Reflections on A to Z 2016 - Festivals of India

Reflections - Festivals of India

As I said -  30 days - 2 blogs a day – 52 blogs altogether in a month- exhausted right!

Very true, it was lot of writing and the pressure was there. But, especially writing on a topic like festivals of India - it brought lots of insights surfing and searching. And that’s what as a writer anyone  enjoys. 

As this was my second year and I had gone ahead with two posts a day - festivals of India and the second – poetry – tender and soulful. Poetry was more from the heart, but this needed lots of inputs. This really made me realize a lot of fact. A crux of the same is in the post from Q .Queer Facts 

The complete list goes here:

Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya

Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi

Chhatha

Diwali/Deepawali

Easter

Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr

Ganesh Chaturthi

Holi

Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid

Janmashtmi

Karva Chauth

Lohri

Mahavir Jayanti

Nag Panchmi

Onam

Pongal

Queer Facts

Ramnavmi

Simhastha

Teej,

Ullambana or Ghost Festival

Vijaydashmi 

Wangala, 

Xmas,

Yamdvitiya,

Zagor

As I said earlier now I am looking forward to next year with more varied themes and participation. Till then you all go through the posts and do put your comments. I’ll also relax and go through the same by other participants.  Meet you again next year.

For the reflection on poetry - let the Soul pour : Reflections on A to 2016 - Let the Soul Pour 

For the other participants of challenge visit : A to Z Challenge 2016

Aditya Sinha

11.05.2016

Z for Zagor

Zagor is an age old traditional festival in Siolim area of Goa, in which Hindus and Christians jointly celebrate the harvest.

Siolim is a small hamlet thirty minutes away from the famous Calangute beach of Goa, On the first Monday after Christmas, Hindu and Christian residents of the waddo, or hamlet, of Dando congregate on an open plot of land to keep a night-long vigil and appease the deity who is believed to protect the village. The zagor, or wake, begins with prayers that are unmistakably Christian, though the sing-song chants are said to have been drawn from the abhangs of Sant Tukaram, Maharashtra's poet-saint. And the wizened priest leading the congregation is a Hindu villager from the toddy-tapper caste who does this just once a year.

Zagor - Night wake

The main priests' annual ritual is preceded by 40 days of abstinence when he stays away from non-vegetarian food and prepares for the zagor with prayers and rehearsals with the villagers. The proceedings begin with a procession from the house of his neighbours, with a coconut ritually offered to the deity. The procession halts at wayside crosses and Hindu shrines, including St Annae's chapel. Traditionally, three hymns are sung by Hindus and Christians at the chapel before the procession moves on. Then the Hindus make offerings of oil while the Catholics offer candles at the chapel.

At prayers before Zagorio, as the formless deity is called, the priest offers salutations to the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The ritual five hymns are followed by traditional dances and folk theatre enacted by the villagers, hereditary participants whose roles are inherited through generations which marks the essence of the main celebration. Principal characters like the firangi-raja (white lord), mali (gardener), malin (gardener's wife), mahar (untouchable), etc, represent Goan society as it evolved through the years.

Zagor procession

The all-night vigil is also helped by the Konkani tiatr, or theatre, where skits on political and social issues are performed.

Musical performance

People offer oil, candles and even cigarettes and feni (a local intoxicant) in thanksgiving. The khazan-style of agriculture unique to this region enables paddy cultivation, Pisciculture and salt manufacture on the same land, by regulating the ingress of seawater.

With the Siolim zagor now firmly on the tourist agenda, hereditary participants in the zagor have money in their pockets. The festival is now facing its problem with communism and moving towards extinction. Growing prosperity, though, poses a bigger danger. With the spread of education, entire Catholic families are migrating out thereby altering the colour of the zagor.

Aditya Sinha

30.04.2016

That’s for today with Z. 

So I have cleared the challenge ---- HURRAH ! 

List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi,  Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal , Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor

For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour

For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016

Y for Yamdwitiya

Bhai Dooj

Yama Dwitiya is observed on the second day of the waxing phase of moon (Shukla Paksha) in Kartik month and is one of the last celebrations during Diwali. It falls after two days of Diwali. Yama Dwitiya is also known as Bhai Dhooj or Bhav Bij or Bhai Beej and Bhai Teeka, Godhan. Yam Dvitiya is associated with Lord Yama, the Hindu god of Death, visiting his sister Yami and is thus a symbol of love between brothers and sisters.

Mythological Reference

Legend has it that Lord Yama, the Hindu God of Death, visited his sister, Yami, on the first day of the Shukla Paksha in Kartik month after Diwali. Yami welcomed her brother with garlands and by applying the auspicious tilak or Tika on his forehead. Then the brother and sister exchanged gifts. Yami also served Yamraj his favorite dishes. Yamraj who was overwhelmed by the love of his sister is believed to have said to Yami that who receives Tilak or Tika from his sister will have to never suffer hell. Since then Yama Dwitiya is observed as a symbol of love between brothers and sisters.

Mythology also believes, after slaying the evil demon Narkasur, Lord Krishna visited his sister Subhadra who gave him a warm welcome with sweets and flowers. She also affectionately applied tilak on Krishna's forehead and thus the origin of the festival.

Celebration

The celebrations of this day are similar to the festival of Raksha Bandhan (another festival of Hindu as a symbol of love between brother and sister where by the sister ties Rakhi on the wrist of brother and the brother vows to protect sister lifelong). 

Rakshabandhan

Differentiation in Rakshabandhan and Bhai Dooj is that in the former Sister ties as special thread on wroist of brother called Rakhi, while in Bhai Dooj, sisters pray for a long and happy life for their brothers, by performing the Tika ceremony.

Sister performing Tika on Bhai Dooj

On the day of the festival, ladies / girls and all sisters do a collective tika puja of Yamdivitiya and the sweets & dry fruits used in this puja is used as prasad for their brothers along with other sweets. The sisters invite their brothers for a sumptuous meal often including their favourite dishes/sweets. The whole ceremony signifies the duty of a brother to protect his sister, as well as a sister's blessings for her brother. In return brothers bless their sisters and treat them also with gifts or cash. Bhai Dooj is a time for family reunions as all brothers and sisters in the family get together. Close relatives and friends are also invited to celebrate the Bhai Dooj in many families.

Godhan (Bhai Dooj) as called in Bihar where ladies performing Tika puja collectively.

The Kayastha Community also celebrates Chitragupta Puja or Dawat  Puja on this day. And it is believed that performing Choitragupta Puja in married sister’s house brings prosperity. The puja involves worship of Chitragupta bhagwan and pen, pencils, inkpots etc. used for studies. It gains its name Dawat (Inkpot) puja from the same.

Important items associated with Chitragupta in his puja include the paper and pen, ink, along with other puja items The puja is often performed to Chitragupta in reverence of the four virtues he is seen to embody: justice, peace, literacy, and knowledge. Part of the Chitragupta puja also includes writing down how much money you make in your household, and how much you need to make to survive in the following year, while making offerings of turmeric, flowers, and vermilion

People performing Chitragupta Puja

Mythology Reference of Chitragupta Puja

The birthday of Chitragupta is celebrated on Yama Dwitiya and Chitragupta Jayanti Puja is performed on this day.

Chitragupta is a Hindu God assigned with the task of keeping complete records of actions of human beings on the earth. Upon their death, Chitragupta has the task of deciding heaven or the hell for the humans, depending on their actions on the earth. Chitragupta Maharaj (Chitragupta the King) is the patron deity of Kayasthas, a Hindu sect of India and Nepal. He is the son of Lord Brahma and holds a fairly special place in the Hindu pantheon because of the order of his birth.

Chitragupta & His sons - The Kayastha Family

Lord Brahma had many various sons and daughters in various myth structures, including many seers born of his mind, such as Vashishta, Narada, and Atri, and many sons born of his body, such as Dharma, Delusion, Lust, Death, and Bharata. The story of the birth of Chitragupta is related in different ways, but he is nearly always delineated differently from the other children of Lord Brahma, and a common thread is that he is born directly of Lord Brahma’s body.

In one popular version of the creation myth of Chitragupta, it is said that Lord Brahma gave the land of the dead over to the god Yama, also known as Dharamraj or Yamraj. Yama would become confused sometimes when dead souls would come to him, and would occasionally send the wrong souls to either heaven or hell. Lord Brahma commanded him to keep better track of everyone, and Yama declared that he could not reasonably be expected to keep track of the many people born of the eighty-four different life forms in the three worlds.

Lord Brahma, determined to solve this problem for Yama, sat in meditation for many thousands of years. Finally he opened his eyes, and a man stood before him with a pen and paper. As Chitragupta was born of Lord Brahma’s body, or kaya in Sanskrit, Brahma declared that his children would forever be known as Kayasthas. As he was first conceived in Brahma’s mind, or chitra, and then made whole in secrecy, or gupta, away from the other gods, he was named Chitragupta.

Chitragupta is sometimes also referred to as the first man to use letters, and is hailed that way in the Garud Puran. He is known as being incredibly meticulous, and with his pen and paper he tracks every action of every sentient life form, building up a record of them over the course of their life so that when they die the fate of their soul can be easily determined. These perfect and complete documents are referred to in mystical traditions as the Akashic records, and as they contain the actions of each person from birth to death, they can be said to contain every action taken in the universe.

Aditya Sinha

29.04.2016

That’s for today with Y. Tomorrow it would be another festival with “Z”
List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi,  Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal , Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor

For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour

For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016

X for XMAS

Birth of Jesus Christ - Christmas

XMAS or Christmas is one of the most important festivals of Christians across the world and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and conveys his message of love, tolerance and brotherhood. It is a celebration of humanity and mankind. Though Christmas is a primary festival of the Christian calendar, it still has a special significance in everyone's life. It is celebrated as a universal festival throughout the nation. The first mention of 25th December as the birth date of Jesus occurred in 336 AD in an early Roman calendar. That day onwards, this date is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus. In India, this festival has a special significance since India is known for its unity in diversity worldwide. The celebration of Christmas shows that even people from different religions can take part in Christmas celebration. The day is also called Bara Din or BIG DAY.

Christmas Decoration and Merriment

People decorate their homes to the hilt with Christmas trees or Xmas tree wreathes with bright red decorative bulbs, bells and other small trinkets. People hang beautiful star-shaped paper lamps of various colours and sizes outside their homes.

Christmas tree and decoration

Nearly a week before Christmas, the church, club and school choirs start doing the rounds of their neighbourhood and are greeted by people with cakes and other eatables. Christmas carols are sung in the praise of Lord Jesus Christ.

Decoration

Special Prayers

Churches hold a special 'midnight mass', attended by most people of the community. People especially look forward to this mass as this is not only a sacred prayer ceremony but an important social event as well. Men and women dress up in new clothes for taking part in the mass-special prayer session. The mass goes on for over a couple of hours and people fondly remember the 'Saviour' who gave up his life so that they may live.

Special Prayers at Church

The Festive Celebration

After the mass, people head off home on this hallowed night and children gambol on their way back, burning sparklers and bursting loads of crackers. Everyone sleeps with a peaceful easy feeling, as the next morning brings with it, the Big Day! On Christmas Day, people get ready for the biggest feast. Relatives and friends visit and wish each other by saying 'Happy Christmas' or 'Merry Christmas' and eat the haute cuisine especially prepared for the occasion. The entire Christian community gets together to have a jolly good time. 

Christ birth enactment

The delicious cake prepared especially for this occasion with rich addition of dry fruits is served to the guests along with other delicacies. 

Christmas Cake

The celebrations continue for a fortnight and ends in the first week of January. The churches whitewashed and decorated especially for this grand gala festival capture the attention of hundreds and thousands of people who visit these churches in large numbers. Though, Christmas comes to an end, it leaves people with more memories to cherish every year. Another common character synonymous with Christmas celebration is Santa Claus and distribution of gifts to children.

Santa distributing Gifts

Why is Christmas abbreviated as Xmas:

Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. The "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, which in English is "Christ". The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass. 

Aditya Sinha

28.04.2016

That’s for today with X. Tomorrow it would be with Y.  

List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi,  Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal , Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor

For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour

For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016