Sure, you know about lighting the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center (NY), and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

BUt! There are many, many more global festivals - year 'round. With Frommer's 300 Unmissable Events and Festivals Around the World by whatsonwhen, you have access to essential travel tips and advice, all focused around global events condensed from whatsonwhen.com, the definitive events website.

Whether you're an armchair traveler or planning a trip, this book is for you. It's divided into 10 specific sections (with my fave from each):

Art and Culture (Bor Sang Umbrella Festival, Thailand)
Family (Imaginate Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland)
Food and Drink (Menton Lemon Festival, France)
Glamorous (Dubai Shopping Festival, United Arab Emirates)
Music (Essaouira Gnaoua & World Music Festival, Morocco)
Natural Wonders (The Rising of the Balolo (sea worms), Fiji and Samoa)
Spectacular (Abu Simbel Festival, Egypt)
Spiritual and Religious (Tibetan Butter Lamp Festival, Tibet)
Sport and Adventure (Lumberjack World Championships, Wisconsin, USA)
Weird and Wonderful (Radish Night Festival, Mexico)

There's also a great section on "where to" -

where to bang a drum? choose from:
Beltane Festival
Rock Ici Momes
Salvador Carnival
Up Helly Aa
World Cup

where to chew on an insect?
Wildfoods Festival

where to mix with the locals?
Festival in the Desert
Rastafarian Earth Festival
Red Crab Migration
Singapore Food Festival

In fact, by perusing this book, you'll not only learn about all kinds of local culture, but want to experience these events yourself. It's certainly worth planning trips around!

Beautifully illustrated with travel photos, each event lists when, how to get there, tickets, price, and other pertinent information. Highly recommended.

Note: We were sent a review copy of Frommer's 300 Unmissable Events and Festivals Around the World from Frommer's - thank you!