Major festivals of India kids should know
Photo by Suchandra Roy Chowdhury on UnsplashFestivals India is a secular country and home to diverse religions. People are free to...
Photo by Suchandra Roy Chowdhury on Unsplash
Festivals
India is a secular country and home to diverse religions. People are free to practise any religion of their choice. Commonly found religions are
Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism and Islam. Indians have the freedom to celebrate any festival. Diwali, Pongal, Eid and Christmas are commonly celebrated. It is imperative to teach the values of celebrating the national festival. We must instil a sense of cultural belonging in the minds of young children.
Pongal:
Pongal is known as the harvest festival. It comes either on the first day of Thai masam in the Tamil month or 14th or 15th of January in the English month. Pongal is a four-day celebration. The first day is Bhogi Pongal, second day is Thai Pongal, third day is Mattu Pongal and fourth day is kaanum Pongal. There is a significance behind each day.
Pongal is known as the harvest festival. It comes either on the first day of Thai masam in the Tamil month or 14th or 15th of January in the English month. Pongal is a four-day celebration. The first day is Bhogi Pongal, second day is Thai Pongal, third day is Mattu Pongal and fourth day is kaanum Pongal. There is a significance behind each day.
Diwali:
In India, diwali is the most important Hindu festival. Lighting of diya’s, wearing new clothes, visiting and sharing sweets with friends and relatives are most commonly done. Death of Narakasura is celebrated as diwali. Explain this story to your child and spark their curiosity of good versus evil.
Ramzan:
Ramzan is a Muslim festival encouraging people to engage in charity and devote extra time and attention to spiritual activities such as praying and reading the Quran. During the Ramzan eve, people fast for 30 days by not even drinking water until the fast breaks. The speciality of Ramzan is mutton or chicken biriyani where people cook and eat together as a family.
Christmas:
Christmas is a major festival for Christians, celebrated on the 25th of December every year. Christmas is a holiday season around the world as it is New Year’s eve. Much awaited event of this month is Christmas parties, where Santa Claus visits and gives children numerous gifts. Every year during Christmas eve, children enjoy decorating a Christmas tree.
The primary reason we celebrate festivals is to strengthen the family bond. Young children get curious and excited during family reunions and festival celebrations.
Allow them to explore and identify which festivals they love to celebrate the most and why they like it. If we involve children in our preparatory work, it will spark more interest as they feel more involved in the process of festival preparation and cleaning.
About the Author:
Lakshmi Sakthi Alagappan lives in Thanjavur in Tamilnadu, India. She is an administrative officer at Blossom Public School. She is an administrative officer at Blossom Public School. She likes reading books, listening to music, and surfing.