Hanukkah - Festival of Lights!

Hanukkah is one of the most popularly celebrated eight-day long festivals of the American-Jewish community. The festival is commemorated to celebrate the spirit of the re-dedication of the holy temple in Jerusalem, especially after its revolutionary desecration by some illegal Syrian-Greek forces. The festival signifies the spirit of the powerful struggle illuminating in the bosom of every Jew to live his life under the commandments and rules of the God. The festival honors the Jewish way of life and its principles which are literally treasured close to the heart by each and every member of the Jewish community presiding all over the world.

Every year, this grand festival is celebrated on the 25th day of the “Kislev” month, a Hebrew month according to the Jewish calendar. There is no one particular day for celebrating this festival as the Jewish calendar is lunar in nature. As a result, every year, the first day of the festival falls on a different day, however, between the months of November and December. Interestingly, since most of the Jewish population is well settled in Christian societies, the festivities of this grand day are more or less similar to the celebrations of Christmas.

The festival is also known as the festival of lights as the all the streets, houses and churches get enlightened with the brightness of lights and candles. In fact, one of the most unique aspects of the festival which makes it different from Christmas is the lighting of the candelabrum, a unique nine-branched Hanukiah. Since the festival is celebrated for good eight days, the Hanukiah is lit on every night of the eight-day long festival.

The festivities are not considered complete without the spinning of the traditional dreidel, a game which has four sides and Hebrew letters written on each of the sides. Essentially, as per the rules of the games, the letters need to be moved in a way that every turn culminates into a meaningful word. The game is appropriate for playing for both adults as well as children of all the age groups. It is believed that even babies are made part of the game as they utterly enjoy the moving of the spin around its axis.

For the children, Hanukkah holds special importance because of the fun element related to the festival. Apart from playing the Dreidel game, the children get an opportunity to relish the traditional latkes, also known as the potato pancakes and donuts, traditionally called the Sufganiyot. Special books, dedicated on the history and evolution of the festival are published for the children. These books are popularly called the Hanukkah books and are read among children, under the guidance of the adults.

More typically, the festival is celebrated among the family members united together. The festivities are enjoyed with near and dear ones, savouring the customary fried foods, especially the Latkes and donuts.  However, the relatives who are settled in far lands and are unreachable are popularly greeted with the Hanukkah photo cards which carry inspiring messages about the festival.

Get over the anxiety to write Thanksgiving Letter

Thanksgiving letters are the perfect way to express your sincerest thanks and appreciation to your near and loved ones. They also give you the right channel for expressing your heart-felt appreciation for the favors endowed on you by your colleagues or seniors. Make it count that this letter can literally do wonders in your personal and professional life, especially if you run short of words or hesitate to express your innermost feelings to your known and associates. Thanksgiving letters, when written in the right words and format, can become your perfect and dependable tool to convey your gratitude and respect to those who have cared and loved you.

Ironically, writing a thanksgiving letter is much easier than it is thought to be! Many people are so over-burdened with the thought of wording the letter correctly, that they end up taking a step-back for the fear of going wrong. Putting the right words, phrases and format can literally cause anxiety among people, which is completely uncalled for. Remember, the golden rule is to write from your heart! The letter, nevertheless how imperfect, if written with sentiments of love and purity, reaches the receiver in its right spirit.

Here are some steps that may help you write your perfect thanksgiving letter-

1) Before beginning to think of words, be sure of the person to whom you want to address the thanksgiving letter to. In case, the list of receivers is long, make sure to write their names, along with the relationship you share with them, in a piece of paper.

2) Next, take one person at a time and think of all the things that you are thankful for. Next, choose not more than top five things that have created a difference in your life or touched your heart in a way. Now when you write the letter, make sure to name these specific things that you are thankful about.

3) Now follow the format that you normally follow while writing formal letters, i.e.- name, address, city and phone number.

4) Start your letter with a salutation and proceed with words of appreciation and thanks, mentioning all the gifts or things the receiver has done for you. ‘

5) If you are addressing the letter to your close relative, jokes on turkey or over-stuffing oneself on this Thanksgiving Day are all allowed and well appreciated in a positive light.

6) Make sure to dispatch your letter quickly without causing any delay of sorts.

The Auspicious Gurpurab

Gurpurab, commemorated as the auspicious Guru Nanak Jayanti, is celebrated as the birth anniversary of most revered Gurus of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Ji. This is the biggest and undoubtedly the most sacred festivals of the followers of the Sikh religion. Guru Nanak Ji is revered in almost every household of the Sikh follower for he is believed to be the first ever teacher as well as the forerunner of this celebrated religion, Sikhism. Apart from Sikhism, the day is marked with huge celebrations among the certain sections of the Sindhis as well as Hindu Punjabis. Every year, the festival is celebrated in the month of November.

It is believed that the religious beliefs and customs of Sikhism have been propagated due to unrelenting efforts of ten main Gurus, the first among them being Guru Nanak Ji. The birth anniversary of each one of these Gurus is celebrated as Gurpurab. Guru Nanak Ji’s birth anniversary is religiously followed and celebrated by each and every follower of this religion.

The festivities
This auspicious day generally commences with Prabhat Pheri, basically an early- morning procession carried out by a group of ardent followers. The procession culminates with the singing of religious hymns around the localities and finally a visit to the Gurudwara where prayers are offered to the almighty. It is followed by a procession of Akhand Path, which is a non-stop reading session of the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib and is carried out for forty eight hours. The reading session is carried out inside the Gurudwara by selected ardent followers of the religion and is open for all the believers to pay attention to.

Further, the celebrations are marked by yet another important procession carried out by the selected five beloved ones. The procession is better known as the Panj Prayas. Typically, in this procession, the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib is placed in a beautifully decorated palanquin. The palanquin is then rotated around colonies and localities to give a chance to the devotees to offer their prayers and respect to the almighty. On the other hand, like every procession, this one’s too accompanied by a group of believers who sing the hymns and attract the attention of the passersby towards the Lord.

Apart from the traditional celebrations, the followers indulge themselves into social service activities as well. Followers devote themselves in the preparation of a grand feast, better known as the langar, in the Gurudwara which is kept open for all devotees to relish. Distribution of water to the needy, food to the hungry and karah Prasad (auspicious sweet) to the devotees completes this festival. An element of fun is added to the celebrations with huge family dinners and get-togethers followed by bursting of crackers.
Guru Nanak Ji was a great teacher, saint and a seer. He showed the right path to re-affirm their faith in the almighty, to all his followers. His preaching and lessons on peace, love and righteousness are cherished even today and well celebrated on the Guru Nanak Jayanti.   

Thanksgiving Day- The Do’s and Don’ts

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in different names and styles, pertaining to varied cultural beliefs, all over the world. However, the reason for which the festival is celebrated remains common in all the religions and cultures. The day gives a chance to the humanity to express its sincere thanks to the almighty for bestowing mighty and plentiful harvest. In the Unites States, the day is celebrated with grandeur, just a few days before Christmas, on the fourth Thursday of November. On the other hand, in Canada, this grand day is celebrated on the second Monday falling in the month of October.

Over the past few years, the essence of thanking the almighty for its greatness in bestowing humanity with harvest has blurred. Today, Thanksgiving Day has simply been relegated to just another day for enjoying grand meals, expensive drinks and loud get-togethers. This makes it all the more important to restore the colour and festivity of the day to enjoy it in the right spirit.

Here is a list of all the essential do’s and don’ts that one must follow to restore the spirit of the grand day and celebrate it with one’s near and dear ones.

Do remember the traditional meals
Thanksgiving Day signifies family re-unions and get-togethers. It’s the time of the year when the entire family unites, offers prayer to the Lord and enjoys a great meal together. To groove in the spirit of this festival, remember to cook the traditional meals. Pumpkin pie, roasted turkey, stuffed or mashed potatoes and cranberries are the most common food items associated with the day. One can of-course be more creative and make these traditional meals more interesting!

Do invest on preparing good salads
Salads can appear to be the most mundane or the most creative part of your Thanksgiving menu. Make them more interesting by adding spicy and tangy dressings. A bowl of sumptuous salad would be a really good option for those who don’t want to regret stuffing themselves with mashed potatoes and other high-on calorie meals.

Do send your invites in advance
Remember to send out the invites of the Thanksgiving dinner to your guests much in advance so that they have adequate time to adjust their hectic schedule. Also, sending out proper invitations days earlier gives a fair idea of the total number of guests that are expected to come. This will help to make a proper shopping budget of the food and sundry needed for the grand dinner.

Don’t avoid food to enjoy the grand dinner
Unless one wants to experience a bloated belly after the grand dinner, it is important that one takes proper meals- a healthy breakfast and lunch, before splurging on the Thanksgiving dinner.

Don’t add varieties in appetizers
A huge variety in appetizers made of potatoes and pumpkin can lead to over-stuffing and bloating. As a result, one really doesn’t enjoy the main and the most anticipated Thanksgiving dinner. Keep two to three varieties in appetizers and make sure to keep a considerable gap of time between the serving of main meal and appetizers. 

Bhai Dooj

Bhai Dooj is celebrated all over the country to revere the sanctity of the bond shared between a brother and a sister. The day is celebrated as a grand festival and reminds us about the glorious relationship of a brother and his sister. Bhai dooj is signified by the umpteen prayers offered by the sisters to the almighty for bestowing well-being and healthy life to their brothers.  The festivities of this day are mostly observed by the Hindus all over the world.  The day falls on the last of the Diwali celebrations. Going by the Hindu calendar, Bhai Dooj coincides with the second day of the Shukla Paksha, better known as the fortnight of the month of Kartika.

According to the legendary stories, decades ago, the much feared God of death, The Yamraj, paid a visit to his sister Yami, on this auspicious day of Bhai Dooj. Yami welcomed his brother with a beautiful garland and smeared a spiritual tilak on his forehead. She also served him with sumptuous dishes and sweets. Both the brother and his sister enjoyed the dishes to core. Out of his love and affection for his sister, the Lord Yamraj vowed to protect all those men who received the auspicious mark ( tilak) on their forehead. Ever since, the day holds immense significance in the Hindu culture and is celebrated with much fan-fare and dedication by the brothers and sisters.

The day signifies an eternal bond of love between the brother and his sister. Bhai Dooj is form of a ceremony wherein the dutiful brother vows to protect his sister and stand by her pillar-strong in times of difficulties or need. The sister in turn, shows respect and affection for her brother by welcoming him whole-heartedly, cooking great meals for him and smearing his forehead with the auspicious mark.  With the tikka ceremony, the sister offers her sincerest prayers to God for his protection and a healthy, fun-filled life.

The festival is also known by the name Bhai Bij in states like Haryana, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. To add more charm and zeal to this festival, various innovative ceremonies are performed on this day, one of the most important being, exchange of gifts. The sisters shop for their brother’s favorite sweets whereas the brothers gift shopping coupons to the sisters.

Thanks to the technology, those who are far away can greet each other via e-cards, affectionate messages over emails and not to forget, the virtual tilaks! 

Time To Celebrate Children’s Day!

Children’s Day… a day for the children and by the children! The children’s day signifies the commitment of the country towards the well-being and welfare of our children. This day is celebrated with much fanfare and joy to revel the innocence and purity associated with childhood. It is known to all that the day is celebrated with fun activities and innovative sessions, especially organized for the children. However, the day is also marked by tremendous social endeavors undertaken by government and non-profit organizations for uplifting the well-being and social rights of the under-privileged children.  Children’s Day is observed in India on November 14. The organization, on this day, promotes various well-being and developmental steps to bring improvement in the living condition and educational arena of the children all over the world. In addition, in many countries, Children’s day is well marked as the International day for the Protection of Children from mal-practices and sexual abuse.

The Historical Aspect
There are numerous theories supporting the reasons for commemorating this day, however, going by the Indian theory, the day coincides with the birth day of the first Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, born on November 14, 1889. Pandit Nehru, more affectionately known as Chacha Nehru, was one of the most ardent propagators of the Indian freedom struggle against the Britishers. He was also known for his eternal love and affection for the country’s children. He fought for the educational and social rights of the children as he strongly believed that they are the future of our country.

The Celebrations
In many schools, Children’s day is celebrated like a grand festival. A wide range of fun-filled and educational activities are organized to make this day memorable and special for the children. For many children, the day is a great reliever from their mundane schedule of studies and gives a chance to rejoice their precious childhood. Some of the attractions of the day are foot-tapping music for the children, dance, feast and competitions of sorts organized by the school.

The day can become memorable for the child with the participation of the parents. The parents can well take initiatives of organizing a small party for the children at home or at their favorite food outlet. Apart from gifts, words of appreciation and affection from the parents can do wonders to boost the morale of the children and bring them closer to their parents.

It is in the last five years that the awareness of the children’s day has almost doubled all over the world. Thanks to the technology, the influx of affectionate SMSs and inspiring messages are reaching almost every mobile handset, thus leading to an increased awareness. The media too has been putting in commendable efforts to recognize and reach help to the disadvantaged children all over the world.

With these unending efforts of media and other organizations, today, we can proudly say that each and every child of our country, nevertheless his class, is precious for the development of our country.

Best Diwali Games to Play and Enjoy

To help you make your Diwali party the most memorable party of the year, here are top ten games to play:

Tombola, Housie, Bongo or Lotto: Called by different names, but almost similar in rules and nature; these are great fun gambling games. Any number or age group of people can play this game. In Housie and Tombola every player gets a ticket with a table of numbers or alphabets printed in small boxes on it. Players have to mark out these numbers on their tickets when called out and achieve a winning combination like first five, first line, second line, third line and full house. Bingo is also similar to Housie while in Lotto picture or symbols are used instead of numbers.

Card Games: Playing cards is an integral part of Diwali parties. But avoid gambling on the auspicious occasion. There are a number of card games that you can play on Diwali like Flash, Rummy, Bluff, slash, 28, etc. However now-a-days experimental card games have evolved replacing these traditional games. You can thus try games likeAK47aka Ace, King, 4 and 7; where these four cards become jokers. These four cards when in hand, can be exchanged for any color or card to make desired sequence. Muflis is the opposite of Flash; where the person with the least number of cards wins. Similarly the other games that you can play includes Blackjack, Kissing-Missing, Discard One, Matha, Lallan-Kallan, 1942 A Love Story,13cards, and so on. Playing such new varieties will keep the card game interesting and the spirits high.

Pin the Missing Part: In this game a picture is pasted on the wall or a board and a part is missing, which you need to pin blindfolded. The player is first taken in front of the picture and then his eyes are blindfolded. The player is circled at his place and then asked to approach the picture and pin the missing part at the right place. This sort of game though is more popular in children, but with some added difficulties and variations these can also be played by the adults.

Board Games: Board games like Bluff/Liar’s Dice, Dice, Jumble Words, Snakes and Ladder, Cash ‘n Guns and so on. These games can make a good time pass and a great part of the entertainment program.

Passing the Parcel: As a family fun activity you can play passing the parcel where people of all age groups can take part and play together. Arranging such games help whole family to play together and thus share the happiness and the bond of togetherness.

Dumb Charades: Dumb Charades is full of fun elements. You can play this game in two groups. In this game one member at a time from each team comes forth and is given a movie/song to enact. The player enacts the movie/song by actions and expressions without speaking a single word; and his team members have to guess that name and win points. The team with most points earned wins the game.

Musical Chairs: Musical chairs is a well-known game for parties and it is a good entertaining activity for Diwali parties. Arrange the chairs in the centre of the hall and play music. While the music is on players move around the chairs and as the music stops, players have to take a chair and the player left standing is out of the game. At the end of every round one chair is removed and the same is repeated. In the end the last sitting player wins the game.

Treasure Hunt: Depending on the available space and resources you can plant a nice Scavenger or Treasure Hunt game either for children or for family groups. Divide the game into few rounds/parts and give hints at the beginning of first round to find the hidden clue/key to reach the next level and so on. The first team or child who ever finds the hidden treasure wins the game.

Contests: Arranging contests like best dressed person, lighting diyas, rangoli making, diyas decoration, firecrackers competition etc.; make a great fun activity.

Crackers: Fireworks is the best part of Diwali. Firing crackers not only reflects the enthusiasm of the festival, but it does also symbolize warding off evil and darkness. Lighting crackers like Chakri, Anaar, Fuljhari, etc. are one of the best childhood moments. Even the adults love bursting fireworks.
Happy Diwali!!!

More : Diwali Messages, Diwali Cards, Diwali Greetings

Diwali Home Decoration Ideas

Apart from lighting, pooja and sweets, home decoration is another very big task on Diwali. Deity of wealth and prosperity, Goddess Laxmi loves beauty and cleanliness; and blesses the well-kept houses. Make sure to clean every room and exterior of your home. You should start cleaning week ahead of the festival to avoid last moment clubbing of many jobs.

Once done, let’s start decorating the home. Here is a set of Diwali home decoration ideas to help you decorate your house beautifully.

Diwali Decoration Ideas
Diwali home decoration ideas varies from person to person according to their budget. Below is a list of decoration tips:

Decorate the House from Outside:
1.Lighting the exterior of the house with LED lights is a trend these days. You can choose various series of the lights, having varied color combination and pattern of decoration.
2. You can combine the lightings with candles, earthen diyas and lanterns.
3. If you have a garden you can decorate your plants with serial lights and hanging lanterns.

Make the Entrance Welcoming:
1. Make rangoli in the doorway or at the main door of your house. You can make rangoli either with the wet/dry colors or you can also use flowers for this purpose. Even there is an option to buy readymade rangoli stickers from the market as well.
2. Adore the rangoli with beautiful flowers and earthen diyas.
3. Decorate entrance with traditional torandwars, bandhanwars and embellished door hangings.
4. Paper lanterns also make a beautiful part at the entrance decoration.

Beautify the Interiors:
1. Place a pair of earthen diyas at every door.
2. Use flower garlands for decorating the pillars, doors, walls. This will give a beautiful look to the interior and fill natural aroma inside the house.
3. New curtains, cushions, bedsheets, rugs or carpets are an effective way to do Diwali home decoration. And if not new then just clean all your cushions etc and give them a press to look tidy and nice.
4. You can also bring in wall hangings and paintings to decorate your house.
5. Drawing Goddess Laxmi’s feet at the doors look very creative and beautiful.
6. Place a large earthen or glass pot filled with water in the living area and decorate it with floating candles and fragrant flowers.

Tips to Make Your Decoration Unique:
Here are unique Diwali decoration ideas to make your home most appealing:
1. Diwali Decoration with Theme: Select a theme for the Diwali home decoration and plan everything according to it. Like if you choose Rajasthani theme you can get Rajasthani printed bedsheets and cushions along with Rajasthani handlooms, sculptures, wall hangings, puppets and paintings, etc. and combine them with earthen diyas, flowers and lights. Similarly your theme can be based on color, work from other states and culture.
2. Eco-friendly Decoration: This Diwali go eco-friendly by recycling used products to decorate your home. You can use your sarees and dupattas as curtains or for wall decoration. You can use old electric bulbs as diyas or as flower vase. Hang all the previous Diwali cards in a series, on a string tied up on the wall. You can use Christmas decorative as well.

More - Diwali Messages, Diwali Quotes