Festivals

During the annual Spring Festival (New Year’s) migration in China, known as the Chunyun, hundreds of millions of people heading home for the holiday — typically, workers and students in cities returning home to their rural families — make a combined three billion-plus trips on planes, trains, buses and other modes of transport.

The rush usually begins 15 days before the date of the Chinese lunar New Year, and the last day of the return migration occurs 25 days after that. (The Chunyun occurred Feb. 4-March 15 in 2015 and will be Jan. 24-March 4 in 2016.)

In northeastern China, my wife, Meg, and I visited Harbin, Jan. 19-25, 2015, to attend the International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival (Jan. 5-Feb. 25, 2015).

North Korean authorities have canceled the 2015 Arirang Festival, also known as the Mass Games, which typically are held between August and October. 

Recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest event of its kind, the festival has tens of thousands of participants and features synchronized gymnastics on the field plus mosaics created with cards held by audience members in the stands.

The traditional summer procession in Belgium known as the Ommegang (Old Flemish for “walking around”) will be held on June 30 and July 2, 2015. 

The procession, which was first held in 1549, will begin at Parc de Bruxelles (Brussels Park), where an entire medieval village will be created, and end with a show at the Grand Place. More than 1,400 performers dressed in medieval costume will participate. 

Ireland is celebrating poet William Butler Yeats in 2015, the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The celebrations center on the town of Sligo, where Yeats spent his formative years. In Hargadon, one of Sligo’s oldest pubs, a poem of Yeats will be read at 1 p.m. every day, as well as at 6 p.m. on Sunday, in 2015. Sligo will also commemorate Yeats’ birthday, June 13, with a 4-day festival, June 11-14, which will include poetry, drama, music and crafts.

In 2015, Leipzig, Germany, will host its annual Bachfest, June 12-21. Its focus will be Leipzig’s millennium, as the city was founded in 1015. 

Among hundreds of concerts and events in dozens of locations, a symphony opens in the Nikolaikirche, and there are outdoor concerts in the Market Square.

Information and downloadable programs can be found at www.bach-leipzig.de/en/bachfest. Purchase tickets online or through ticket sellers in Europe. Ticket prices for various events run €2-€102 (near $3-$114). Some events are free.

The annual Hogmanay Festival takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dec. 30-Jan. 1. It is preceded by the Hogmanay Carnival, Dec. 27-Jan. 5, with rides on the 137-foot-tall Edinburgh Wheel and the nearly 200-foot-tall spinning Star Flyer in St. Andrew’s Square.

The festival begins with a torchlight procession through the city center led by Vikings from Shetland’s Up Helly Aa Festival. Accompanied by pipes and drums, visitors can join in, having reserved a torch for £10 (near $16.50) plus a £1 booking fee.

10 days, 7 nights, May 31-June 9, 2015. Highlights: In Dakar, Presidential Palace, Grand Mosque, Kermel & Sandaga markets/on Gorée Island, Maison des Esclaves (House of Slaves), Musée de la Femme/Pink Lake/jazz, blues, gospel and more at music festival in Saint-Louis. From New York, $3,399 ppdo or $3,709 single. Spector Travel (Boston, MA; 617/351-0111, www.spectortravel.com).

14 days/13 nights in SRI LANKA, Feb. 7-20, 2009. Highlights: Elephants, dancers, drummers, acrobats and more at the Nawah Maha Perahera festival in Colombo/ancient cities dating back to 5 BC/hill capital of Kandy/Dutch Fort in Galle/leopards, elephants, monkeys, sloth bears, birds in Yala National Park. From Los Angeles, from $3,295. Ceylon Express International (Huntington Beach, CA; 800/423-9566, www.ceylonexpress.com).