The name of the Ramadan Festival refers to the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. During this festival, Muslims across the world will fast during the daylight hours. This means they will have no food and no drink. The starting day of this festival depends on the time of the new moon’s appearance. This festival is a time of contemplation and worship for Muslims. It is also a time for them to strengthen their community and family ties. In addition, Muslims believe that throughout the duration of the festival, the “Jannat” or gates ofheaven are open while the “Jahanam” or gates of hell are closed.

The Lammas Day is a religious festival for Christians wherein the first wheats of the year are harvested. To celebrate this, houses are decorated with garlands and processions of people holding lit candles. This festival is one of the oldest medieval festivals and has pagan connections. In medieval times, the fist loaves from the harvest were considered as the strongest religious element and were brought to the church. This is where the term of “lammas” was derived referring to “loaf mass”. Many superstitions and rituals are associated with the Lammas Festival that are connected with the pagan origins.

Top 3 Festivals of August
Posted in Festivals in August on 06. Aug, 2009
There are plenty of festivals in the world celebrated every August. However, there are only three of them considered as topmost. These festivals are the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; the Tomatina Festival in Spain; and the Burning Man Festival in America.

The Edinburgh Festival is a three-week celebration of dance, music, and arts. It is the biggest festival of arts in the world. The finest in dance, theater, music, and opera can be found there.
The Tomatina Festival is held in the small village of Bunol in Valencia, Spain. It is an 11-day celebration filled with various festivities honoring the village’s patron saints, Mare de Deu del Desemparats and Luis Bertran. The peak of the festival is the tomato fight which has been a tradition since 1944. It is recommended to wear goggles or snorkeling masks for best visibility while participating in this peak event.
The Burning Man Festival is held a week before Labor Day in August. It usually takes place in Blackrock City in Nevada, though the locations change annually. It is a desert festival of organized chaos with respect for health and safety within the community. During this festival, activities and scenes of gay homosexual affection are public. Participants in the festival often express themselves by walking naked in the dessert. Every year, participants are provided with themes to serve as the focus of the festival.

Depending on the country, festivals that are celebrated in the month of August can be placed in a number of categories. In Spain, the Aste Nagusia Bilbao is a traditional Latin dance party celebrated for 10 days. This festival is filled with people of all ages that enjoy the mixture of traditional Basque music, sports, and dance. In Laos, a more cultural and religious type of festival is celebrated, known as Boun Khao Padabdin. During this festival, Laotians give honor and offerings to their ancestors at the temple.
The Art of Burning Man in USA is a bizarre type of festival that lasts for 7 days every year. Its celebration is centered at the Black Rock City in Nevada that has a world-class view of extraordinary wilderness. In Australia, the Charleville Camel, Donkey, & Yabbie Race Festival is celebrated with wacky parties. Scotland takes pride during its Edinburgh Festival Fringe where immense gatherings of actors, dancers, musicians, and artists from 40 different countries take place for performances.
The Eisa Festival in Japan is celebrated in the late part of August. It marks the end of the summer season. It celebrates the time of saying goodbye to the spirits of ancestors that came back for Obon. The Khan Tengri Mountain Festival in Kazakhstan has an extreme festival celebration for sports. In this festival, extreme sport competitions are held for visitors to enjoy.

Festivals these days are so often celebrated around the world now that that most of them are no more considered to be confined to a particular geographical location or community. The month of August has plenty of festivals around, most of them are celebrated all over the world regardless of culture, background, society status, religion, race, or other factors.
The five most famous August festivals include:
•    The Bilbao’s Big Week festival in Spain
•    The Charleville Camel, Donkey and Yabbie RaceFestival in Australia
•    The DC Comedy Festival in the US
•    The Art of Burning Man in the US
•    The Tomatina Tomato Fight festival in Spain
The above mentioned August festivals seem to indicate that the most famous festivals take place in the US and Spain generally, which is in fact true. There are other cross-cultural events in France, UK, and Brazil as well. One notable August festival is the DC Comedy Fest. The highlights include common comedy elements such as standup, sketch, short films, and political humor. The Tomatina Tomato Fight on the other hand is an extremely famous festival known worldwide for its ‘fighting and flying’ of tomatoes, while Bilbao’s Big Week focuses more on the traditional festival elements of Spain such as Basque music, dance and sports.