One day while channel surfing I discovered a documentary on Holi. At the time I was too young to understand the full beauty of Holi but the bright colors peaked my interest and has stayed in the back of my mind since. It seemed that the festival was like color personified. Holi, also known as Holika, is a colorful festival celebrated in Northern India during the end of February or early March and lasts a day. During this time people dance and sing as they cover one another with colorful powders and colored water. During Holi, all are equals as everyone celebrates the triumph of good over equal just like in the “Legend of Holika and Prahalad”. Holi is a festival that is not only appealing to the eye but to the heart as well as it ties people together through legend and love.
Holi is said to have originated in the 7th Century in India and is inspired by the “Legend of Holika and Prahalad” (Holi festival.) In the legend Hiranyakashyap, the demon king, resents his son, Prahalad, because Prahalad will not worship him. Prahalad, a devotee to the god Vishnu, tries to make his father understand that only God is the “greatest” (BBC) and unintentionally enrages Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyakashyap planned various traps to murder his son but somehow Prahalad managed to come away unharmed. Frustrated by his failed attempts and of his son’s disloyalty, Hiranyakashyap conspires with his sister, Holika, to finally get rid of his son (BBC.) It was then decided that Holika would sit in a fire with Prahalad in her lap. Holika had a special gift that was supposedly given to her by the gods at birth, this gift was her immunity to fire. However, since Holika was using her gift in vain she was burned alive in the fire while Prahalad was protected by Vishnue...
... middle of paper ...
...ful festival. It seems the only thing that has stayed with people is the love and positivity among lovers, friends and family.
Holika is a celebration that has deep ties to it’s culture's legends and has a heavy influence on it’s festival goers. Although Holi is holy day it is not spent praying, it’s spent singing and laughing with those you love. It teaches the importance of social ties and what a blessing they can be. Holi is a vibrant festival that not only focuses on the beauty of one's heritage but the love that goes into making it strong.
Works Cited
"Holi - Holi Day,Holi 2014,Holi Festival India." Holi - Holi Day,Holi 2014,Holi Festival India. Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
"Orgins of Holi." BBC News. BBC, 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 27 Jan. 2014
"Holi." : Hindu Festival of Colors. Religion Facts, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
...ure and the Hindu religion. Played in temples, events and religion holidays the dholak continues to bring joy to members of the West Indian community and inspiration for the younger generation. Indian music has been redefined throughout the years, so it’s important to revive it and preserve it. Lal revives the Indian music by re-singing old music and adding a different beat when playing the dholak. The West Indian community has helped revive Indian music by singing live with the dholak. Members preserve the Indian music by oral traditional, which meant that the lyrics of the song are unchangeable. Singing the original song with traditional instrument will help preserve the Indian music. The dholak has related to the West Indian culture and the Hindu religion by adding entertainment to their culture and helping integrate the religion songs into traditional music.
Hannukkah one of the most popular holiday known in the Jewish faith and is begins on the 25th day of Kislev and is “also known as the festival of lights” (Rich). This holiday is from the “book of Maccabees” and many Jews do not believe as this is not Jewish scripture (Rich). In addition, one of the most recognized items of this holiday is the menorah which holds special candles which are lit in accordance to the holiday (Rich). Furthermore, there is traditional music and the game referred to as dreidel played during this time
Feasts and parties are means to celebrate any purpose that comprises of communal elaborate eating. Similarly, we see the early Mughal rulers celebrating their special occasions – victory after war, in honour of somebody, festivals, birth of a child or nuptials, or etc. by hosting a feast or a banquet. This explains the purpose of a feast simply but the question is: that is just it or could it hold a larger motive? Well, Brian Hayden, Dietler and Susan Pollock argues that feasts were an important event where commensality was not just limited to eating and drinking together but far more than just a physical act, it entails myriad social and political ties and a competition in order to display one's own wealth and well being. Definitely, a feast
When I was young, my parents introduced to me to the world using a very black and white approach. Everything was labelled as either right or wrong, good or bad with nothing in between. At the same time, I was exposed to two different cultures, two ways of life: One, my Indian culture and heritage handed down to me by parents, and the other, the American culture that embodied my peers and surroundings. My black and white approach to thinking led me to believe that I had to choose one culture, being a part of both was not an option in my mind.
Rawlinson, J. (2013). Music Festival Tourism Worldwide - International - June 2013. Retrieved 02 28, 2014, from Mintel Report: http://academic.mintel.com/display/643783/
It is observed that even the spiritual heritage of India has lost its glory in Jhabvala’s world of fictional India because the spiritual and aesthetic seekers also face traumatic experiences. No doubts since antiquity the Indian spiritualism has been shining far above the philosophic deliberations of the
Kaamatan is a word that derived from “Magavau” in local language of Kadazandusun which means “harvest”. Kaamatan is a main festival that celebrate the “spirit of paddy” by Kadazandusun during paddy-harvesting period. (mykmu.net., 2013) According to the oral story, Kinoingan which means God and her wife Suminundu had a daughter named Huminodun. For saving the Kadazandusun ethnic from starving because lack of food resources, they been forced to sacrificed their dearly daughter, Huminodun. She is killed and her body was buried by following all the local traditions accordingly. Surprisingly, her body turned into different variety of seeds that became the food resources of Kadazandusun and one of it
The term ‘Hinduism’ can also encompass the morals, key features and general day to day life experiences that many Indians share. The term ‘Hindu’ has its roots in many different traditions and myths, for example, it has been argued (Flood. G 2011) that ‘Hindu’ may have derived from the Persian term for a group of people who lived on the other side of the river Indus which flows through China, India and Pakistan. ...
It is a five days festival usually held between October 13 and November 14. The festival is significant to all Hindus as it symbolises the triumph of good over evil as well as victory and hope over darkness and other challenges. Thus, Hindu homes and temples are adorned and beautifully-lit with colourful lights and oil lamps to ward off darkness and evil. In addition, open houses will be held and elaborate kolams or rangolis will be drawn outside their homes too. Extensive dishes with the aroma which lingering across the streets that truly symbolises the festivities of Deepavali will be prepared by many households and they will visit relatives. On Deepavali, Hindus wake up at dawn and start off by taking fragrant oil bath and wearing new clothes before proceeding to recite their prayers. Later during the day processions, street-fairs, fireworks and get-togethers which delightfully mark the festivities take
In the fort and the city of Chittorgarh the most important Rajput festival called the "Jauhar Mela" is celebrated in honour of all the three famous jauhars performed by rajput women . It is celebrated on the anniversary of one of the most famous jauhars performed by Rajput queen Rani Padmini. A huge number of Rajputs from different rajputana royal families joins the celebration. Now-a-days this occasion is used as a platform of public discourse where rajputs from royal families put their views regarding the contemporary political developments in the
This festival falls in the month of February and signifies the beginning of the lunar year. This ten day festival is also known as the 'Phousnyi" among the local people. The foremost ritual of the festival is Kizie, in which they take a few drops of the rice water from Zumho (top of the Jug) and carefully put them into the leaves and place them at the three main points of the post of the house by a women. Next morning all the young men of the village get up early in the morning and take a bath in the village after which they adorn themselves with the new shawls. This ceremony is known as "Dzuseva". The main charisma of this festival is that the Thekra Hie, in which the youngsters of the village gather together for singing and dancing to the tunes of the traditional music and the participants make fun and enjoy themselves with the rice balls and plates of meat. Haunting is an another important excitement of thia festival. The major part of the ceremony falls on the eighth day when the gate pulling or the bride pulling is performed. This festival also includes beer drinking and merry making. All these works ceases during the ten days of feasting and song. It is no wonder that Nagaland is called as the ‘land of
Media is playing a major role in people’s daily life, especially during national celebrations because sometimes they direct their opinions and tell the people what to do during these celebrations. For that reason, every country the media shows celebrations in a different way than the other country depending on the culture, religion and the type of celebration. Media in Oman present Eid and the Renaissance Day celebrations as a source of joy and happiness, as well as America in The Independence Day and Christmas but with more consumption.
Folk culture is practiced by dances and festivals every day. At each festival, there is always an Indian dance which can consist of a man and woman dancing together or separately depending on the dance. During every dance, the dancer normally sings the song and there is someone else who plays an instrument. Each dance has a separate rhythm and costume, the costumes are usually very colorful with many jewels and designs. There are different dances practiced in many different parts if India. In Central India, Gaur is a very popular folk dance. Men have head-dresses with cowries strung off the sides and peacock feathers all over as they make their way to the dance floor. Women have brass fillets, bead necklaces and tattoos all over there body and also join the dance. In East India, Chhau is most commonly practiced. This dance is only performed by men and boys, and is performed with energy and strength. Everybody dancing holds swords and shields, and the stages are
Every country in the world has its own festival and celebration. People all around the world love joining together and sharing good time through the festivals and celebrations. Festivals are great way to experience local culture. Sometime they even offer a glimpse into past. There are hundreds of festivals across the world. So are you ready to experience of fun and colorful festivals? Below are some of festivals from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Raslila is a performance tradition that has its origins from the country of India. Its creation dates back to the fifteenth century. The whole purpose of the performance tradition is an attempt to retell the important moments in the life of the Hindu Lord Krishna. Raslila began originally in only the regions of India connected to Lord Krishna’s mythology. Gumand Dev, Hitharivansih, and Naryan Bhatt are the three Vishnu bhakti saints who are thought to have created the tradition (Miettinen). Historically, young males raging in ages from eight to thirteen years old have performed this tradition. Yet, worshiping Hindus of all ages and genders have always attended it (Miettinen).