Festival season

Dear readers, hope each one of you is doing well and enjoying the fall season. This post is little delayed as work has been real busy. I have moved to a different education setting this year, so it has been a learning and growing experience. As many of you would know, if not most of you, I am from India and came here after marriage. Bringing up my kids in this country, I have always tried to maintain the culture from back home and try to remind them of important festivals. Today’s post is about the festival season going on for South Asians at this time of the year. So read on!

Background

India is a country in South Asia and is known for its cultural heritage and traditions. India has a rich cultural heritage. Some rituals and traditions are believed to be more than 4000 years old! According to Live Science, India’s culture is among the world’s oldest: civilization in India began about 4,500 years ago! India has 28 states and seven territories, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). I would not be able to go in details about all what India has to offer in terms of culture, traditions and beliefs; but if you are interested you can check this website knowindia.gov for more information.

India celebrates many festivals but to list a few which are celebrated with grand pomp and show would include Rakshabandhan, Karvachauth, Navratri, Diwali, and Holi. All these festivals bring excitement, love, affection and peace in people’s lives and the entire families. Rakshabandhan shows the special love between a brother and a sister, Karvachauth shows a special bond between couples, Navratri symbolizes battle and victory of good over evil, and Diwali the festival of lights as well as Holi the festival of colors both symbolize the triumph of good over evil.

Introduction

This time of year is as special to Hindus in India as Christmas is to Christians. Hindus believe in many Gods and the birthdays of Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna are celebrated as Shiv Ratri and Janmashtami in February and August respectively. In addition, the 9 forms of Goddess Durga is celebrated for 9 days as Navratri which may fall in October or November depending on the Hindu calender. Dusshera is celebrated on the 10th day, which is the auspicious occasion of Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana. It symbolizes defeat of evil and victory of goodness. About 20 days after that falls one of the biggest festival of Diwali. Diwali, also called Deepawali, celebrates the joyous return of Lord Rama, the beloved Prince of Ayodhya, who was exiled for 13 years. This festival of lights is celebrated all around the world and is recognized internationally by many workplaces, including companies and organizations.

In between Dusshera and Diwali falls Karvachauth. Karva Chauth is celebrated by married women in north India. It is most famous with newly weds and even unmarried women celebrate it with love and affection. It is believed to bring prosperity, longevity and well-being to the family when women seek the blessings of God for their husband’s long life. My younger one and I have henna done on our hands and palm every year, and so did my older one when she was home. This year Karvachauth was celebrated on October 12-13, Dussehra was on October 5th and Diwali is coming up on Monday, October 24. Navratri is the celebration of nine nights twice in a year- once in spring and once in fall. This year Navratri was celebrated from September 26 to Oct 5. The festival is dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga. In addition to 9 days of prayers, kids look forward to the Dandiya or Garba, both dances that have originated in Gujarat, India but enjoyed in all parts of India and around the world now. Prayers are done all nine days, and special food is prepared. Some people fast for all 9 days and eat special food and fruits.

Festival Season

Starting in September this year and now ending in October, from September 26 to October 24, this one month has special occasions, religious beliefs, and lots of reasons to celebrate, rejoice and remember the traditions and cultures that all Indians try to remember. For our family, Navratri celebration of 9 days involves doing fasting and doing the Kanjak puja on the 8th day. On the 10th day of Dusshera, watching Ram Leela, the story of Lord Rama in play form, is always the highlight. We attended the Dusshera fair last weekend on October 15th and enjoyed the parades and fireworks. There is a big Indian community in Houston, and fortunately this gives our kids first hand experience in watching and learning by attending such weekend events. We went for Dandiya dance on October 7th and are going to another one on November 11. Weekends during this festival season are busy and packed with events and celebrations.

For Diwali, my kids and I make rangoli which is a traditional Indian art form using colored sand or powder to decorate your home floor or outside. In addition, to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, we make her feet using rice powder. Now you can buy ready-made feet from Amazon and Etsy.

The 5 days of Diwali started yesterday with Dhan Teras, where people buy gold or jewelry. It is the birthday of Dhanvantri, father of Medicine and Ayurveda. Today is Chhoti Diwali, also celebrated as Roop Chaudas. Diwali is tomorrow, followed by Govardhan Puja on Tuesday and ending with Bhai Dooj on Wednesday. Thus will end the festival season for this year which started on September 26 with the beginning of the first day of Navratri, also called Durga Puja and ending with Bhai Dooj on October 26.

Wrap Up

To summarize, I love this time of the year. It gets a little busy with cooking, decorating and doing some rituals for each of these festivals, but I love the feeling and joy each day brings. Especially for my kids, I believe, it is a great way for them to see and hold on to some traditions that they can hopefully continue in the future.

Dear readers, we would love to hear from you. Do you celebrate any tradition or festival from your culture that you cherish and enjoy? Please share your own or one you that enjoy the most from another culture or family.

Related posts

Exploring cultural festivals

20 things that make me happy