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=  **India's Festivals**  = (Khrisha Blackwell)

 Major Festivals: // Ganesha Chaturthi Diwali (Deepavali) //  //Holi// (The Festival of Colors)

Ganesha Chaturthi   Ganesha Chaturthi celebrates the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the “supreme god of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune” (Wikipedia). __ Origin __ According to Wikipedia, the legend begins while Lord Shiva is away at a war. His wife, Parvati, wanted to take a bath, but had no one to guard her privacy. So she created a son from sandalwood paste. When Lord Shiva returned and tried to enter his house, the sandalwood paste son would not let him because Parvati had instructed him not to let anyone in. Angry, Shiva lobbed off the boy’s head. To appease Parvati, who had flown into a rage upon finding her son decapitated, Shiva sent out his hordes—//gana//—to cut off the head of a child whose mother wasn’t looking. They found an elephant, and brought its head back to Shiva, who placed it on the body of the sandalwood son. Shiva called the boy Ganesha—Lord (//isha//) of Shiva’s hordes (//gana//). __ Celebrating __ Prior to the Ganesha Chaturthi, a clay model of Lord Ganesha is made. On the first day of the festival the model is “placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents for people to view and pay their homage” (Das). A priest then invokes life into the statue, and it is anointed with sandal paste (Das). Ganesha is worshipped for ten days, and on the eleventh day, the statue is led in a procession through the streets and to a river, where it is submerged. The statue dissolves in a ritual that “represent[s] the cycle of creation and dissolution in Nature” (Wikipedia). Diwali  Diwali (or Deepavali) is celebrated as the “Festival of Lights.” The most “significant spiritual meaning” of the festival is the celebration of the “Inner Light” or the //Atman//. Awareness of the //Atman// “awaken[s] the individual to one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality. With the realization of the //Atman// comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings //Ananda// (Inner Joy or Peace)” (Wikipedia). The rows of lamps that are lit during Diwali are meant to symbolize the //Atman//—the Inner Light that rids the soul of the darkness of ignorance” (//Diwali – the festival of Lights//). __ Origins  __  According to Sri Swami Sivananda, “there are various alleged origins attributed to this festival.” Some celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. Others celebrate is as the day Lord Rama returned to his homeland of Ayoda after defeating Ravana, the evil demon king. Still others commemorate the killing of Narakasura by Lord Krishna. __

Lord Rama and Ravana __  In this legend, Sita was captured by Ravana after she was banished from Rama's kingdom. Rama deafeated Ravana and reuturned with Sita to his kingdom. The people who lived in the capital city of Rama’s kingdom, Ayodha, welcomed their king back by “lighting rows (//avali//) of lamps (//deepa//)” (Wikipedia). This is why it is called “Deepavali.” __ Lord Krishna and Narakasura __ According to this legend, a demon named Narakasura ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. He tortured his own people and held women captive in his palace. When Lord Krishna killed him, the people celebrated the triumph of good over evil, and commemorated the day was the first day of Diwali (Vethanayagam).  __ Celebrating __ The five-day festival of Diwali, which usually falls around late October and November, is celebrated by use of fireworks, lights, flowers, sweets, and worship (Wikipedia). Holi  Holi, the two-day “Festival of Colors,” is the “most fun-filled and boisterous of Hindu festivals” (Das). It’s usually celebrated in late February or March, the day after the full moon. __ Origins __ In the legend associated with this festival, Hiranyakashipu, <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">an evil king, was granted the power not to be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside; not on earth or sky; neither by man nor an animal; neither by //astra// nor by //shastra//” (Wikipedia). Because of his practical invincibility, he arrogantly demanded that his people stop worshipping Vishnu and worship him instead (Wikipedia). His son, Prahlad, refused, and was commanded to sit on a pyre on his aunt Holika’s lap. Holika was immune to fire because of a shawl that she wore that prevented the person wearing it from being harmed. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The shawl flew off Holika and covered Prahlad, protecting him, and causing Holika to burn to death. Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyakashipu, coming “in the form of a Narasimha (who is half-man, and half-lion), [. . .] at dusk (which was neither day nor night), on the steps of the porch of his house (which was neither inside the house nor outside) by restraining him on his lap (which is neither in the sky nor on the earth) and mauling him with his claws (which are neither //astra// nor //shastra//)”—hands nor weapons (Wikipedia). Another legend commemorated by Holi involves the young Lord Krishna and his love, Radha. He complained to his mother Yashoda about the contrast between Radha’s fair skin and his dark complexion. Yashoda suggested he put color on her face. __ Celebrating __ Based on these two legends, Holi is celebrated by lighting bon fires on the first day and throwing water colored by powders on the second day.

<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Music** **Religion Festivals Literature Cinema Food** **References**

Das, Subhamoy. __Ganesh Chaturthi__. About.com. 6 December 2008. <http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/ganeshchaturthi.htm> Das, Subhamoy. __Holi – Hindu Festival of Colors__. About.com. 15 October 2008. <http://hinduism.about.com/od/holifestivalofcolors/a/holybasics.htm> __ Diwali __. 5 December 2008. Wikipedia. 6 Dec 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali> "Diwali - the festival of lights." IndiaExpress.com 23 Jan. 2005 < [|http://www.indiaexpress.com/faith/festivals/diwali.html]  >. __ Ganesha Chaturthi __. 15 November 2008. Wikipedia. 6 December 2008. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesh_Chaturthi> __ Holi __. 5 December 2008. Wikipedia. 6 December 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi> __ Holi __. religionfacts.com. 15 October 2008. <http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/holidays/holi.htm> Sivananda, Sri Swami. __Deepavali__. 17 October 2004. dlshq.org. 15 October 2008. <http://www.dlshq.org/religions/deepavali.htm> Vethanayagam, Anusuya. __What is Deepavali?__. Pagewise. 15 October 2008. <http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisdeepaval_rgwe.htm >
 * Khrisha's Works Cited**