Id-ul-Fitr Id-ul-Fitr is celebrated after a month of fasting or at the end of Ramjan by the Muslims all over the world. The followers of Islam consider Id-ul-Fitr as one of the most auspicious festivals. It is usually celebrated on the first day of the month-Shawwal. This month begins when people sight the new moon and marks the end of the fasting of Ramzan. On Id-ul-Fitr, the Muslim devotees put on...

Id-ul-Zuha Id-ul-Zuha is known as the observance day for a devoted Muslim. It falls on the tenth day of the twelfth month in the Hijri calendar. It is known in three other names—Id-ul-Azha, Id-e-Qurban or Bakr-Id. As per the legend, Abraham, a pious and gentle Muslim, had a dream. Abraham was asked by Allah to sacrifice the most precious possession to please him. Since the most precious possession to him was...

Holi Essay No. 01 The festival of colours, Holi is celebrated in the month of Phalgun It falls on the full moon day. The festival of Holi encompasses two days of celebrations during which people throw gulal on each other, sing and dance to the beat of dholak and enjoy a variety of sweets and other delicious food. In the cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, where it is believed that Lord...

Hola Maholla Hola Maholla is an annual festival held at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. It was started by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises and mock battles on the day following the festival of Holi. It reminds the people of valour and defence preparedness, concepts dear to the Tenth Guru who was at that time battling the Mughal Empire. The mock battles...

Hemis The Hemis festival takes place in the courtyard of Hemis Gompa -the biggest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh. It is a celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Padamasambhava. This two-day pageant falls on the 10th day (Tse-Chu) of the Tibetan lunar month. To celebrate the day Ladakhis dresses themselves in their finest traditional attire. Marvellous masked dances and sacred plays are displayed by the Lamas. Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of...

Heleibambe Heleibambe is celebrated in Assam by each Zemi village according to the convenience of the village prior to the starting of ‘Jhum’ cultivation. It is held in mid-April when monsoon is likely to set on the first day. Tingkupeu, the village priest, sacrifices a buffalo for the appeasement of `Suphai’, the Crop God so they could have a bumper crop. The meat of the sacrificed animal is then distributed among...

Hanuman Jayanti The first month of Hindi calendar year Chaitra witnesses the birthday of Ramchandra’s stalwart devotee Hanumana, on Chaitra Sud Poonam. By the blessings of Shiva and Vayu deities (Arjan), wife of Kesari, the king of monkeys, gave birth to Hanumana. While the Shiva Puran cites that since Shiva could not serve Shri Rama in his present form, he inspired the birth of one Rudra from his 11 Rudras, as...

Gu-Stor Gu-Stor literally means ‘sacrifice on the 29th day’. It is traditional to the monasteries of the reformist Geluk-pa order of Tibetan Buddhism. It is mainly celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region. This is a two-day long festival. It is held mainly in the Spituk, Thiksay and Karsha monasteries at different times every year, from July to November. The celebration ends with the dismemberment and dispersal of Storma (sacrificial...