Fire Festivals Around the World

🔥 January

1. Burning the Clavie – Burghead, Scotland

  • 📅 Date: January 11 annually
  • 📍 Location: Burghead, Moray, Scotland
  • About: An ancient tradition where a barrel (the “Clavie”) filled with tar and wood is set ablaze and carried through the town to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year.

2. Up Helly Aa – Shetland Islands, Scotland

  • 📅 Date: Last Tuesday of January (e.g., January 28, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland
  • About: A Viking-themed fire festival featuring a torchlit procession culminating in the burning of a replica Viking longship, celebrating Shetland’s Norse heritage.

3. Wakakusa Yamayaki – Nara, Japan

  • 📅 Date: Fourth Saturday of January (e.g., January 25, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Nara, Japan
  • About: An annual event where the grass on Mount Wakakusayama is set ablaze, creating a spectacular hillside fire visible throughout the city.Japan Guide

🔥 February

4. Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival – Jeju, South Korea

  • 📅 Date: 15th day of the first lunar month (e.g., February 12, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Jeju Island, South Korea
  • About: Celebrates the first full moon of the lunar year with bonfires and traditional games to ensure good fortune and a bountiful harvest.Far & Wide+1AP News+1

🔥 March

5. Holika Dahan – India

6. National Pyrotechnic Festival – Tultepec, Mexico

  • 📅 Date: Early March (e.g., March 1–10, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Tultepec, Mexico
  • About: A week-long celebration featuring elaborate fireworks displays, parades, and the famous “Burning of the Bulls,” honoring the town’s pyrotechnic heritage.Far & Wide+1Wikipedia+1

🔥 April

7. Beltane Fire Festival – Edinburgh, Scotland

🔥 May

8. Anastenaria – Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria

  • 📅 Date: May 21–23 annually
  • 📍 Location: Villages in Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria
  • About: A traditional fire-walking ritual involving ecstatic dance and barefoot walks over hot coals, performed in honor of Saints Constantine and Helen.Wikipedia+1Wikipedia+1

9. Lag BaOmer – Israel and Jewish Communities Worldwide

  • 📅 Date: 18th day of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar (e.g., May 15, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Primarily Israel; observed globally
  • About: A Jewish holiday commemorating the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, marked by lighting bonfires, especially at his tomb in Meron, Israel.

🔥 June

10. Correfoc – Catalonia, Spain

  • 📅 Date: Various dates, often during local festivals (e.g., June 23 for Saint John’s Eve)
  • 📍 Location: Catalonia, Spain
  • About: A traditional event where participants dress as devils and dance through the streets with fireworks and sparklers, creating a fiery spectacle.The Times+8China Daily+8WIRED+8Wikipedia

🔥 July

11. Abare Festival – Ushitsu, Japan

  • 📅 Date: First Friday and Saturday of July (e.g., July 4–5, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Ushitsu, Noto Peninsula, Japan
  • About: Known as the “Fire & Violence Festival,” it features the destruction of portable shrines (mikoshi) through fire and force, symbolizing purification.Wikipedia

12. Torch Festival – Yunnan and Sichuan, China

  • 📅 Date: 24th or 25th day of the sixth lunar month (e.g., July 29, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Southwest China, especially among the Yi people
  • About: A traditional festival involving torchlight processions, bonfires, and cultural performances to ward off evil spirits and pray for a good harvest.

🔥 October

13. Thimithi – Tamil Nadu, India, and Tamil Communities Worldwide

  • 📅 Date: A week before Deepavali, during the Tamil month of Aipasi (e.g., October 19, 2025)
  • 📍 Location: Tamil Nadu, India; also observed in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries with Tamil populations
  • About: A Hindu fire-walking ceremony honoring the goddess Draupati Amman, where devotees walk barefoot over hot embers to demonstrate their faith.

🔥 December

14. Mayfung – Baltistan, Pakistan

  • 📅 Date: December 21 annually
  • 📍 Location: Baltistan region, Pakistan
  • About: A New Year festival celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and traditional dances, believed to ward off evil spirits and welcome the new year.