Festivals: To celebrate or not ?

Other than the cultural angle, there is also the commercial angle to be considered . Celebrations mean big business 😃

Festival time is fun time ! It breaks the monotony of the daily grind . Its a time to meet friends, neighbours and our relatives. Its a time for yummy goodies , gifts , new lothes , decorations . Its also a time to get in touch with our rich culture and tradition. Its always fun to know about the various stories and rituals connected with each festival. Its nice to know about the significance of the various rituals associated with these festivals.

I'm really looking forward to Diwali this year!

Originally posted by: angie.4u

In the rat race today, has the spirit of festivity diminished ?

Are they still relevant ?

Do you still celebrate the festivals with as much gaiety as your parents did?

Do you think the tradition of celebrations should continue ?

Why or why not ?

Note: Speaking only about Hindu festivals as they are celebrated in urban India.

If you look at particular festivals, then yes there are certain festivals for which the general fervour has gone down. However, overall I don't think the spirit of festivity has diminished. Rather, it has evolved into more than one way.

Even now people celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga puja and Diwali with great enthusiasm. Though, along with enthusiasm, pomp and grandeur has acquired and equally important place and especially Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga puja have turned into another rat race with people always trying to outdo the others. The competition is what provides the most entertainment to the people now rather than the essence around which the festivity and consequently the competition has built up.

Although, many people are against this change where people give more importance to the festivity than the essence, I don't feel there is much wrong in that. What was important or relevant 1000 years ago, need not be relevant today. Maybe, someone is not much interested about what Ram did and when he returned to Ayodhya but that doesn't mean that he won't love to burst some firecrackers.

One more change is what visrom pointed out. Change in society. More families today are nuclear and there are many who live alone and people have less time than what they used to have earlier. Festivities are built around the concept of sharing and enjoying the company of others. When others are missing, it's bound to take it's toll on the amount of fun. Moreover, most of the family's vacations are planned around the time when parents and children will have time off simultaneously, which happens to be around the time of these festivals. These are results of the present condition of the society.

Another social change, that of accessability to entertainment has also influenced the festivities. Earlier, there was limited availability to means of entertainment. Whatever modes of entertainment that were available, the common people could only afford them only a few times in a year. In such a scenario, it's no wonder that people were more eager to enjoy these festivals along with friends and neighbours as it provided them with a rare opportunity to have fun and enjoyment. Compared to that, we can now watch a film whenever we want, eat out whenever we want; every weekend is virtually a mini festival for modern urban dwellers. In that context, it doesn't become a priority for people to go out and have some fun during the festivals, as that's what they do anyways every Friday to Sunday every week.

Originally posted by: visrom

In the rat race today, has the spirit of festivity diminished ?

Yes, the spirit of festivity has diminished to a large extent because of smaller families and busy lifestyle. Gone are the days when everyone used to visit their granparents' house and the hosue used to be full with uncles and aunts and cousins and have a gala time.

Are they still relevant ?

They are relevant...definitely festivals are part of our culture and we need to celebrate them.

Do you still celebrate the festivals with as much gaiety as your parents did?

No. As I mentioned above, families are smaller and there are fewer members to celebrate. That itself takes the fun out of celebration. Think of a large family with 4-5 uncles and aunts, 10 cousins and grandparents having a blast at Diwali compared to a married couple with one single child. You need lots of company to celebrate festivals.

Do you think the tradition of celebrations should continue ?

Yes...we need to celebrate festivals.

Why or why not ?

It is part of our culture. It helps us develop a feeling of 'togetherness'. It's a time to be happy and celebrate.

The smaller nuclear families does take away some of the fun but then festival time can be a re- union time 😛 And yes, celebrating festivals with a gathering of all our near and dear ones has a special charm of its own !

Originally posted by: zorrro

Other than the cultural angle, there is also the commercial angle to be considered . Celebrations mean big business 😃

Point noted 😛 Celebrations like Ganesh puja, Durga puja provide have a competitive spirit these days and it is being commercially exploited. diwali has its fair share of commercial activities as gone are the days when it used to be about sharing home made sweets and lighting earthern diyas with wicks and oil or ghee. Today we have branded sweets , dry fruits, colorful electrical lamps (indian or chinese make) neon tubes, wrapped gifts as substitutes.

Originally posted by: crazy_sunny

Festival time is fun time ! It breaks the monotony of the daily grind . Its a time to meet friends, neighbours and our relatives. Its a time for yummy goodies , gifts , new lothes , decorations . Its also a time to get in touch with our rich culture and tradition. Its always fun to know about the various stories and rituals connected with each festival. Its nice to know about the significance of the various rituals associated with these festivals.

Diwali is almost here, There are a lot of stories about why Diwali is celebrated .

why do we light lamps, pray to godess Laxmi , distribute gifts, or burst crackers ? The Diwali festival is made up of several smaller festivities .

Yeah sunny, festivals do break monotony and help to spread cheer and goodwill .