Festivals around the world, month by month

The most important holiday of the Japanese year. Since 1873 it has followed the Western calendar. Homes are cleaned before the year ends and gates are decorated with kadomatsu, arrangements of pine and bamboo.

On the day: At midnight on New Year's Eve, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times. In the first days of January people make hatsumōde, the first shrine visit of the year, and New Year cards (nengajō) arrive by post on 1 January.

Epiphany on 6 January is a public holiday that closes the Christmas season. In Italian folklore the night before belongs to the Befana, a kindly old woman on a broomstick who brings presents to children.

On the day: Children hang up stockings on the evening of 5 January: good children find sweets and toys in the morning, naughty ones a lump of coal. In parts of central Italy a straw Befana is burnt on a bonfire.

The most famous carnival in Italy, known for its elaborate masks and costumes. It goes back to the Middle Ages and today draws about 3 million visitors a year.

On the day: People in masks and historic costumes stroll through St Mark's Square and the narrow streets, pose for photographs and go to masked balls. A jury chooses 'la maschera più bella', the most beautiful mask.