Long reigns the Gion Matsuri (literally Gion Festival), a celebration in Kyoto, Japan since 869 A.D. That’s no typo – this tradition has been celebrated annually for 1200 years. Originally founded as a sacred ritual to pray away famine, death, disease and disaster, Japan’s oldest and greatest celebration has morphed from one oppressed religion to another. Today it is a kind of open party, complete with a parade, huge floats, public drinking, carnival games, and food stalls, across the entire city. It is the pride of this archipelago nation, a celebration fit to rival Chinese New Year, or Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Keyword: fit.
Hoko Shrine: The Gion Matsuri, on a side street.
Some of the ancient festival’s parade floats, parked throughout the Gion district in the days before the festival, tower 100 feet above the street. A few even have a dozen men on board, participating in ancient, graceful and mysterious rituals of singing and drum-tapping. The lore of these rituals continues to this day.