The Importance of Festivals for Society & Culture
The importance of festivals to culture and society cannot be underestimated. There are many types of festivals around the world, and we need them all to return – here’s why…
It’s easy to think festivals are just about a bunch of privileged people in a field drinking cider and dancing – and yes, those festivals are great – but the layers of significant cultural importance that make up even those festivals represent a long journey within a particular culture, society and history.
I’ve been to over 60 festivals in 22 different countries, and I still want to experience more. Festivals are a fascinating insight into a group of individuals, bound by a common understanding.
They’re tribal. They’re representative of what a certain way of life thinks, the way they express themselves, and offer a safe space for people to explore and welcome this part of their identity.
Religious gatherings and agricultural celebrations are the earliest recorded festivals. And now, 100s or 1000s of years later in 2021, still, spiritual / wellness festivals and food festivals are the current a la mode.
Our need to celebrate ourselves, our food and our social interactions remains unchanged.
Importance of festivals to cultural understanding
One of the main reasons I enjoy going to international festivals so much is the fact they are a microcosm of what they represent. Festivals are an opportunity to see as much as possible in a weekend into worlds so different, or even familiar, of my own.
I ticked off a huge bucket list festival in Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi a few years ago. I was unwell and not my usual party self, but, it gave me the opportunity instead to sit and listen to the local poets. Through their poetry they enlightened me to some of the issues of the day – calling out their ‘fat government’ and covering everything from housing, to relationships, to the nominal opportunities.
The importance of celebrating festivals abroad isn’t just to gather with your ‘tribe’. What I learnt in a few poems at Lake of Stars were fascinating insights into modern social issues and the Malawi of the present, that I would have had to dig deep to find out. And probably wouldn’t have bothered to, to be honest.
Even if only for a weekend, what I learnt there from the poets and artists gave me a better understanding of what life was like in Malawi. The cheers from the crowds at certain shared points showed me that this was the zeitgeist thought of the attendees, and the poets on stage had touched a nerve.
It was the same at the Knysna Oyster Festival in South Africa. A comedian was up on stage with his take on a huge news story of the time, about a pastor who claimed he could cure HIV and cancer with a fly repellant. It’s an awful tale, but his comedic take, and the laughing responses from the audience again, taught me a lot about a modern issue I wouldn’t have known about.
And, I never even knew speed eating oysters was a thing.
You never know what you’re going to learn when you visit a new festival. That’s all part of the fun and anticipation.
Comedy makes current social issues fun, music makes them melodic, while poetry makes them considered and heart felt. Festivals bring you them all.
Check out my video of the Knysna Oyster Festival, in South Africa
READ MORE: Cruel Festivals We Should Never to Go To
Importance of festivals for tribal thinking
Humans are tribal. Always have been, always will be. The mantra ‘find your tribe’ is a popular marketing phrase now, but really, it’s what we as humans have always tried to do.
‘Unity’ is often cited as a reason to love festivals, and I totally agree. The unification I felt at the 90s festival I recently went to in the Midlands just totally proves that. Play Vengaboys to your average crowd these days and it’d be met with disgust, but here, I found my people. And in the Midlands where I grew up too. It was an unpretentious festival, where everyone was there to have fun. I had a brilliant time.
Festivals are for everyone, but you might just have to find the right festival for you.
You’ll get those people who’ve found a festival they love, and go every year.
Let’s take Burners for example, as they seem to be some of the most passionate festivalgoers out there.
From the Facebook groups I was in when I fancied a year at Burning Man (didn’t happen), some of them are obsessed. They have these meet ups throughout the year, they plan their art work and their RVs and what they’re taking months in advance.
Burning Man is a gathering of 75,000 people willing to – paying a fortune to – brave the sandstorms and desert to come together and look at art and trade skills in a primitive environment.
Now that’s a unique tribe. The importance of festivals is immense to them, and vital to their self identity.
Festivals are a chance for tribes and groups to get together – whether it’s their religion, views, social beliefs or interests that binds them.
READ MORE
Healthiest Festivals in the UK
Check out MY book about festivals!
Importance of festivals as an escape
For me, festivals are the ultimate chance to switch off from normal life. When it comes to music festivals, the biggest worry is basically just what band to see next, or where to go to the toilet.
No one wants to waste their phone battery so there’s no pointless phone scrolling. There’s no TV, news, magazines and ideally, no advertising either. Festival goers live in the moment. If you want to know what I love about festivals – this is one of the main aspects.
I remember my first Glastonbury back in 2012. My friend’s dad had recently died, my nan was very ill, and we weren’t in our best head spaces. All was out of mind though as we concentrated on bands, food, having fun, making friends and just having a wonderful weekend. As we drove home on the Monday we agreed it’d been the first time we’d stopped thinking about our worries, in quite a while.
When my five-year relationship ended one of the first things I did was to go to Latitude Festival by myself. Apart from feeling like a right loner putting the tent up on my own, the rest of the weekend was wonderful and I had a great time. This was an escape for me from the last few months.
Latitude was my escape.
About a month later I went to Sziget Festival in Budapest with a bunch of friends. That was another escape, albeit a much, much boozier one.
Festivals are a stress reliever. You could argue they bring another level of stress, in shelter, finance and food worries. But these minor stresses take over the bigger worries of the day. Festivals really are a chance to totally switch off.
Importance of festivals to the local economy
Festivals are huge business now. In the UK we have hundreds of festivals, from a capacity of a few hundred to Glastonbury at 210,000. That’s a higher population than the world’s 20 smallest countries.
Wow.
Figures from UK Music suggest that with the 3.4 million people who attend festivals in the country every year, it gives the economy a £550 million boost. Glastonbury alone contributes over £100m to the economy annually.
“Edinburgh’s festivals create the equivalent of 5,242 full time jobs, according to a report by BOP Consulting, with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone accounting for over 3,000 of these.” –