When chilly winter ends and a warm, sizzling season is approaching, a hiatus of extreme weather comes in between to make a transition between these two seasons. The Spring festivals bring a message of transformation and rejuvenation when the colours and variety of different colours bloom around the World.
The Spring season is celebrated worldwide, rejoicing and organizing exciting and vibrant events. For example, Chinese New Year, Canadian Tulip Festival, Japan Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival, Thailand Songkran Festival, Holy Festival and European Las Fallas are some of the most prominent and widely known spring carnivals around the globe.
SPRING FESTIVALS
The arrival of spring imbues a new sense of life, invigoration and purpose in life when the season transition takes place from the chilly winter to sizzling summer. Every living thing feels alive by coming out of its hibernation and winter blues.
The short days and long days are divided into 12-hour times. The days and nights in spring become 12 hours each. This equal division occurs due to the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. The length of day and night becomes equal twice a year.
The first equinox, the spring equinox, begins on the 19th, 29th and 21st of March, marking the beginning of New Year in many cultures. Autumn equinox, the second equinox, takes place on 23rd September, marking the dawn of autumn with equal days and nights.
The equinox occurs when the Sun is above the Earth’s equator, illuminating the Northern and Southern Hemispheres equally. Spring festivals have always been remarked as the dawn of a new beginning in many cultures and civilizations.
SPRING FESTIVALS IN PAKISTAN
Similarly, South Asia celebrates, including Pakistan, greets the spring season with exciting, delightful and intriguing events. This article will learn about all the electrifying, flamboyant and conspicuous festivals. Some of these festivals are as follows:
- Basant Festival
- Nowroz
- Holi Festival
- Cholistan Jeep Rally Festival
- Horse And Cattle Show
- Tree Plantation (Billion Tree Tsunami)
- Other Festivities
Let’s discuss these exciting festivities one by one and explain why people love these festivals and cherish the onset of the most colourful season of the year.
BASANT FESTIVAL
Centuries-old Basant Festival, mainly originating from the Punjab region, has always symbolized colourful festivities in the Punjab of both Pakistan and India. However, the Basant festival has been banned in Pakistan due to the injuries and deaths caused by the metal strings used for the kite flying.
Since 2007, kite flying has been a topic of debate about how people can enjoy this vibrant event in Pakistan. During Basant, many contests and festivities are organized. Wearing yellow colour and dancing to the beat of drums, people shout ‘Bo Kata’ and run after the astray kites in the streets and rooftops.
NOWROZ
Although Nowroz is associated with the Iranian New Year, people living near the border of Iran and Afghanistan also celebrate this event every year. Nowroz marks a New Year on 21st March and continues with many celebrations and festivities for two weeks.
On the other hand, people welcome the spring season with many dancing and music events. Moreover, they arrange family festivities to rejoice together by delighting in sweets, nuts and dried fruits. Children also cherish this event by receiving coins from their elders.
HOLI FESTIVAL
The Hindu community in Pakistan celebrates Holi by scattering attractive and fascinating colours in March. It remarks on the victory of good over evil and the dawn of a new beginning. The Holi festival is celebrated with bonfires, colour palettes, and home decorating.
Families and friends visit the houses and serve their guests delicious foods and cuisines. It is also called the Festival of colours due to the colours everywhere. Hindus celebrate this ancient Festival on the full moon of Phalgun.
CHOLISTAN JEEP RALLY FESTIVAL
Cholistan Jeep Festival is one of Pakistan’s most unique and exciting festivals. People from all over the country visit Cholistan and participate in the Jeep Rally competitions. This off-road contest is one of the awe-inspiring and thrilling events of the spring season in Pakistan. This event is followed by many trade shows, pet shows and other exciting events.
Tourism Development Corporation of Pakistan organizes this event every February or March. Many people who love adventure and sensations throng towards Drawer Fort of Bahawalpur. This event has helped improve the economic condition of the Southern region, particularly the Cholistan desert, as many bikers, spectators and sponsors swarm towards this cultural place.
HORSE AND CATTLE SHOW
The horse and cattle show is a crucial part of Pakistan’s culture as it promotes recreation and enthusiasm among the participants and spectators. Unfortunately, Pakistan stalled the horse and cattle shoe for various reasons after 2015. However, this traditional Festival has been revived by the government of Punjab as they announced to organize this event on 10th March 2022.
The main purpose of reviving this Festival is to promote local culture and provide an opportunity to live a post-pandemic recreation for people. Therefore, the tourism and cultural departments of the government emphasized and purposed to organize such events regularly to improve economic tourism and promote the culture and traditions of Pakistan.
Tree Plantation (Billion Tree Tsunami)
The current government of Pakistan, Imran Khan, announced to make Pakistan green and clean by pledging to plant 10 billion trees across Pakistan. In this vein, the government organizes tree plantation drives to plant trees across Pakistan in spring.
It is estimated that 540 million trees will be planted this spring of 2022. At first, it was launched in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa under Imran Khan’s leadership. Now, it has been made part of a national project since 2019. If Pakistan succeeds in achieving this goal, it would be the largest and first-ever tree plantation program in the World.
OTHER FESTIVITIES
Besides these spring festivals, people also organize many other festivals at their local level. For example, schools, colleges and universities organize many sports events and spring festivals representing cultural stalls and cuisines.
Besides, music nights, cultural events, exhibitions and other festivals, Faiz Festival, are also organized by people across different cities of Pakistan.
CONCLUSION
A spectrum of spring festivals in Pakistan and all around the World infuses lively vibes of rejuvenation, ending the sluggish and hibernated winter. The vibrant spring season is followed by the more outdoor summer season when people can enjoy long days with more activity than the remaining year.
This season of transformation is truly exciting and makes everyone relish the pleasant and cool atmosphere. People celebrate more events and participate in different activities. In Pakistan, government and people arrange many festivals at the national and local levels. The national events provide entertainment and fun to everyone.
On the other hand, people participate and enjoy other festivities like sports galas, music nights, exhibitions, and art competitions. Moreover, people enjoy music nights and other carnivals to observe the spring festivities. So, we can say that the spring season is the best time of the year to bring out the creativity and ingenuity of people by arranging different contests and festivals as new passion and vigour fuels everyone.
