Festivals of India

India is known for its colorful festivals. As we have hundreds of languages, foods, attires…we also have tons of festivals celebrated in INDIA. I will talk about some of the main festivals celebrated in INDIA because it’s impossible to talk about all of them. These festivals are celebrated according to different religions and beliefs.

                  

The main festival which is celebrated by all Indians is diwali. Diwali reminds us of the festive season of joy, splendor, enthusiasm and happiness. It is the festival of lights and is celebrated with great excitement by all Indians all over the world. Families light their house decorates and prepares sweets and pray to God Laxmi for peace, happiness and prosperity in the family. We also burn crackers on this day to celebrate the day.

The other main festival is Holi which is the celebration of colors in our lives. The festival has different aspects to its celebration. Like it is a celebration of good over evil, a carnival of colors, a community festival, a secular festival and a tradition of ancient spring rites. People of all religion and caste color each other with gulal (a powdered color) and other form of dyes. They also visit homes, distribute sweets and greet each other. Men, women, adult and children all take part in dances and other cultural programs. It's the time of the year when roadside stalls throughout the country bear tables covered with bags of colorful powder, called gulal. Holi is the exuberant festival of color.

The Rakhi festival or Raksha Bandhan has a special significance in hearts of brothers and sisters. The silken thread of Rakhi symbolizes the love between siblings. The Rakhi Festival symbolizes all aspects of protection of the good from evil forces. Rakhi is meant to sweeten the ties of brother and sister. Rakhi is celebrated with great joy and excitement all around India. Known as Raksha Bandhan in other parts of the country, Rakhi festival showcases the love, affection and feeling of brotherhood. The main ritual consists of tying the 'Rakhi' knot on to a brother's wrist. 'Raksha Bandhan' literally means 'Bond of protection' and implies that while the sister prays to God for the well-being and prosperity of her brother, the brother vows to protect her against all the evils of the world and help her in all the problems. The day is all about Raksha or protection. The values, emotions and the sentiments attached to the customs of Rakhi festival are worth inculcating by the whole human race, the sentiments of harmony and peaceful coexistence.

Personally my favorite festival is Raksha Bandhan because I really share a beautiful and a very loving relation with my brother. He always gift me something on this day and we both celebrate it with love. So that’s it for this blog. See you all in the next post.