religious festivals

English translation unavailable for religious festivals.

festival

festival [noun]

a special day or period, usually in memory of a religious event, with its own social activities, food, or ceremonies

US /ˈfes.tə.vəl/ 
UK /ˈfes.tɪ.vəl/ 
Example: 

a music festival

Oxford Essential Dictionary

festival

 noun

1 a series of public events, for example concerts and shows, in one place:
the Cannes Film Festival

2 a time when people celebrate something, especially a religious event:
Christmas is an important Christian festival.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

festival

festival S3 W3 /ˈfestəvəl, ˈfestɪvəl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin festivus; ⇨ ↑festive]
1. an occasion when there are performances of many films, plays, pieces of music etc, usually happening in the same place every year
festival of
the Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts
2. a special occasion when people celebrate something such as a religious event, and there is often a public holiday:
Christmas is one of the main festivals in the Christian Calendar.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
have/hold a festival Tucson had a film festival last month.
celebrate a festival The festival is celebrated each July.
go to a festival (also attend a festival formal) An estimated 20,000 people had attended the festival.
appear/play/speak at a festival (=perform at a festival) Sting is scheduled to appear at a festival in Amsterdam next month.
take part in a festival (=perform there) The school choir, which has taken part in the festival since 1980, is rehearsing every day.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + festival
a film/music/dance/arts festival The movie won an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
a rock/pop/jazz/folk festival He's appeared at folk festivals all over Europe.
a literary festival the Cheltenham Literary Festival.
a beer festival the famous Munich beer festival
an international festival an international festival of drama and dance
a cultural festival A cultural festival will celebrate the traditions of the local people.
■ festival + NOUN
festival events Many of the festival events are already sold out.
a festival programme (=a series of events at a festival) This year's festival programme includes musicians from all over the world.
a festival organizer Festival organizers say they expect more than 50,000 visitors.
 

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

festival

 

 

fes·ti·val [festival festivals]   [ˈfestɪvl]    [ˈfestɪvl]  noun
1. a series of performances of music, plays, films/movies, etc, usually organized in the same place once a year; a series of public events connected with a particular activity or idea
the Edinburgh festival
the Cannes film festival
• a beer festival

• a rock festival (= where bands perform, often outdoors and over a period of several days)

2. a day or period of the year when people stop working to celebrate a special event, often a religious one
see also  harvest festival  
Word Origin:
Middle English (as an adjective): via Old French from medieval Latin festivalis, from Latin festivus, from festum, (plural) festa ‘feast’.  
Culture:
festivals
Many branches of the arts hold festivals each year in towns and cities throughout Britain and the US. Some of the larger festivals last several weeks and include music, drama, art and literature. People travel a long way to hear the top international performers that such festivals attract. Smaller festivals concentrate on one art form, such as poetry. Because the US is so large, most of its festivals are local, although a few famous ones, such as the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, attract people from around the world. Americans most like summer festivals where they can enjoy art, music and food outdoors.
Many festivals try to obtain sponsorship money from local businesses to help cover the costs. In the US events are relatively cheap so the entire family can spend the day out. In Britain, however, tickets may be expensive. This tends to restrict the number and type of people who go to the main festivals, and many festival-goers are middle-aged, middle-class professional people. This in turn can affect the type of music or drama that the organizers put on.
Some festivals, such as the Edinburgh Festival, have been running for many years. A special feature of the Edinburgh Festival is the Fringe. Fringe events are usually avant-garde and attract a wide audience. They also get a lot of attention from the critics, and this can help the careers of younger performers. In Wales, several eisteddfods celebrate Welsh culture and include competitions for composers and artists. In the US the Carmel Performing Arts Festival in California offers a range of music, dance, theatre, stories and poetry.
Many festivals concentrate on music. In Britain, the Aldeburgh Festival was founded by Benjamin Britten. The most famous British music festival, however, is the Proms, held each summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Concerts contain a mixture of old favourites and new, specially commissioned pieces. Classical music is less popular in the US, but several festivals offer a mixture of concerts and classes, e.g. the Aspen Music Festival.
Festivals of rock and pop music are often huge informal open-air events attended by thousands of people, many of whom camp overnight in a nearby field. The biggest rock festivals in Britain include Glastonbury, Reading and the Download festival, Donnington. There are huge numbers of festivals every year across the US for different types of music. These include Rock Fests, for example the one held near Cadott, Wisconsin and the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival which celebrates the music (and Cajun food) of Black French and Creole peoples. The Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis and the W C Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival in Henderson, Kentucky, celebrate the blues.
Film festivals are especially popular in the US. The best known is the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The Hollywood Film Festival attracts big stars, but America’s mix of people from different races and cultures has led to many smaller events such as the Boston Jewish Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asian-Pacific Film Festival. The main event in Britain is the London Film Festival, run by the BFI (British Film Institute). There is also the Celtic Film and Television Festival, which promotes Celtic languages and cultures and takes place in a different town each year in Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland, Wales or Brittany.
Fewer people generally attend literature festivals, but in the US the annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival has become a major event. It includes performances of Williams’s plays and a walking tour of ‚Williams’s New Orleans’. The Dodge Poetry Festival is held every two years in New Jersey. In Britain the town of Hay -on-Wye has a literary festival, and Stratford-upon-Avon has a poetry festival every summer.
In the US the most common festivals are arts, or arts and crafts, festivals. For example, the Utah Arts Festival mixes art with music, theatre and cooking. 
Example Bank:
He's appearing at a local folk festival tonight.
I like to play any big festivals.
The dance troupe will open the festival on June 13.
The family always celebrates the Jewish festivals.
The festival attracts thousands of visitors every year.
The school has taken part in the festival since 1997.
a festival featuring five local bands
the events in this year's festival
the film festival circuit
• the movies shown during the eight-day festival

• the pilgrims who arrived on major festivals

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
 

festival / ˈfes.tɪ.v ə l / noun [ C ]

B1 a special day or period, usually in memory of a religious event, with its own social activities, food, or ceremonies:

a Jewish/Christian/Hindu festival

B1 an organized set of special events, such as musical performances:

a folk/pop/rock festival

The Brighton Festival is held every year around May time.

the Cannes Film Festival

© Cambridge University Press 2013

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

festival

[fe̱stɪv(ə)l]
 festivals
 1) N-COUNT A festival is an organized series of events such as musical concerts or drama productions.
  Numerous Umbrian towns hold their own summer festivals of music, theatre, and dance...
  There are over 350 films in the Edinburgh Film Festival this year.
 2) N-COUNT A festival is a day or time of the year when people have a holiday from work and celebrate some special event, often a religious event.
  Shavuot is a two-day festival for Orthodox Jews and a one-day festival for Reform and Israeli Jews.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary: 

festival
 

fes·ti·val /ˈfɛstəvəl/ noun, pl -vals [count]
1 : a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something
• Each year, a festival was held to celebrate the harvest.
• The town has a summer festival in the park.
2 : an organized series of performances
• a film/jazz festival

 

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