Get the New Year started off right by attending one of these famous, interesting or downright weird January events:
Blacks And Whites' Festival - Pasto, Colombia
January 2 - 7
Apparently in Colombia, blacks and whites don't come together too often to party. That's where the Blacks and Whites' Festival comes in. This is one of the largest and most important celebrations in Colombia, and it's on the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. That's quite a refined-sounding title for a giant street party involving parades, music, dancing and floats. The cool thing is, on Whites' Day everyone paints each other white, and on Blacks' Day everyone paints each other black. So you don't have to worry about the same kind of backlash Ted Danson faced when he painted his face black.
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival - Harbin, China
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Begins January 5
With all the crazy snow storms hitting the United States and Europe, we know that most of you aren't ready to celebrate snow just yet. But the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival will remind you of how beautiful ice can be when you sculpt statues out of it and construct giant ice houses illuminated by lights frozen into the ice. This is one of the largest ice sculpture festivals in the world. It still holds the world record for the largest ice sculpture ever at 250 meters long and 8.5 meters high. Check out these pictures to see what's in store for this year's festival.
Sydney Festival - Sydney, Australia
January 7 - 29
If you're tired of winter, head to the other side of the world for some summer action. Over a million people bask in the warmth outdoors at The Sydney Festival, which features 80 free events like music, dance, circus, theater and visual arts, making it the largest and most attended cultural event in Australia.
Lohri Bonfire Festival - Punjab, India
January 13
Who doesn't love a good bonfire? It's a great time to dance, sing, and, of course, appease the gods. This is what happens all over the Punjab region in Northern India during Lohri, the festival of fire worship. People huddle around giant bonfires and throw rice and popcorn into the flames to thank the gods for a good harvest and seek prosperity in the coming year. It's kind of like throwing a coin into a fountain, but with more flair.
