Winter festivals across the world

Winter has its distinctive charm. The thick blanket of snow becomes a stage that displays the wonders of the season. The cups of hot chocolate, the rising steam from the tea kettle that makes the window panes translucent and wet snow boots drying in the corner by the door, are signature scenes witnessed in every household in the winter season. Winter brings us close; to huddle for warmth and search for happiness. Many cultures throughout the world celebrate the joy of winter. The winter carnivals, listed below, ask the locals and foreigners alike, to cherish the weather and the crystalline attraction of the winter season.

Harbin Carnival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in China, tops our list, not only because of the enormous scale of the festival but also the cheer the carnival brings in the Christmas season. The Harbin Festival officially opens its gates on the 5th of January every year for tourists who marvel at the many ice sculptures on exhibition. Many artists and sculptors arrive at the city weeks in advance to build their icy designs. The ice blocks are cut out from the frozen Songhua River. The crystal-clear blocks are transformed to works of art using chisels, chains saws and ice picks. By early January, the winter wonderland is complete, with various lighting techniques that illuminate the snowy palaces and chilled forts of the artist’s imagination. In 2017, the carnival gathered 18 million visitors and was the site for many fashion shows, expos, and dance and firework parties, making it the best and largest winter carnival in the world.

Sapporo Snow Festival

The festival, held in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture, is one of the grandest winter festivals in the world. The Sapporo Snow festival is celebrated at the beginning of February for a few weeks. The original site of the snow carnival is Odori Park, where the festival was born in 1950. There are snow sculptures that measure twenty-five metres wide, and fifteen metres in height are displayed at the exhibit are lit up every night at ten. For just ¥ 720 (£ 5) you can visit the ice fortress at Odori. The festival is also celebrated at the Susukino Site, where the central road in the main entertainment district is closed for the ice displays. Though smaller in size, the sculptures are more intricately designed at the Susukino site. The steaming hot broth at ramen shops sushi restaurants nearby can warm you up in no time. The Tsu Dome Site has snow slides, rafts and more snow sculptures that gain the interest of the tourists visiting Sapporo.

Cologne Carnival

The Cologne Carnival is a season-long event. The festival begins on the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (11:11 AM on 11th November) each year. The festivities at the Alter Markt, however, do not begin until February, on a Thursday before Lent. That is when tourists often hear the winter festival greeting “Kolle Alaaf” from the merrymakers at the carnival. The Cologne Carnival is represented, traditionally by the “three fools of Cologne” – the prince, the maiden and the farmer. The fools represent the historical tradition of fun in Cologne, as they lead the craziness into the streets wearing medieval garments. There are balls, dance parties, costume parties throughout these “crazy days”. You’ll see restaurants, bars and hotels that remain open around the clock, 24/7. The city spends almost €2.3 million on the event each year, which includes the cost of the free chocolates and candies that are thrown from the colourful floats onto the cheering crowds in the streets. Ten thousand dancers and performers participate in the event and make the festival seem like a work of fiction that has come to life.

Winter is a beautiful season. There is warmth in the frost that freezes everything for those who attempt to look for it. We encourage our readers to make the most of winter and visit the destinations above for a fabulous experience. The festivals of snow and ice all over the world denote that winter and the cold it brings can be enjoyed with a company of friends and a little imagination.