PONGAL

SOUTH INDIANS’ FESTIVAL

Pongal is an important festival of south India. In the north, it is known as Sankranti. Pongal is usually celebrated in January for three successive days to commemorate the harvest festival. The festivities are known as Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Mattu Pongal on successive days. Pongal is a traditional festival of variegated colors, with ceremonies devoted to different deities.

The festival serves as an occasion for farmers to express their gratitude to the Sun God and pay obeisance to the deity for its role in fostering growth of plantation. The Sun God, being very powerful, helps in the growth of paddy and other plantation. The festival is celebrated in a grand manner with much revelry. As the festival approaches nearer, people clean and decorate their houses and complete all the repair/maintenance work. During the four-day long festivities, people draw beautiful rangolis i.e., colorful columns in front of their house.

Bhogi Pongal: This celebration commences on the last day of Margazhi, which is called “Bhogi.” People wake up very early in the morning and take a bath. All the trash is placed in front of the house and set aflame. Old and useless things are disposed off and replaced with new ones. Then, the entrance to every home is decorated with colorful rangolis.

Surya Pongal: Paddy is harvested during this festival. Using the “new rice”, people prepare pongal and offer it to the Sun God who travels in a chariot drawn by seven horses. People draw a picture of the chariot in an open space when sun rises and place a small sun in the centre of the chariot. Then they place sugarcane and turmeric sprigs and perform pooja on the chariot. Next, all the prepared dishes are offered to the deity. Once these rituals are over, every member of the family takes a small portion of the pongal and sprinkles it all over the house saying, “Pongalo Pongal.” This is a prayer the Sun God to bless their homes with peace and prosperity.

Maatu Pongal: The next day is known as Maatu Pongal, or pongal for the cows. On this day people worship the cattle. Milk suppliers adorn their cows: paint horns, apply colors and tie pieces of colorful cloth. Then, the decorated cows are taken from house to house.

Kaanum Pongal: On this day people spend their time outside in revelry, fun and entertainment. In some places like Madurai and Tanjore etc., bullfights are organised.

Pongal is a festival of color that binds the entire community together in a common celebration of worship, joyousness and revelry. Community meals are also organized at many places.

Makar Sankranti (Uttarayana) - Worship of the Sun

The festivals of India speak volumes about our country’s rich, traditional and cultural heritage, and these festivals have become an integral part of every Indian’s life. Decoration of homes and temples, processions on streets, folk tales and songs, dance performances, prayers and rituals signify the elaborate celebrations of a multitude of festivals in India, each made of its own unique legend and folk tale.

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for the Hindu people, and is celebrated all over the country in innumerable cultural forms with great fervor, devotion and gaiety. ‘Makar’ literally means Capricorn and ‘sankranti’ is the day when the Sun passes from one zodiac to another. In fact, Sankranti falls in every month and the day is considered as auspicious as it indicates a fresh start of a new month. But Makar Sankranti is held in the month of ‘Magha’ in which the Sun passes from Cancer to Capricorn.

Millions of people take a dip in holy waters at places of pilgrimages like Prayag, Haridwar and Ganga Sagar. The devotees after the pious bath worship the Sun and offer their prayers. According to popular belief, one who does not bathe on this day is born a donkey in his or her next birth.
In southern parts of India, the festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated as Pongal, whereas in the state of Gujarat, apart from worshipping the Sun, the devotees also offer their colorful oblations in the form of kites. In the Eastern States of India such as Assam, the festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu.

Makar Sankranti is also known as the Kite Festival, and by flying kites in the skyline, people try to send their prayers to reach the glorious Sun God. The legendary Bhishma Pitamah of the great Indian epic ‘Mahabharata’ waited for this day to leave his mortal loop. According to mythological belief, it is said that, on this day the Sun travels on his chariot drawn by 7 horses from the southern sky to the northern sky. For pastoral people, the day signifies the end of winter and returning of the sun to the north.

In some parts of India, Makar Sankranti is observed as the harvest festival as it is the time when the farmers bring their harvest home. It is a method of thanksgiving to the elements of nature which help mankind in various forms. The day is also known as Khichri Sankranti, because on this day, people eat and give away khichri as charity to the poor and the needy. In the State of Maharashtra, the people celebrate the festival by preparing a dish called tilgul or laddoo, made of sesame seed and jaggery.

Lohri- Celebrated on the 13th of January

Lohri is basically more than just a festival for Indians. It is a festival of prime importance for natives of Punjab as this festival symbolizes their love for celebrations and light-hearted flirtation. It is celebrated on the 13th of January every year and is the most prominent harvest festival of Punjab, the State more popularly known as the Breadbasket India.

Lohri is the festival that prompts people to be thankful to God’s provision and celebrate His creations and gifts to mankind. In Punjab, wheat is the major crop that is sown in the month of October and then harvested in the months of March or April. January is said to be the period of rest since after this month the crops mature and the farmers are ready to gather their year’s hard labour. As a result, the people or farmers residing in Punjab have a great sense of attachment to the festival of Lohri.

Lohri is celebrated as a harvest festival with spirit, joy, and enthusiasm and marks the culmination of the chilling winter. Punjabi women and men perform the Bhangra, Gidda on Punjabi Folk songs around a bonfire. On this festive day, enthusiastic children go from house to house singing Lohri songs and the elders oblige the children by offering them eatables as well as money.

As dusk settles in, logs of woods are collected for a bonfire where all the family members, relatives and friends gather around it. It is a ritual for people to go around the bonfire thrice, offering peanuts, sweets, rayveri and popcorns to the fire. Then, they break into dance around the fire on the beats of Dhol while prasad of til, puffed rice, gajak, popcorn and peanuts is distributed amongst the people.

Lohri is a propitious occasion to celebrate the arrival of a new bride in the family or for a newly born baby. Family members gather and host a feast that includes mouth watering winter cuisines of ‘Sarson ka Saag and Makki ki roti’ with a dessert made up of sugarcane juice and rice. The basic motive behind celebrating Lohri is to thank God for his protection and care.

On the whole, Lohri is a festival that signifies the jubilation at the onset of a bountiful harvest. The best feature about the festival is that it shows the festive spirit of Indians towards food, which they consider as God’s gift to humanity. Apart from celebrating the festival in their respective ways, people also tend to enjoy the fairs which are organized at various places.

Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti- a pious festival of Sikhs

Whether the event is Vaisakhi (Khalsa Sajna Diwas), Dewali (Bandi Chhor Diwas), or the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Sahib (Sahidi Diwas), Sikhs assemble and commemorate their respectable Gurus and worship to pay homage to their worthy Martyrs. Gurpurabs, as they are more commonly known, are celebrated with immense devotion by the Sikh community all over the globe.

Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, is one pious festival of the Sikhs which is celebrated with great fervour. The festival witnesses a huge convoy of Sikhs who congregate to offer extraordinary prayers at Gurudwaras. Guru Gobind Singh was born at Patna Sahib on 22nd December. Generally, his birthday is celebrated in the month of December or in January. At times it falls twice a year as per the Hindu Bikrami Calendar. However, the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh comes on January 5 every year according to the Nanakshahi Calendar.

It is chronicled that after the death of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru felt obliged to organize a community of Sikhs into a saint-soldiers’ community. In the year 1699, he assembled thousands of Sikhs together and addressed a massive audience asking his followers to sacrifice their life for him in his devotion. Not long after, five Sikhs came forward to sacrifice themselves, and the sword of Guru Gobind Singh was completely stained with their blood. To the revelation of the huge audience, Guru came out with those five followers wholly dressed in the Pure or Khalsa uniform. The demonstration given by Guru symbolizes the rebirth of the Sikh community into a complete distinct identity saint-soldiers. After initiating the five sacrificed followers or ‘beloved ones’, into a completely new identification of Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh requested them to initiate him. In the chronicle of human history, the absolute conversion of a solidified and distinctive community remained a defining and unique moment.

Guru Gobind Singh and his followers were engaged in many battles against several Mughal rulers during his lifetime. During that turbulent period, he lost his mother and four children in fighting for righteousness. Nevertheless, the Khalsa soldiers stood determined as a sovereign and distinct body, and could efficiently withstand their enemies.

Before his death in 1708, he added a few writings to the Sikh scriptures and requested his worshippers to take spiritual guidance out of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. The words enclosed in Guru Granth Sahib are from now on and will forever be present as their Guru for the Sikhs.

New Year Celebrations

Welcome 2008: New Year New Hope

New Year is a festive occasion for all. Much before the arrival of new year, people start making preparations to celebrate this gala event. The basic idea is to give a warm welcome to the new year and cherish golden moments of the past. New year is perceived differently by people. Some take it as a time to look back and remember the positive happenings in life. They take them as a motivation and promise themselves to keep doing good work in the future as well. Also, they take note of the negativities that had an adverse effect on their level of performance. They do so with the aim of learning from their mistake. While, there are others who crib about the fact that they have lost one more year of their life.

New year celebrations usually revolve around friends and family. It is the time when the entire family gets together and enjoys to the fullest. Special food is prepared, songs are sung and people especially youngsters party. Elderly people share laughter, play games and chitchat. The trend of celebrating New Year is not new, though you can find notable variations in the style of celebration. Infact, when it comes to celebration, as you travel from one region to another, you'll find a great diversity.

The date of New Year varies from country to country like in the US, it is celebrated on the first day in the month of January. China and Israel follow the lunar calendar and celebrate New Year in accordance with the movement of moon around the Earth. There are a couple of countries that celebrate New Year during the spring season when it is the time of growing of fresh crops. Few countries look forward to welcome autumn season for New Year celebrations. New Year is a great occasion for gifting and promotional products are the best giveaways.

Large number of people visit their respective places of worship on the festive period of New Year and offer prayers to the Lord. They seek the blessings of the almighty God with the hope that New Year would bring happiness and prosperity to them. They light candles on the first day of New Year and wish that new year may fill their lives with brightness ad shine. Devotees perform religious dances to appease God. Many people give old clothes and their other belongings as charity to help the poor and needy people. Women adorn their house with Happy New Year banners. DJ nights are organised to mark the beginning of New Year. The entire world rocks and rolls in the New Year party. It is nothing less than an extravaganza that becomes a lifetime memory.