Oriental festival ending in altercation (7)
I believe the answer is:
eastern
'oriental' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'festival ending in altercation' is the wordplay.
'festival' becomes 'easter' (Christian festival).
'ending in' suggests the final letters.
The final letter of 'altercation' is 'n'.
'easter'+'n'='EASTERN'
(Other definitions for eastern that I've seen before include "Earnest (anag.)" , "Asian" , "in Beijing, possibly" , "towards daybreak?" , "Could be Chinese" .)