Greatest Religious Festivals

Diwali, Deepavali or Dipavali is the Hindu festival of lights that is celebrated in India

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire

Holi is a Hindu spring festival, originating from the Indian subcontinent, celebrated predominantly in India, but has also spread to other areas of Asia and parts of the Western world through the diaspora from the Indian subcontinent, also known as the "festival of colours" or the "festival of love".

Eid-al-Adha, also called the "Festival of Sacrifice", is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and considered the holier of the two.

Songkran, Thailand's traditional New Year's Day in April, is the world's biggest water fight. Thousands gather to throw water from buckets, water guns, and hoses. Take refuge in temples, where statues of the Buddha are reverently dribbled with water and sacred relics are paraded by monks.

The Christian holiday of Pentecost, which is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Held in honour of Joseph, patron saint of carpenters, on March 15, enormous statues made from wood, papier-mache and wax, which can depict anyone from politicians to rock stars to mythical beasts, are erected in Valencia's main squares, intersections and parks. Four days later the statues are stuffed with fireworks and set alight at midnight in an explosive blaze that guarantees a sleepless night for the local fire brigade.