celebration of festivals

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CELEBRATING OUR DIVERSITIES

BYMADHU TANDON

The word festival means feast day, festive celebration. As kids, when there used to be festivals the only thing that came to our minds was holidays and sweets that in turn meant lots of fun. India being a society of may religions there are a lot many festivals. For the Hindus there is diwali, for the Muslims there is id, for the Christians its Christmas and for the Parsis it’s the New Year and apart from all these days there are two other days that are celebrated by all Indians irrespective of cast, creed or sex. Yes, its 26th January and 15th August. i.e. republic day and the Independence Day

CELEBRATING FESTIVALS

LOHRI THE FESTIVAL

OF HARVESTING

The Lohri festival is celebrated both in Punjab and Haryana. It is one of the most popular harvest festivals of Punjab. This harvest festival is celebrated in the month of January and marks the end of the winter season.

Holi is another festival that is celebrated by all communities. It’s a festival of colours. It marks the beginning of summer season and so water balloons are burst to beat the heat.

FESTIVAL OF COLOURS

Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiaranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion. The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion.

BAISAKHI

The most important festival which is harvesting season. The word Baisakhi is dcelebrated in Punjab is Baisakhi, which marks the arrival of the erived from the month of Vaisakha (April-May) in which the festival is celebrated. This festival is celebrated on the 13th April every year, a time when the farmer returns home with his bumper crop, the fruit of his whole year’s hard labour. The people of Punjab attired in their best clothes perform the Bhangra dance to express their joy.

Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the two Muslim festivals which are set down in law. It is a festival of great celebration and in Islamic countries is marked by a public holiday.

Ramzan Id is the most important festival in the Muslim calendar. A month long fasting and prayers is followed by Ramzan Id. It’s said that during this month all the prayers and wishes of an individual comes true.

15th august is celebrated by all Indians because on this day in the year 1947 India received independence from the British rule in India

Dusshera in India is another festival celebrated by the Hindus. It marks the victory of good over evil. On that day lord ram killed the evil Ravana. On dusshera an effigy of Ravana is burnt at many places.

DIWALI

Diwali festival is a 5 day Hindu festival in India which occurs on the fifteenth day of Kartika. Diwali when translated means "rows of lighted lamps" and the occasion is also referred to as the Festival of Lights. During Diwali, Indian homes are cleaned and windows are opened to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Lamps, lights and candles are lit as a greeting to Goddess Laksmi. Gifts are exchanged and sweets, festive meals are prepared during Diwali. Because there are many  castes and regions in India, there are myriad manifestations of the Diwali festival.

DIWALI THE FES TIVAL OF LIGHTS

Christmas in India - Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ on 25th December every year and is an inseparable part of Christians all over the country and the world. Santa Claus, gifts, cakes, cookies, and the beautifully decorated Christmas tree with a midnight mass depicts he beginning of Christmas.  

Some other festivals that are celebrated happily all over the country are Onam, Baisakhi, Pongal, Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Jayanti, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, Krishna Janmashtami, Gandhi Jayanti, Kumbh Mela, Children’s day, Ganesh Chaturthi and many many more festivals.Festivals bring joy and happiness in our lives. If we celebrate all festivals alike we can spread the message of joy, happiness, brotherhood and humanity among one another and live as one family and community

Name the festival of harvesting?Name two states where festival of colors is

celebrated with fun?Name the goddess worshipped on Diwali.

When do we celebrate Christmas?Which festival is celebrated by Muslims?

RECAPITULATION

COLLECT PICTURES ABD INFORMATION AND

M AKE A COLLAGE OF THE FESTIVALS CELEBRATED IN INDIA

ACTIVITY

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

NAME THE FESTIVAL CELEBRATED BY MUSLIMS?NAME THE FESTIVALS OF COLOURS AND LIGHTS

NAME THE STATE WHERE BAISAKHI IS CELEBRATED.WHEN DO WE CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY?

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE DUSSHERA?

ASSIGNMENT

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