Amazingfestivals

Festival means a celebration, especially a public one. Each religion has it’s own festivals. Like:
Indian festivals
Though India is often and justly described as a land of many religions and innumerable languages it might well be described as a land of festivals as well.


Diwali:

This is perhaps the most well known of the Indian festivals: it is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the Diaspora. It is colloquially known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls. In urban areas, especially, candles are substituted for diyas; the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks invariably accompany the celebration of the festival. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. . Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and accordingly it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival; similarly, it heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season.





Karwa chauth:

Karwa Chauth is a fast undertaken by married Hindu women who offer prayers seeking the welfare, prosperity, well-being, and longevity of their husbands. It is said to have an extraordinary observance rate among married Hindu women. Following a bath early in the morning, well before dawn, the woman adorns new clothes and partakes of a meal of very select grains and fruit. For the remainder of the day, the woman is bound to abstain from food and even water, though the more strict rules of observance are not always kept. In the text-book version of this fast, various items including a karwa, an earthen pot with a spout, are collected and worship is offered to Siva and Parvati.





Ganpati:


The annual festival in honor of Ganesh or Ganapati, the elephant-headed deity who is known as the remover of obstacles and the god of auspiciousness, has been observed for at least 250 years, and perhaps at least since the twelfth century. It was at first an affair that lasted for two days or less, but by the middle part of the eighteenth century, in the reign of Madhavrao (1761-72), it began to be celebrated over six days. The modern history of the Ganapati festival dates back to 1894, when the Maratha politician and Indian nationalist, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, lionized as Lokamanya, or "Beloved of the People", gave it a distinct political face. Though the festival had largely been a private affair, where each family purchased an idol of Ganesh and then took it out in procession on Ganesh Chaturthi before immersing it in the river, pond, or tank, it had not been without its public and community aspect, since often several families joined in the procession, or otherwise pooled together their resources to buy a larger-sized idol


Pakistani festivals:

Pakistani festivals include:

Eid-ul –fitar:

After fasting in the Holy month of Ramzan and sightings of the moon of Shawal, Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-fitar in which they dress up with new clothes and visit their relatives and spend time with them chatting and having snacks together. In the morning the boys go for prayers while girls stay at home and put mehendi on their hands.


Eid-ul-azha:

On 9th of zil-haj Muslims perform Hajj in the Khanne-kaaba the holy place for Muslims and perform pilgrimage. On the 10th of zil-haj in the background for Hazrat Ismail’s sacrifice Eid-ul-fitar is celebrated which Muslims also call meethi eid.They sacrifice goats, cows and camels and enjoy their meat with their families and relatives. In this festival also, the girls dress up themselves with new clothes and jewellery and apply mehendi on their hands.


American and Christian festivals:

Easter (Christian festival):

The first of the three major spiritual planetary festivals, The Festival of The Risen One, traditionally has been celebrated in the western hemisphere at the Aries Full Moon as Easter. This is in present time the Festival of the Risen, Living Christ, and honors the time of resurrection and the birth of divine ideas. The consciousness of the heart, the energy of Love as represented by the Spiritual Hierarchy, is recognized, and the nature of God’s Love is emphasized at this time.

The Forces of Restoration are particularly active during the time of The Easter Festival. These forces emanate from the MIND of God; they are connected with the intelligence principle in the divine nature, stimulating the human intellect. This energy is peculiarly creative in nature and carries the life which produces the birth of forms. It is a mass energy, related to stimulation of the mass intelligence. It causes humanity to think, plan, and take action, producing neither good nor bad results, but simply the awakening of our minds so we will take intelligent action.

Halloween (American festival):

The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows
Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle.

The festival observed at this time was called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the other world. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. On that day all manner of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demons--all part of the dark and dread.

Iranian festivals:


Noruz:

No Ruz, new day or New Year as the Iranians call it, is a celebration of spring Equinox. It is the most cherished of all the Iranian festivals and is celebrated by all. This occasion has been renowned in one form or another by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. What we have today as No Ruz with its’ uniquely Iranian characteristics has been celebrated for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of Zoroastrian belief system of the Sassanian period.

This was the religion of Ancient Persia before the advent of Islam in 7th century AD. The familiar concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, coming of the Messiah, individual and last judgment were for the first time incorporated into this belief system. They still exist in Judo-Christian and Islamic traditions. In order to understand No Ruz we have to know about Zoroastrians’ cosmology.