Advantages of Festivals

The Hindu then worships puja by giving flowers and fruits and finally the Hindu eats the blessed food. By following these steps Hindu believe they become closer to the deity. (asms.k12.ar.us) Hindu’s also have many festivals to celebrate their religion. Lohari is an example of one of the festivals. Lohari takes place in the winter at night in Northern India. The people build a bonfire and throw popcorn, peanuts and sesame candies into the fire. By throwing these objects into the fire it is symbolic by throwing one’s evil into the fire, and also asking for blessings for the following year. Holi is another celebration which is considered to be the celebration of the death of winter and the return on spring. (Fisher 105-106)

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion. India, being the birthplace to many other religions such as Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, somehow managed to keep Hinduism as the leading religion in India to date. We will take a look into the devotion of Hindu religion and explore the symbols and significance of events during puja. In order to provide the best understanding of Hinduism, therefore we will explore the practices of today vs. practices of centuries past. Observing major components of Bhakti will help shed light on the importance of those who worship under these ancient and sacred teachings. With the use of Van der Leeuw’s Braided Method throughout the text, it will provide a reassurance that biases or discrimination are unwelcome, nevertheless a neutral standpoint of an observer’s position will be asserted (Cantelo 2016).

Traditions have been around forever, and are all around us today. Holidays such as Mardi Gras, are ones deep in tradition and festive origins. This crazy holiday, has changed and grown all over the world since first celebrated. Cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and New Orleans, United States hold some of the greatest celebrations of this holiday. Here they bake, dance, parade and and throw beads all through this four day holiday. Symbols such as colors, food, and dance are some mysteries of Mardi Gras that have more meaning than many people may think. Planning of these traditions starts about six months beforehand, by groups called krewes. Mardi Gras is a holiday deep in tradition and religion that has greatly developed

Divali(Diwali)-The festival of light is celebrated by Hindu’s as well but for different reasons. Sikh’s celebrate it because it is the anniversary of the release from the imprisonment of the sixth guru Har Gobind. Its an important symbol of freedom.

Jewish celebrations (yearly and specific times), Jewish Holy Days or High Holidays are said to be a time of “spiritual renewals”, in “remembrance” of the original creation of the world, and are linked to events in history. According to Fisher (287), individual followers are encouraged to change inwardly, by looking at their mistake of the past year, and forward to the year about to come. The most important Jewish holy days are; the Sabbath, the three pilgrimage festivals Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot and the two High Holy Days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

A celebration of Beltane ritual of life symbolically a chalice and athame (the Goddess and the God). The athame is inserted in the chalice (God into the Goddess). The Great Rite ritual that was created by and for farmers asking for a blessing for the livestock, crops and a good year of harvesting. A positive act and it can just an easily be misunderstood or abused. It has accountability also and needs to be answered for. Drawing of the energy from male and female during a spring festival. When we look at the people of the ancient Pagan religions we see that all the celebrations and rituals surrounded a specific purpose: survival.

Aboriginal region incubates many rituals and rites within their practices. Males and females both go through coming of age rites. Rituals are practical in large community setting to promote intensity. Rituals and rites such as circumcision, seclusion, and ornate decorative dressing are common. In Hinduism one of the most well known rituals was sacrifice. This was mostly practiced during the Vedic period. Nowadays death gives the most intricate rituals because of the unique view on the

Ceremonies were also a large part in religion. Astronomy played a role within ceremonies and the worship of the gods. Religious ceremonies took place for many reasons. On of the most known is funerary practice. In order to honor the fallen pharaoh or important figure a large ceremonie, similar to a parade, would take place so individuals could worship the god and pray for their well being in the afterlife. Other processions of public celebrations or festivals where people could perform offerings and other acts of worship in order to please the gods.

     Since Buddhism and Hinduism have different believes they also have different holy days. Moreover, because Hindus worship variety of gods they have a variety of festivals. The three main festivals of Hinduism are: Holi, Divali, and Dasehra. Holi is the most popular festival. This holy day is celebrated each year during February-March to welcome spring. “Holi is dedicated to god Krishna and it was once a fertility ceremony (104).” Throughout the days of Holi, many of the casts and taboo restrictions are set aside and pleasure is emphasized. The second ceremony Divali, celebrated in November, is a festival to welcome a new year. Finally the third festival, the Dasehra, celebrated up to nine days in October, in honor of Durga, a consort of Shiva. On the other hand Buddhism is divided in many ways according to philosophy and geography. The major festivals that are celebrated by most Buddhists are New Year, Buddha’s birthday, the festival of souls, and robe offering. In

Many of Hinduism’s festivals are for specific deities/statues, where for the Jews it’s an event within their religion’s history. One very interesting distinct Hindu festivals, goddess, and symbol is water or Goddess Ganga, a river who is said to flow through Shiva to bless millions with a spiritual renewal. Other differences worth noting are the beliefs of life after

Some of these happened resulting from an illness from a Sapa, a natural disaster, or a military battle. These festivals were held at least once a month. The three main ceremonies were Capac Raymi, Aymoray, and Inti Raymi. The Capac Raymi ritual was celebrated was a boy entering into manhood.

Just like any other culture the Indian culture had its own customs beliefs and practices. This beliefs and practices affect their lifestyles and interaction with the modern culture. One unique aspect of the Indian culture is their relation with guests. The Indians treat with high regards any guests that they host. They also hold close their economic status with preference for the wealthy status compared to the low and middle economic status. Religion is also highly held in the Indian culture. Indians hold the belief that god and goddesses are the drivers of one’s life.

One religious practice the Hindus have is Cattle Veneration. This is a practice where cattle are honored and treated with love and resect. This is done to show respect to the cattle they are treated as a sacred animal. Because of this ritual cows are no longer killed or sacrificed. Even non-vegetarians do not eat beef they consume fish or goat. Fast food restaurants do not serve beef. Another religious practice that the Hindus have is for a select few that can achieve this type of enlightenment. Suddi is reserved for people who are able to achieve this level. This is usually passed from teacher to his highest ranking student. This usually requires specialized training.

People celebrate it by getting together with their relatives as well as nearest and dearest ones. They celebrate it by sharing gifts, sweets, greetings and best wishes for Diwali. They enjoy a lot of activities, playing games, firing crackers, puja and many more. People purchase new clothes for all the family members according to their own capability. Kids enjoy this festival by wearing glittering and blazing clothes.