Where to Experience Holi-Like Festivals Across the Globe
- Reviewer
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 15
Holi, the colorful festival of joy and renewal, originated in India and Nepal but inspires vibrant celebrations worldwide. From water fights to parades, global events embrace Holi’s spirit in unique ways. Here are some of the most exciting Holi-inspired festivals around the world.
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1. Songkran (Thailand) - Holi like festival
Description: Songkran marks the Thai New Year and is one of the biggest water festivals in the world. Instead of colored powders, revelers engage in massive water fights across the country. People use buckets, hoses, and water guns to drench each other, symbolizing the washing away of bad luck and sins from the previous year.
When It’s Celebrated: April 13-15
What Makes It Special: Entire cities, including Bangkok and Chiang Mai, turn into splash zones with street-wide water battles, parades, and traditional merit-making at temples.
2. La Tomatina (Spain)
Description: This Spanish festival takes place in the town of Buñol, where participants throw overripe tomatoes at each other in a chaotic yet thrilling food fight. The event lasts for about an hour and leaves the streets covered in red pulp.
When It’s Celebrated: Last Wednesday of August
What Makes It Special: Thousands of people from around the world gather to take part in this one-of-a-kind battle, which is purely for fun and entertainment, much like Holi’s color splashes.
3. Carnival (Brazil & Worldwide)
Description: Carnival is a massive celebration held in Brazil and other countries with a strong Catholic tradition. The festival features elaborate parades, extravagant costumes, and street parties filled with music and dance.
When It’s Celebrated: February/March (before Lent)
What Makes It Special: The grandiosity, rhythmic samba music, and unrestricted celebrations resonate with Holi’s uninhibited joy and playful spirit.
4. Battle of the Oranges (Italy)
Description: The northern Italian town of Ivrea hosts a large-scale orange fight, where participants pelt each other with thousands of oranges in a symbolic re-enactment of a medieval battle.
When It’s Celebrated: February (during the Carnival period)
What Makes It Special: Similar to Holi’s carefree color fights, this festival embraces joyous chaos and collective participation, bringing people together in a wild citrus showdown.
5. Flour War (Greece)
Description: The town of Galaxidi in Greece celebrates “Clean Monday” with a unique tradition—participants throw colored flour at each other in a fun-filled battle, covering the streets and people in a rainbow of powder.
When It’s Celebrated: February/March (beginning of Lent)
What Makes It Special: This flour fight closely mirrors Holi, with its bright colors and uninhibited fun, making it one of the closest global parallels.
6. Haro Wine Festival (Spain)
Description: Every summer, thousands gather in the town of Haro in Spain for an epic wine battle, drenching each other in gallons of red wine. The event is a mix of tradition and merriment, dating back centuries.
When It’s Celebrated: June 29
What Makes It Special: Just like Holi, participants embrace getting messy and enjoy a community-wide celebration where everyone is welcome.
7. Boryeong Mud Festival (South Korea)
Description: The South Korean coastal city of Boryeong hosts this wild event, where attendees cover themselves in mineral-rich mud, slide down mudslides, and take part in mud wrestling.
When It’s Celebrated: July
What Makes It Special: Much like Holi’s carefree abandon, this festival encourages people to get messy and enjoy themselves, promoting laughter and human connection.
8. Chinchilla Watermelon Festival (Australia)
Description: Known as the “Melon Capital of Australia,” Chinchilla hosts a biennial festival featuring watermelon-themed games, including melon skiing, melon bungee, and a massive watermelon fight.
When It’s Celebrated: February (every two years)
What Makes It Special: The festival’s playful energy and enthusiastic participation align with Holi’s spirit of communal celebration and lighthearted fun.
9. Wattah Wattah & Regada Festival (Philippines)
Description: Both festivals are rooted in Catholic tradition but celebrated with Holi-like spirit. Wattah Wattah in San Juan (Metro Manila) honors St. John the Baptist with widespread water splashing, symbolizing spiritual cleansing. Regada Festival in Cavite features street dancing, water dousing, and parades in celebration of St. John’s feast.
When It’s Celebrated: June 24 each year (Feast of St. John the Baptist)
What Makes It Special: Streets become zones of pure water revelry as locals throw water from buckets, hoses, and even firetrucks. The mix of religious devotion and chaotic fun makes it a summer splash spectacle.
10. Pi Mai (Laos)
Description: Also known as Lao New Year, Pi Mai is a water-centric festival filled with joy, community, and cleansing rituals. Locals pour water on Buddha statues and each other, symbolizing purification and blessings for the new year. When It’s Celebrated: April 14–16 What Makes It Special: In cities like Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Pi Mai combines spiritual ceremonies with street parties, cultural performances, and massive water fights similar in spirit to Holi.
11. Thingyan (Myanmar)
Description: Thingyan ushers in the Burmese New Year and is celebrated with large-scale water throwing. Originally a ritual to cleanse sins, it’s now a national festivity involving music, dancing, and friendly water battles.
When It’s Celebrated: April 13–16 What Makes It Special: From Yangon to Mandalay, communities set up temporary pavilions (pandals) where water is sprayed on passing crowds and vehicles, turning city roads into water warzones of joy and unity.
12. Chaul Chnam Thmey (Cambodia)
Description: This Cambodian New Year festival blends Buddhist customs with lively outdoor festivities. Water, talcum powder, and colored liquids are used to bless others and symbolically wash away bad fortune. When It’s Celebrated: April 14–16 What Makes It Special: Street parties and temple ceremonies happen across the country, especially in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The festival merges sacred rituals with fun-filled celebrations, echoing Holi’s festive energy.
13. Water Splashing Festival (China)
Description: Celebrated mainly by the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan, this festival welcomes their New Year with water fights, cultural shows, and traditional dragon-boat races. It’s a major event in cities like Xishuangbanna. When It’s Celebrated: Around April 13–15 (varies by year) What Makes It Special: Combining Buddhism, fireworks, and splash warfare, the festival is a cultural immersion experience where everyone gets soaked—just like Holi, but in China.
14.Sangrai (Bangladesh – Chittagong Hill Tracts)
Description: Celebrated by the Marma people of Bangladesh during their New Year, Sangrai is known for its vibrant water throwing rituals. It mirrors Southeast Asia’s Songkran-style water fights and includes tribal dances and feasts. When It’s Celebrated: April 13–15 What Makes It Special: Held mostly in Bandarban and Rangamati, this lesser-known festival features joyful splashing in rivers and streets, showcasing tribal harmony and Holi-like euphoria.
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