Many of the holidays we celebrate today all around the world, started out as small, regional affairs. Halloween, for instance, was once an Irish Gaelic harvest festival which, after being picked up in Great Britain, spread throughout the world. But every formerly-regional holiday like Halloween that we all have come to know and love, there are many more that too many people still have no clue about. Two of those are Holi and Diwali, both of them major Indian holidays.
Holi is a popular Indian springtime festival. It doesn’t have a concrete date, but instead is celebrated depending upon the full moon (much like Easter in Christianity). According to Hinduism, an egotistical king named Hiranyakshyap wanted all of his people to worship him, and, in his quest for power, his own daughter, named Holika, was burned alive. Thought it may not seem to make much sense to send Holi ecards in celebration of a girl’s death, the Hindu people look upon Holi as a symbolic triumph of faith; for Holika was though to be immune from fire, and after she entered into a secret pact with her father (turning against her own religion) her immunity vanished.
In fact, Holi is seen by the Indian people as an incredibly festive occasion, and is known popularly as the Festival of Colors. Literally, this is because Hindus believe that during Holi, many different colors, containing spiritual nourishment, travel throughout the universe. And during Holi festivals, people burn bonfires and squirt colored waters onto each other, to encourage these spiritual nourishment colors along. Many other Holi rituals exist, as well. One of the most famous involves people tossing colorful water balloons at each other. And in Barsana, an elaborate ritual is played out, in which men sing to women, who then (good-naturedly) attack their would-be suitors with sticks.
Another popular Indian festival is Diwali, a Festival of Lights that takes place in the autumn. Hindus believe that long ago, the sixth Guru of Sikhism finally returned to his people after a very long exile. The people felt that the Guru’s absence they have lived in spiritual darkness, and so his returning was seen as a great illumination. It’s another festive occasion, and perfect for sending Diwali ecards
On top of the story of the returning Guru, Hindus also celebrate Diwali as a time to reflect on one’s own inner light. Hinduism holds very tightly to the notion that outside of our physical bodies, there is a more powerful, spiritual body—an inner light, in other words.
What both of these holidays share is that they are both times for being to gather together, and celebrate joyously!
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