Ugadi

India is known for its cultural and ethnic diversity, which implies that it is a land of various festivals. Celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Ugadi is the celebration of New Year.

The day is celebrated on Chaitra Suddha Padhyami. According to Hindu beliefs Lord Brahma, the Hindu pantheon, created the world on this day and therefore it is regarded as auspicious for a new beginning. The date of Ugadi varies between the months of March and April of the Gregorian calendar.

Ugadi declares the onset of spring when the Flame of the Forest (Butea Frondosa) and jasmine blossoms and the air gets filled with the fragrance of green mangoes.

The Celebration

The people of the region are known to be very religious and so, Ugadi is celebrated with strict religious intonation. People living in the north of Vindhya hills observe the day as "Barhaspatyamana" while the community living in south call it "Sauramana" or "Chandramana". They celebrate Ugadi during the full moon cycle of Chaitra. Different rituals are also followed by various sects of Brahmins. Nonetheless, the celebration is marked with its general spirit of fun and merriment.

The preparation for the celebration begins well in advance. People start with cleaning their houses and making rangolis at the entrances. The cleaning ritual is said to signify washing off the grimes of the past and preparing oneself for a new beginning. The rangoli at the entrance is said to ward off the evil and usher good fortune and prosperity to the household. They also hang mango leaves at entrances as a sign of good luck. People also buy new clothes and utensils for Ugadi.

On the day, prayers are offered to Gods at temples to receive their blessings. People take an early shower and gather at the temples to listen to ‘panchangasravanam’ or the yearly predictions made by the priests. People pray for good health, good harvest, prosperity, peace and happiness. "Ugadi pachchadi" a dish made of raw mango, neem buds, salt, green chili, tamarind and jaggery is prepared and eaten. Each item of the preparation represents the different emotions in one’s life such as sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise.

Kavi Sammelanam or poetry recitation meets are very common features of Ugadi celebration. For the young ones the festival stands for new clothes, delicious food and fun. Traditional dishes are prepared and enjoyed with family and friends.

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Gudi Padwa

Maharashtrians normally celebrate their new year on 23^rd March, 2012. According to the Hindu calendar, Gudi Padwa or the Marathi New Year is celebrated on the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada or the first day of the full moon cycle of Chaitra. Marathis pray for a prosperous new year and offer puja to the gudi as it is believed to usher good luck. It is one of the major festivals of this region.

According to the popular belief, the universe was created on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa by Lord Brahma and therefore is the most appropriate day for making a new start. It is also said to be the date when Lord Rama returned to the people of Ayodhya after freeing the world from the unscrupulous ways of Ravana. So, it is also the date to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

The Gudi: Protector of the Good

The gudi or the flag plays a very crucial role during the celebration. It is also called the ‘Brahmadhwaj’ or the flag of Lord Brahma. It is believed to be the carrier of joy, happiness, prosperity and success and ward off evil to protect the household. That is why the ‘gudi’ is erected at a place where it can be seen by all.

The Marathis are very careful about decorating the ‘gudi’. A long bamboo pole is draped with bright colored clothes and then decorated with mango and neem leaves, gathi or sugar crystals, and garlands of red flowers. A kalash is then placed at the top of the pole.

During the three and a half days celebration of Gudi Padwa, the gudi is erected everyday at sunrise and removed before the sunset.

The Celebration of Gudi Padwa

The celebration of Gudi Padwa is a great opportunity for Marathis to showcase their traditions and cultures and they follow all the rituals very strictly. A special puja of neem leaves, tamarind, jaggery, ajwain and gram pulses is offered to the gudi and then eaten by the Marathis. This is said to purify the blood.

The day is considered to be very auspicious for buying new things for the household and loved ones. Marathis normally buy new clothes and utensils for the occasion. Buying silver and gold items is also a very popular tradition.

The event is marked with merriment, fun and abundance. People prepare for the celebration by cleansing their houses, and decorate them with mango leaves and rangolis. They then gather at temples to listen to ‘Panchangasravanam' or the predictions made by the priests for the year.

Elaborate feats are organized and traditional dishes like puran poli, soonth pak, shrikhand, and jalebis are prepared and enjoyed with friends and family.

The Beginning of the Harvest Season

Gudi Padwa initiates the harvest season in the region. It also marks the onset of spring when the seasonal fruits of jackfruit and mango ripen and the air gets filled with their aroma. The word padwa is believed to have come from the Sanskrit word 'Pradurbhu’, which means crop. People on this day pray to the deity for another year of good harvest, health, prosperity and peace for all.

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St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick is regarded as the patron saint of Ireland and the Irish commemorate his death in the fifth century on St. Patrick's Day. For them it is an important religious event. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on 17^th of March for more than 1000 years now. The day is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the Lutheran Church of Ireland.

St. Patricks Day falls during the Christian month of Lent and the celebration is marked by scenes of general jubilation and merry making. People take a break from fasting and Lenten restrictions are not observed for the day.

Who was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick is famous for introducing Christianity in Ireland. His two works, the Confessio, an autobiography, and Epistola are the main sources of information about him. In Epistola he denounced the British monarchy for mistreating and discriminating against the people of Ireland.

He is believed to have been born during the second half of the fourth century. He was mostly famous for driving off snakes from the atolls of Ireland. Some, however, believe that it was only symbolical since he put an end to the pagan practices of the people of Ireland and snakes were often worshipped by the pagans.

He popularized Christianity by converting thousands of the warrior tribes in the ‘Holy Wells’. St. Patrick died on March 17, 460 A.D at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland where his jawbone is still preserve in a silver shrine and is believed to offer protection against evil.

Why wear green on St. Patrick's Day?

The few items that became synonymous with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day are the colors green and gold, and shamrock which is believed to bring good luck. The Irish wear green clothes on the day.

The original color associated with St. Patrick's Day however wasn’t green but blue. However, over the years green and shamrock became the symbols of the event. It is believed that the saint used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit to the Irish pagans.

During the 1798 rebellion the national army of Ireland wore green uniform to attract public support and inspire patriotism among people. The famous song "the wearing of the green" is also said to have been derived from the tradition of wearing green attire on March 17 .

Celebration in Ireland and Worldwide

The biggest celebration of the event takes place in Ireland. It is a national holiday in Ireland and all offices and public places, except restaurants and pubs, remain closed during the day. Parades and fun runs are organized in many parts of the country and people gather at the restaurants, houses and pubs to celebrate with songs and dances. As a result of the religious connotation of the event Masses are organized and attended by the Irish people.

The afternoons are reserved for feats and celebrations. The Lenten restrictions of consuming meat and alcohol are done away with for the day and families enjoy elaborate meals of Irish traditional dishes made from bacon and cabbage. Everyone would wear green clothes and shamrock as parts of the traditions.

St. Patrick’s Day is regarded as the day to show respect to the missionaries all over the world. When the Irish community traveled to the other parts of the world they took their practices and customs with them and hence, St. Patrick’s Day is now celebrated in the UK, Canada, the US, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand as well as Japan, Russia and Singapore.

In the US, St Patrick’s Day is a big event in states with high Irish population. The first St. Patrick parade was also organized in the US and not in Ireland.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade organized by the New York Irish Aid societies in 1848 is now regarded as the oldest civilian parade in the world. Today it attracts almost 0.15 million revelers. Almost 3 million people gather at the New York City every year to witness the 1.5-mile parade.

Today the St. Patrick’s Day is one of the major tourist attractions of Ireland. Since 1995 the event has been promoted by the national government to showcase Irish culture and customs to the world. Today, Ireland receives more than 1 million tourists during the event in Dublin.

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Holi: Celebration of Harmony

The Indian populace is can be distinguished by many factors – caste, region, social and economic statuses are only few of them. As a result, most of the Indian festivals have a specific reach, restricted to a region or two.

Though Holi is mainly a Hindu festival it has earned a mass appeal as it is celebrated on a single day across the length and breadth of the country and the entire Hindu community, as well as the other communities too come together to celebrate it. Holi is celebrated to spread the messages of harmony, unity and fraternity.

The underlying message of Holi is to forget and forgive rivalry and enmity and to embrace everyone with open arms.

Historical Significance of Holi

Mentions of the celebration can be found in several texts that are held sacred by Hindus. Most popularly it is associated with Lord Krishna. According to popular Hindu beliefs, the celebration of Holi on the onset of spring was introduced by Bhagawan Krishna who engaged the people of Braj to play with colored powder and water on the full moon day of Phalguna.

Another tale of Holi associates it with the burning of ‘Holika’, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu. According to the popular legend, the king in order to kill his Prahlada, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, asked his sister to sit in a burning pyre with Prahlada on her lap. Holika had the blessing that no fire could ever burn her.

But things went wrong and it was Holika who got burned in the pyre and with the blessings of Vishnu, Prahlada emerged unharmed. Since then a pyre is made and burnt on the day before the celebration of Holi to signify burning of evil and welcoming good. The ritual is called ‘Holika Dahan’.

In South India the celebration is known as ‘Kama Dahanam’ to commemorate the burning of Kamdeva, God of love, by Lord Shiva. He was later restored by the Lord on request of Rati, the wife of Kamdeva.

Economic and social significance of Holi

Apart from being a religious festival Holi also has strong economic and social significances. Holi is celebrated to mark the ending of the winter season and the onset of spring. Since India is a predominantly agrarian economy, the onset of spring also means the beginning of the harvest season.

Holi is one of the oldest festivals of India. According to some sources, the word Holi was derived from ‘Hola’ which means offering oblation and prayer to the God. Devotees visit temples and show their gratitude to the deity for good harvest and pray for prosperity in the years to come.

The modern day celebration of Holi can be traced back to ancient Bengal. It was one of the major Gaudiya Vaishnav festivals as mentioned in the Vaishnaviya Tantra.

On this day people visit the Krishna temple and smear the idol with red abir (colored powder) as the color signifies good fortune, passion and desire. The celebration was popularized by the Vaishnavs to bring together the Hindu community which is otherwise divided by the caste system.

In that way Holi has been playing a great role in unifying the Hindu community of India. Everyone, irrespective of his social and economical status or religious orientation, participates in this magnanimous celebration of color.

Send colourful Holi cards to your friends and relatives.