Festival is an event of celebration of joy and happiness collectively by a community, religion, region or country. Each festival has its own importance and relevance in connection with the tradition and culture of that particular region or country. Festivals have its origin based on region, religion, crop, mythology, season and different ideology. Each and every country celebrates different kinds of festivals in different ways. Some major festivals are Holi, Diwali, Durga Puja, Eid, Muharram in India, Ice festival of China, Cascamorras and La Tomatina of Spain, Carnevale of Italy, Carnaval of Brazil and many more can be added to the list.
We live in such a country which has got immense diversity in its region, religion, crop, belief and ideology, thus we celebrate so many festivals throughout the year. Among all these festivals, Holi is my favourite festival. It is a religious Hindu festival, celebrated every year in ‘Falgun’ (February/March) month. It is also called as “festival of colours”.
The History
Apart from India, Holi is celebrated, also in Nepal and some other places of the world where Hindu population live. There is a historical significance of this festival. Long years ago, there was a king named “Hiranyakashyap”, whose son “Prahalad” was a great devotee of the God. The king didn’t like his son to be devotee of the God. He instead, wanted his son to be a devotee of him. Very angry and annoyed with his son, the king tried burning him in the lap of his devil sister named “Holika”. She was booned by the God that she could not be killed by fire. As Prahalad was a true devotee of the God, he was saved from the fire by the God and the devil sister of the king “Holika” was burnt and killed unfortunately. From then, the Hindus started celebrating “Holi” as victory of the goodness over the evil every year. Holika Dahan is done in the memory of the same every year one day prior to Holi celebration. During Holika Dhahan we burn sticks and woods at a defined place and remember the historical story behind it. In the next morning of Holika Dahan, Holi is celebrated.
Celebrate Holi
In Holi, we play with colours, wear new clothes, meet our friends and relatives and celebrate this festival together. We cook various tasty dishes and sweets at home. We eat these with the family and friends and distribute to others. We welcome others at our home with tasty dishes and colours. This enjoyment continues for the whole day. In the evening we take bath, clean the colours and put on new cloths.
This festival gives us a sense of togetherness, as we get a great opportunity to celebrate with our friends and relatives happily. This festival makes us remember the historical event behind this and reminds us to be good, honest and have belief in the God. Holi is a true carrier of the tradition and culture of our country.
In the same way, as the Holi has, each festival has its own importance and relevance. Each festival gives us a message to live with goodness, happiness, togetherness and to be a follower of tradition and culture of the country. So, festivals have great importance and relevance in our life. (Total words – 543)
Author Bio – Ruhi Ray, 7 years girl from Kolkata (Barrackpore), A participant of International Essay Competition, October 2018.
