Indian Festivals
Introduction: India is a land of fasts and festivals. The Indian men and women observe these festivals throughout the year. These festivals are being observed from time immemorial. People are observing them right from the dawn of human civilization.
Major Indian Festivals: The major festivals are Dussehra, Kali Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Basanta Panchami, Makar Sankranti, Janmastami, Ram Navami, Akshya Tritiya, Holi and others, to name only a few. These festivals are observed by the Hindus but there are other festivals also such as Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha and Muharram observed by the Muslims. The Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are observed by the Christians and the Guru Nanak Jayanati is observed by the Sikhs or Punjabis.
People observe these festivals with great devotion as they believe that fasts and festivals purify their minds and inspire them to lead a better and purer life. If is for this reason that the old, young and children all observe these fasts and festivals with great gusto and enthusiasm.
Celebration: These festivals are observed throughout the year with great pomp and ceremony. Some festivals like Dussehra, Diwali and Holi are observed throughout the country and some others are observed regionally. All the people, irrespective of their social position, observe these festivals with their families and also socially with their friends with great enthusias
Importance: Every festival has a social, religious and mythological value. Accordingly, Dussehra has a great significance. People believe that this is the occasion when goddess Durga killed Mahisasura and save the people from the clutches of a great demon. This is also an occasion to fight against all that is evil and establish truth. Similarly the Janmastami festival has also a great religious and social significance. This is the occasion when Lord Krishna was born to kill Kansa and other demons and save the people from a great danger. This festival also teaches us how to fight evil and falsehood and establish truth.
Their social and cultural value: In this way Indian festivals have a great religious and social significance. They teach a moral lesson to the people and unite them. People forget all their differences and observe these festivals with a sense of togetherness. The festivals teach them how to forget their enmity, narrowness and bitterness and join hand with each other for the sake of their religion and their society and for the sake of friendship and universal brotherhood.
Conclusion: It is our sacred duty to celebrate these festivals with a sense of purity and sanctity. We should keep it free from communalism, narrowness and nasty politics.
