Saturday, October 27, 2012

Significance of Halloween Props



What is Halloween?
Halloween has dual spirit of both festive as well as superstitious feel. It is thought that the origin of Halloween is the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain in which people used to light bonfire and wear costumes to keep the roaming ghost away. Now Halloween, which is also known as All Hallow’s Eve is celebrated each year on 31st Oct. With time it has become more secular. The event is now celebrated with all the child friendly activities and fun. The most significant activities in Halloween are trick-or-treat, costume parties, making pumpkin’s jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, playing pranks and visiting haunted attractions. 

Artifacts and Symbols associated with Halloween

Jack o Lantern and Pumpkin:
Jack o Lantern is a carved pumpkin and to make this, generally a very large pumpkin is used. As per the Irish folktale, the name “jack-o’-lanterns” has come from a man named Stingy Jack in Ireland. The same tradition had been brought to America by Irish immigrants. America is a home of the pumpkins and so pumpkin as Jack o Lantern became a tradition.

Turnip: In Ireland and Scotland, turnip was traditionally used on Halloween. There big potatoes and turnips were served as an early canvas. But then the immigrants to North America had started using Pumpkins which were larger and softer than turnips.


Trick or Treat :Children celebrate Halloween by playing trick-or-treat activity, which is also known as guessing. From house to house children go in the Halloween costumes and ask for a treat or trick. In treat, the house-owner has to give candies or money or anything as a treat and if not done then trick is played that includes some mischievous activity on the house-owner or his or her property.

Dunking or Apple Bobbing: It is one of the games associated with Halloween. The game is known as “dooking” in Scotland. In this game, apples are floated in tub or large basin and the participants have to remove them by using their teeth. In one variant of the dunking, the participants hold a fork in teeth and then kneel on the chair to get the apples out with fork.

Haunted Places: Haunted attractions add thrill in Halloween. There is no mention of using these in earlier history till the used by the Junior Chamber International (Jaycees) for fund-raising purposes. Haunted ideas generally include haunted houses, hayrides and corn mazes. During festive season it has become a very good business generating sector in USA.

Some Superstitious Associated with Halloween
There is one very interesting superstitious associated with Halloween. It dates back to 18th-century in Ireland and related to a matchmaking cook. The cook might conceal a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night with the hope that her true love would find it on the dinner table.

There is also another story like this in which it was believed that if a woman eats a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg,  before going to bed on Halloween eve, then in her dream she would see her future husband.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Navratri

As the name suggests, “Navaratri” is formed by two words i.e. "nava" (for "nine") and "ratri" (for "nights"). So, Navratri is a 9-day festival observed in the Hindu calendar. It is celebrated two times during an year: one at the beginning of summer, and two at the onset of winters. The latter begins with the day of Ashwina of the bright fortnight. Seeds are sown, sprouting is observed under the blessing of the planets. The festival is celebrated twice a year because we thank the Almighty for maintaining the balance in nature.

Many legends are attached to this festival; all are related to Goddess Shakti and her many forms. The festival holds a special importance to Gujaratis and Bengalis; they celebrate the occasion with great fervor and enthusiasm. Raas Garba is the major attraction for tourist in this season. Dandiya (a form of Raas Garba) is jovially played by men and women during the Navratri.

Navratri is a festival of Goddesses. Just as the child looks to the mother for power, we the earthlings look up for our Goddesses as they are the source of power. While the first three days are dedicated to Goddess Durga, the Warrior Goddess, the next three days celebrate Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity. The last three days worship Goddess Saraswati, Goddess of knowledge. Thus, Navratri offers an invocation to Goddesses for a healthy and happy life.

In certain traditions, a way of celebrating Navratri includes observing fasts that breaks on the Mahanavami. On Mahanavami, people prepare delectable sweets and make an offering to nine young girls; representing the nine avatars of Goddess Durga. The tenth day marks Vijayadashami, or what is popularly called as Dusshera.