Festival Cultures

This book brings together interdisciplinary research from the fields of Anthropology, Sociology, Archaeology, Art, History and Religious Studies, showing the necessity of a transdisciplinary and diachronic approach to examine the last half-century of modern arts and performance festivals. The volume focuses on new theoretical and methodological approaches for the examination of festivals and festival cultures, both the Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert and burner culture in Europe. The editors argue that festival cultures are becoming values-inflected global forms of travel, dwelling, festivity, communication, and social organisation that are transforming contemporary cultures and have significant political capital.

The Tibetan Calendar New Year is the most important festival for Tibetan people. This book introduces the origin, development, dissemination and traditions of the Tibetan Calendar New Year festival.Tibet is a less explored region in China and its traditional New Year is mysterious and less known to the rest of the world. This book aims to introduce the traditions of their New Year to global readers. This book will bring a new image of Tibetan people celebrating their unique New Year to global readers. CONTENTSHistory of the Tibetan New YearConventions of Tibetan New YearCelebrations During Tibetan New YearConventions of Tibetan New Year in the Tibetan AreasInheritance and Transition of Tibetan New YearThe book includes illustrations, tables and graphics.

This book is the first to explore the rich festival culture of late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century France as a tool for diplomacy. Bram van Leuveren examines how the late Valois and early Bourbon rulers of the kingdom made conscious use of festivals to advance their diplomatic interests in a war-torn Europe and how diplomatic stakeholders from across the continent participated in and responded to the theatrical and ceremonial events that featured at these festivals. Analysing a large body of multilingual eyewitness and commemorative accounts, as well as visual and material objects, Van Leuveren argues that French festival culture operated as a contested site where the diplomatic concerns of stakeholders from various national, religious, and social backgrounds fought for recognition.

Lantern Festival is the first full-moon of the first lunar month in China. The book introduces the origin, development, dissemination, and traditions of the Lantern Festival and techniques of producing lanterns. This book shows the ultimate beauty of ancient Chinese decorative arts. Lanterns symbolize the raising of hope like sunrise and colorful lanterns with a background of full-moon at night represent peace, tranquility and harmony. Thus, the Lantern Festival is an irreplaceable part of Chinese festivals.This book not only describes the origin, design, production for each kind of lantern, but also explains lantern riddles and interesting stories hidden behind lanterns, which are appealing to readers. CONTENTSThe Origin and the Legends of the Lantern Festival The Development of the Lantern FestivalThe Customs of the Lantern FestivalUnique Customs in Different RegionsThe Lantern Festival of Minority Ethnic GroupsThe Lantern Festival in Other CountriesThe book includes illustrations, tables and graphics.

The Spring Festival is the most important day for Chinese people and it truly creates a carnival for unification of family members and for celebration at the end of a year. This book introduces the origin, development, and traditions of the Spring Festival in detail and offers readers a panoramic view of this festival. Many people know the Spring Festival but don't have the first hand resources regarding to its history and features. This book tells the stories behind its name and lets readers get insight into it The author covers nearly every aspect of the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival in ethnic minorities of China and overseas Chinese diasporas is also included, which is often absent in other books on this subject.CONTENTSThe Origin of the Spring FestivalLegends of the Spring FestivalThrough the Spring FestivalThe Customs of the Spring FestivalExotic Customs of the MinoritiesThe Spring Festival in Modern ChinaThe Spring Festival AbroadThe book includes illustrations, tables and graphics.

The Festival of February the Second literally means the day of dragon's head-raising and on this day Chinese people pray for favorable weather and a bumper harvest for the year. This book introduces the origin, development, implied meanings, and abundant features of this festival.As one of many traditional Chinese festivals, the Festival of February 2nd is less known outside China. Even many locals in China have forgotten this important festival which used to be popular in rural areas. This book aims to bring back the memories of old-timers for the day of dragon's head-raising to share with modern readers.The Festival of February 2nd originates from the countryside and it is deeply rooted in the agricultural era. Therefore it has many aspects that are different to other festivals in China. This book offers an insight into a key part of China's festival heritage.The book includes illustrations, tables and graphics.

Peony Festival originates from Luoyang, Henan Province of China and is a global carnival gathering all kinds of peony plants. This book introduces the ecological and biological features of peony, the historic and current profile of its birthplace Luoyang, the activities and procedures of the Peony Festival in Luoyang and Peony Festivals in other regions of China.Many festivals are dedicated to our ancestors, natural landscapes, or cultural events but few of them concentrate on one species of plant. Audiences may wonder why and how people celebrate the festival to celebrate peony and this is explored in this book The book combines all elements related to the Peony Festival into one single volume such as the biological features of peony, the natural and cultural beauty of peony, the historic background of the peony capital Luoyang and the activities of the Peony Festival. This book can be seen as an encyclopedia of peony culture to promote the peony's status as being the national flower of China.CONTENTSNational Flower PeonyThe Capital of Peony: LuoyangLuoyang Peony FestivalPeony Festivals in Other Regions of ChinaThe book includes illustrations, tables and graphics.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Early Modern Festivals. These spectacles articulated the self-image of ruling elites and played out the tensions of the diverse social strata. Responding to the growing academic interest in festivals this volume focuses on the early modern Iberian world, in particular the spectacles staged by and for the Spanish Habsburgs. The study of early modern Iberian festival culture in Europe and the wider world is surprisingly limited compared to the published works devoted to other kingdoms at the time. There is a clear need for scholarly publications to examine festivals as a vehicle for the presence of Spanish culture beyond territorial boundaries. The present books responds to this shortcoming. Festivals and ceremonials played a major role in the Spanish world; through them local identities as well as a common Spanish culture made their presence manifest within and beyond the peninsula through ephemeral displays, music and print. Local communities often conflated their symbols of identity with religious images and representations of the Spanish monarchy. The festivals (fiestas in Spanish) materialized the presence of the Spanish diaspora in other European realms. Royal funerals and proclamations served to establish kingly presence in distant and not so distant lands. The socio-political, religious and cultural nuances that were an intrinsic part of the territories of the empire were magnified and celebrated in the Spanish festivals in Europe, Iberia and overseas viceroyalties. Following a foreword and an introduction the remaining 12 chapters are divided up into four sections. The first explores Habsburg Visual culture at court and its relationship with the creation of a language of triumph and the use of tapestries in festivals. The second part examines triumphal entries in Madrid, Lisbon, Cremona, Milan, Pavia and the New World; the third deals with the relationship between religion and the empire through the examination of royal funerals, hagiography and calendric celebrations. The fourth part of the book explores cultural, artistic and musical exchange in Naples and Rome. Taken together these essays contribute further to our growing appreciation of the importance of early-modern festival culture in general, and their significance in the world of the Spanish Habsburgs in particular.