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/ganesh-visarjan-2024-why-is-visarjan-done-on-different-days-view-details-124090900534_1.html |website=Business Standard |location=New Delhi |access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref> The public celebration of the festival, which includes a public procession, was promoted by [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] as a means of asserting and celebrating a Hindu nationalist identity and to provide a sense of Hindu solidarity during the [[British Raj]].<ref name=Encyclopedia></ref>{{rp|pages=237-238,698}}<ref name=Barnouw>{{Cite journal |last=Barnouw |first=Victor |date=1954 |title=The Changing Character of a Hindu Festival |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/664633 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=74–86 |doi=10.1525/aa.1954.56.1.02a00070 |jstor=664633 |issn=0002-7294|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

[[Buddhism|Buddhist]] religious festivals, such as [[Esala Perahera]] are held in Sri Lanka and Thailand.<ref name=Gerson>{{cite book|last=Gerson|first=Ruth|title=Traditional festivals in Thailand|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Kuala Lumpur; New York|isbn=967-65-3111-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/traditionalfesti00gers}}</ref> The [[Sikh]] community celebrates the [[Vaisakhi]] festival marking the new year and birth of the [[Khalsa]].<ref name="Roy2005">{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Christian|title=Traditional Festivals, Vol. 2 &#91;M – Z&#93;: A Multicultural Encyclopedia|year=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-089-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/traditionalfesti0000royc/page/480 480]|chapter=Sikh Vaisakhi: Anniversary of the Pure|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/traditionalfesti0000royc/page/480}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Religious festivals
|width=180
|height=150
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|File:Golden Haggadah cleaning.jpg|Cleaning in preparation for [[Passover]] ({{Circa|1320}})
|File:Radha celebrating Holi, c1788.jpg|Radha celebrating [[Holi]], Kangra, India (c1788)
|File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - A Christmas mass at the church of the holy Sepulchre, in Bethlehem (1).jpg|A [[Christmas]] mass at the [[Church of the Nativity]], in [[Bethlehem]], Palestine (1979)
|File:Mahoma en el castillo de Villena.JPG|Moors and Christian festival in [[Villena]], Spain
|File:Decoration_of_a_God_Krishna_in_India.jpg|Decoration of god Krishna on [[Krishnastami]] in India.
}}