Nowadays, in many countries international festivals are becoming more common. Many think that this phenomenon is a threat to their local traditions and costumes, but I think a better position is to be more open to cultural exchange. This trend gives people more occasion to express their roots.
Firstly, some people think that celebrating international festival is an opportunity for promote foreign culture and appreciate different backgrounds. In fact, thanks to these type of events is possible to embrace cultures from various country and continents, which are probably located to the opposite part of the world. This means that participate to this festivals lead people to discover reality that are completely strange for them, but I think this knowledge and awareness about something new is a great opportunity of personal growth. For instance, in an Chinese festival is possible to discover their traditional dishes, which are different for every Chinese region, or their most important holiday, such as new year’s.
Secondly, unfortunately other people are worried about their tradition and how other different cultures can cause the loss of their local costumes. Consequently, they are not open to partecipate and appreciate foreign festivals, and I believe this might cause unpleased racist episodes, which are becoming more frequent among conservative countries. For example, in the last five years Europe has changed deeply about immigrants policy, and now seems that most of the European citizen no longer want to accept the existence of foreign traditions.
In conclusion, while some people are happy to appreciate and embrace other cultures, other are reluctant and develop fear, which is the first reason behind racism.