Albuquerque, New Mexico has held the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every October

for more than 40 years. The fiesta attracts visitors from all around the world to engage and marvel
at the art of ballooning. It began in 1972, with only 13 balloons participating. Today, hundreds of
balloons take part in the festival. All the balloons are launched from the Balloon Fiesta Park's 78acre field. There are event challenges like the long-distance race, taking some participants as far as
Canada, and a target dropping challenge. It is also a way for ballooners to enjoy the craft with
people like themselves.

Holi is the Festival of Colors. It is an annual Hindu spring festival, celebrated in India, Nepal, and
Guyana. Before the festival begins, vendors start selling colors of all hues in the form of powders
in the markets. Participants prepare by collecting colors to use during the festival. It is a spring
celebration so people tend to buy bright colors. Although the colors chosen have some symbolic
significance, most children go wild with their colors, with no regard to symbolism. The festivities
represent bringing joy and color to your life and your home. Some participants make the colors
traditionally, from colorful flowers. On the day of festivities, people head out into the streets and
to each other's homes to color each other with the spirit of Holi. This is done while also singing
and dancing.

The La Tomatina food throwing festival is an annual festival in the town of Bunol, Spain. It is held
every year on the last Wednesday of August. La Tomatina is a weeklong festival that revolves
around a massive food-fight. There is also other celebrations, including parades, firework
celebrations, and dancing events. It began in the 1940s in Bunol, Spain under unknown
circumstances, according to the La Tomatina Festival website.

Since the 1620s, the Spanish have celebrated El Colacho, the annual Baby Jumping Festival. It is
celebrated in the Spanish town, Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos. Two weeks after Pentecost,
Catholics traditionally celebrate Corpus Christi. Catholics lead processions through the streets,
carrying the Blessed Sacrament. El Colacho celebrations include parents dressing up their babies
and bringing them to the town's square. Parents of the babies place their children on mattresses,
along with several other infants. A man that is symbolically dressed as the devil, or El Colacho, in a
yellow and red jumpsuit. He leaps dramatically over the mattress of babies. According to tradition,
this act cleanses the babies of original sin, much like the act of baptism.

The running of the bulls is part of the Fiesta San Fermin which begins 6th July until 14th July, every
year in Pamplona, Spain.The Fiesta does pretty much what is says on the tin; you run through the
streets with some angry bulls chasing you, hungry to do some goring. I bet youre thinking it cant
be that bad. Well you probably wont have had any sleep due to the riotous partying the night
before and you probably have had a couple of little tipples yourself. So now you have to run 800m
with bulls, sleep deprived and a little drunk or hung over .

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The new
year begins on the first day of the Chinese calendar, which usually falls in February, and the
festivities continue for 15 days. At Chinese New Year celebrations, people wear red clothes,red
symbolizes fire, which the Chinese believe drives away bad luck. Family members gather at each
other's homes for extravagant meals. Chinese New Year ends with a lantern festival. People hang
decorated lanterns in temples and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full
moon. The highlight of the lantern festival is often the dragon dance. The dragon-which can
stretch a hundred feet long-is typically made of silk, paper and bamboo.