What is the world’s biggest festival? There might be different ways of measuring it. Some festivals have a single day that is the height of the celebration, or the festival is celebrated on one day. Others have a season or consist of a series of events over a prolonged (or short) period. Or, you may ask, which one attracts the largest number of people? Which is the most populous of them?
Yet again you might measure it according to which festival is celebrated in the most countries around the world. Then again, since so many of them are religious festivals, the biggest one may well be whichever one belongs to the world’s largest religion, determined by size of population. Some of them may include different cultures, and the world’s biggest may be one of those celebrated across cultures.
There is a very interesting contender. Let us consider the Muslim festival of Eid al Adha, also known as the Festival of the Sacrifice. It is the holiest of the Islamic holidays and the most spectacular of its events. This is a festival that highlights faith, man’s obedience to Allah, devotion and dedication, while at the same time goodwill to others.
It celebrates the faith and devotion of Ibrahim (Abraham in the Christian Bible) who was prepared to sacrifice his beloved son Ishmael in obedience to the will of Allah. The story goes, when he arrived at the place of sacrifice Allah intervened, stopped him and provided a ram, which was sacrificed instead. He had passed the test, proved his dedication, and his son was spared.
In Islam, all men who could afford it must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once, to participate in this festival. It is an exceedingly grand, elaborate and spectacular ritual. All the pilgrims are required to dramatise the journey taken by father and son to the place of sacrifice. This great re-enactment each year at Eid al Adha in Mecca is a good candidate for the biggest festival in the world because of the largest number of people in a single event on a single occasion. Unimaginable multitudes of Muslims from all around the world assemble and perform dramatic rituals in what have to be awe-inspiring spectacles.
The most dramatic is the Stoning Wall. While Ibrahim and Ishmael travelled, they were intercepted by Shaitan (Satan) who tried repeatedly to derail them. He tried appealing to the son, warning him that his father was about to kill him. But Ibrahim had already consulted his son, who agreed that the command of Allah must be carried out. They repelled Shaitan by stoning him. The pilgrims dramatise this by hurling stones at the Stoning Wall.
So, is this the world’s biggest festival? It has the largest number of people participating in an event on one occasion in one festival, in addition to the high drama and spectacle. How does this compare with other contenders? Added to this mass ritual in Mecca, Eid al Adha is celebrated in several countries all around the world where there is a Muslim population. But there is one other festival that satisfies almost all possible criteria and claims the title on several grounds.
Christmas is the world’s biggest festival. There might be no single event to surpass the magnitude of Eid in Mecca, but by practically all other measures no other festival equals Christmas. Like Eid, it is a religious festival, in this case sacred to the Christians. It celebrates the birth of Christ the Messiah, sent to earth by God to save mankind. It preaches peace and goodwill to all, and is a festival of great joy, feasting, festivities and the giving of gifts (which symbolises God giving Jesus as a gift to mankind).
However, Christmas has outgrown its origins and existence as a religious Christian festival. It has long become a world festival celebrated on all continents among the overwhelming majority of cultures and observed by non-Christians and even devotees of other religions. It appeals to the popular imagination in many ways, but very much because of the revelry, the feasting, drinking and joyous festivities. Of all festivals, it is observed in the greatest number of different countries, by the largest number of different cultures. It has a pronounced season with several events.
Among the most fascinating non-Christian non-western countries and cultures to have embraced Christmas is the People’s Republic of China. The new modern China under Chairman Mao has been a Communist nation since 1949. It is not the most likely society to have an interest in Christmas. The small minority groups of Christians in China have no impact or influence on the celebration of their festival. The celebration is driven by the popular culture which has made it not only a popular festival, but the world’s greatest commercial festival.
Christmas Day in China is not a public holiday, but it is the country’s most prominent commercial festival. There is a season, which has already begun, to spring into a series of activities. These lead up to December 25 and are forerunners to Chinese New Year, which is really China’s grandest national festival and public holiday. The actual date for the New Year is tied to the lunar calendar and varies each year between late January and February.
But before that, there is the long season of Christmas with Christmas Day itself, December 25) as a grand shopping day. There is wide-ranging commercial activity and bargains to attract shoppers. It is, however, an urban and not so much a rural activity as the rural areas tend more to traditional Chinese culture.
These activities are accompanied and decorated by all the atmosphere, thrills and gaiety. In China today, Christmas has begun. It is very visible in the big Chinese cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changsha and countless others. In public and business places, in the international hotels, in shopping malls and stores there are Christmas decorations and Christmas trees. China, with the world’s largest population, does nothing in small proportions. The cities and establishments show off huge Christmas trees in excess of 20 or 30 feet high.
What is amazing is that, for the Chinese, this is a secular popular festival, but the decorations still imitate the religious images. There are cribs, mangers and the dramatis personae of the Nativity scene, including the animals. These, of course, have no religious significance, but it is interesting that these real-life effigies are there. Then it goes further. Quite outside of the Bible story, Christmas has seen the development of an extensive secular mythology which includes Santa Claus and the reindeer. Even that is imitated, and artificial reindeer may be found among the decorations.
Neither does it end there. One can feel the specific atmosphere of the festive season as well, because of the music. In large hotel lobbies, shops and public places all types of Christmas music is played. This is yet another amazing feature – that the music includes Christmas carols, even those of religious content and messages. They are most likely meaningless and of no significance to most of the Chinese population, but they provide imported seasonal music for atmosphere and occasion.
Christmas is thus imported wholesale in an unlikely place such as China. Since it is a popular festival, this importation will not leave out entertainment. There is feasting and drinking. There are celebrations on Christmas Eve including dinners and parties. Less than halfway through December it is the festive season in China.
Another notable factor is that this festival in the Orient is a youthful celebration. It tends to be highly popular among the younger generation who partake in the festivities and entertainments. The shopping and merchandising, though, do not discriminate, and include everyone in spite of age.
The front page of the Shanghai Daily carries a picture of a giant Christmas tree with the headline “Make A Joyful Noise” and a story which includes the following: “A 30-meter-tall Christmas tree has been erected at a mall in downtown Shanghai as the city gets into festive mood. A German-style Christmas fair featuring traditional German delicacies and handcrafts is currently being held at the New Factories in Jiangning Road Subdistrict. The fair will stay open until December 15.”
The China Daily carries another story headlined “Christmas Spirit ignited with hotel charity event”. It tells how “Shangri-La Hotel Changchun in Jilin Province welcomed the Christmas spirit with a charity Christmas lighting ceremony on November 29”. There is mention of “Christmas activities”, an “experience full of Christmas atmosphere” tree lighting and fundraising.
Of further special interest is the sale of Yule log cakes (“a traditional holiday dessert resembling a log”). This is borrowed from the old tradition of Yule from the Middle Ages in Europe. Yule or Yuletide is another name for Christmas derived from mediaeval times.
The China Daily tells us, “In the days leading up to Christmas Eve there is a lot to offer” including “a Christmas market at the hotel lobby. On December 24, the hotel will host a Christmas wonderland party in its grand ballroom, making itself the hottest hangout in freezing Northeast China”. Christmas is everywhere.
