S E C T I O N S

In Mauritius, representatives of the world’s most important ethnic and religious groups live side by side in peace and harmony. The presence in so small an island of people of such diverse cultural and religious backgrounds makes the Mauritian calendar an unending procession of festivals which add spice, variety, colour and enchantment to the Mauritian experience.

When one considers that festivals are a way of making visible with colour, sound and ritual, what is transcendental, one is frequently amazed not so much by the pomp and pageantry surrounding them, as by the deeper reality that inspires such devotion and fervour in the celebrants. Festivals in Mauritius are not mere occasions for eating, drinking and merry-making; they are the outpouring of religious and cultural wells deep within the psyche of a people in whom the religions, cultures and civilisations of Europe, Asia and Africa have merged and combined to form a harmonious whole.

It is not possible to do justice to all the festivals celebrated in Mauritius. Popular national festivals like New Year’s Day, Independence Day and Labour Day, have been left out. Festivals which are observed more in terms of individual and family worship have also been excluded. This site presents only those festivals which have high visibility, and which in their form and substance give a composite picture of the religious and cultural diversity of the Mauritian heritage.

China without festivals is unimaginable. Nowhere else in the world have seasonal celebrations become more deeply ingrained in the way of life of the individual and of the nation. Nowhere else does the enjoyment of life depend more completely on folk and family feasting, on the fun and laughter that such special occasions release.

With an ancient civilisation so steeped in tradition and a population so frugal and hard-working, festivals bring freshness and colour, laughter and joy in an otherwise harsh existence. It is through these calendrical celebrations that the Chinese express their innermost feelings and release pentup emotions of love and romance, hope and happiness, kindness and charity; for the Chinese festivities embrace the whole of life itself in all its facets, this side of the grave and the other side as well.