ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY MICHAEL ALLEN HOLMES
Th roughout Asia many ancient festivals had origins in the
natural world. As early agriculture rooted peoples in home-
lands, communities fl ourished not just because of individual
eff orts but also because of the intensifi ed labor of extended
family, friends, and neighbors. Meanwhile, humans became
more dependent on the cooperation of nature—and more
endangered by its caprices, as droughts, fl oods, and brutal
winters could all lead to great loss of life. Festivals allowed
communities both to recognize the powers of nature and to
cement the social ties that allowed them to persevere through
diffi cult times.
In ancient China most festivals featured some form of
dancing. During the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500–ca. 1045
b.c.e.) kings would dance to avoid incurring the wrath of the
demons believed to cause droughts. During the ensuing Zhou
Dynasty, lasting until 256 b.c.e., kings welcomed barbarians
into their courts for the performance of dances. Th e men
waved around the tails of yaks and also rods with pheasant
feathers attached to the ends, likewise driving away destruc-
tive spirits. Among the masses in the Sichuan region during
the Han Dynasty (ca. 202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) general feasts and
revelry grew so popular and disruptive that the government
had to restrict such activity to designated festival times.
Popular Chinese festivals revolved around the changing
of the seasons. Th e end of winter and beginning of spring were
celebrated with particular vigor, amplifying widespread feel-
ings of joy and renewal. Festivals at this time of year featured
off erings to earthly spirits as well as human-oriented rites
related to mating and fertility. Th e Chinese New Year, also
known as the Spring Festival, generally occurred on the day of
the second new moon aft er the winter solstice, thus falling dur-
ing this celebratory time. While various changes to the time of
the New Year were made by various rulers, the New Year was
oriented as it currently stands by Emperor Wu in 104 b.c.e.
Another seasonal celebration still held is the Mid-Au-
tumn Festival, which has several other names, including
the Mooncake Festival. Falling in the middle of the eighth
lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually aligning with
late September and the autumnal equinox), when the moon
is especially bright, this festival is a celebration of the year’s
harvest. Th e general worship of the moon in China has been
traced back through the second millennium b.c.e. During the
Zhou Dynasty moon worship centered on the Mid- Autumn
Festival.
An ancient Chinese festival unrelated to nature is the
Duan Wu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival,
commemorating the death of Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 b.c.e.).
Qu Yuan was said to be a patriotic minister from the state of
Chu who was exiled by his deceived king. Aft er long wander-
ing and writing poetry near his hometown, he waded into a
river and committed suicide when he learned that his state
had been overrun by the state of Qin. Local people searched
for his body in boats while scattering rice as an off ering to his
spirit until his spirit told his friends that a river dragon was
eating the rice and that they should wrap it in silk. Th e hon-
oring of Qu Yuan’s death and the search for his body evolved
into a tradition of dragon boat racing, held on the fi ft h day of
the fi ft h lunar month.
In India many festivals over time focused on events of a
mythical or religious nature, similar to Christian festivals in
the Western world. Since the major Sanskrit epics are among
the earliest surviving writings from the Indian subcontinent,
the precise origins of festivals cannot necessarily be attrib-
uted to specifi c aspects of the annual cycle. Also, in certain
parts of India seasonal changes were not nearly as prominent
as they were throughout more northerly Asian regions.
Th e most prominent ancient Indian festivals, which in
modern times are celebrated as Hindu festivals, serve as com-
memorations of mythical and sacred events. Th e majority of
these events are narrated in the ancient Sanskrit epics Rama-
yana and Mahabharata, the former dating from roughly the
third century b.c.e., the latter from a less certain date in an-
cient times. Both of these texts are considered not only great
mythological epics but also compilations of much ancient
philosophy and wisdom. Given the ancient origins of these
epics, the festivals associated with events described in them
have presumably been celebrated since ancient times. Some
Indian festivals evolved from the more ancient recognition of
the seasonal cycles.
Holi, also called the Festival of Color, occurs on the
full-moon day falling in late February or early March and
features carefree springtime revelry. Th e name is derived
from a mythical event in which Holika was burned to death
when her father, the king of the demons, tried to set fi re to
her brother, a devotee of Lord Vishnu. To commemorate the
fl irtatious playfulness of Lord Krishna, whose mother used
color to darken the face of his fair-skinned consort Radha,
Indians celebrate Holi by throwing colored powder and water
at each other. Th e festival is understood to have originated
in the agricultural celebration of the arrival of spring and its
variegated colors.
Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights and usually
falling in October or November, is generally regarded as a cel-
ebration of the victory of good over evil. Specifi cally, in the
Ramayana, Lord Rama returned victorious from a war with
Ravana, a demon king, on this day. Upon his return, people
lit lamps to reveal paths in the darkness. Also, in accordance
with the Mahabharata, Diwali commemorates certain events
associated with the goddess Shakthi and Lord Krishna’s wife.
Diwali celebrations generally involve lighting lamps and lan-
terns and sharing time with family and friends. In much of
India, Diwali marks the opening of the New Year. Th e festi-
val of Dussehra, also called Dasara and occurring roughly a
month earlier, is closely related to Diwali, as it marks the day
on which Rama actually killed Ravana. Other signifi cant In-
dian festivals mark the birthdays of Lords Ganesha, Krishna,
Rama, and Hanuman.466 festivals: Asia and the Pacific