Festival
noun
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
祭り refers to a Japanese festival — usually a local and seasonal one that's connected to a shrine and packed with food stalls, crowds, and festive clamor. Note that it's more common to add the honorific お and say お祭り, as it can sound a bit rough without it.
If you're going to have a festival, you'd better lay out some mats (まつ) first. All the festival floats, food stands, and foot traffic could really mess up the road if you don't put some mats down to protect it.
When brevity is preferred, such as in festival names, headlines, or signs, this word can be written without okurigana as 祭 but still read as まつり.
私たちは毎年この町の祭りに出ます。
We participate in this town's festival every year.
今日は一年一度の祭りの日です。
Today is the day of the once-a-year festival.
日本の多くのお祭りは、仏教や神道と結びついています。
Many Japanese festivals have connections to Buddhism or Shinto.