feast

Table of Contents

Introduction
Nature and significance
- Concepts of sacred times
- Times of seasonal changes
  - The significance of seasonal renewal in prehistoric times
  - The significance of seasonal renewal in ancient Egypt
  - The significance of seasonal renewal in ancient Mesopotamia
  - The significance of seasonal renewal in areas of other religions
- Other sacred times
  - Crucial stages of life
  - Times of commemoration and remembrance
Types and kinds of feasts and festivals
- National and local festivals
- Secular modernist festivals
- Carnivals and saturnalias
Conclusion
List of selected holidays and observances

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feast: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jun 15, 2025

News •

Rising festival 'sound experience' Saturate asks audiences to jump in a pool • June 14, 2025, 2:56 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))

Thousands of meatballs and dolmades on menu at Greek GleNTi festival in Darwin • June 7, 2025, 7:03 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))

Call for safety review after producer injured by falling palm tree at Cannes film festival • May 20, 2025, 7:12 AM ET (The Guardian)

Facts

Also Known As	festival

Topics

harvest festival Terminalia Robigalia Neptunalia Agonium augurium salutis Feriae Conceptivae Ides Liberalia Zhongqiu Jie religious symbolism and iconography Jewish religious year Hindu calendar scripture confession of faith Maya calendar orthodox Aztec calendar fasti Islamic calendar

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