Christmas

Christmas also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.His birth, which is the basis for the Anno Domini system of dating has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 7 and 2 BC. The date of celebration is not thought to be Jesus actual date of birth, and may have been chosen to coincide with ancient Roman solar festivals that were held on December 25.

Diwali

Diwali ( Deepawali) is a major Hindu holiday.It is festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs across the globe as the Festival of Lights where people light small clay pots filled with coconut oil. It is signs victory of good over the evil within an individual.
The five day Diwali festival occurs during October and/or November on the Gregorian calendar. On the Hindu calendar it is centered on the new moon day that ends the month of Asvina and begins the month of Kartika, begining on the 13th day of the dark half of Asvina (Asvina 28th) and ending on the 2nd day of the bright half of Kartika (Kartika 2nd). The main day of celebration varies regionally.

In Hinduism, across many parts of India and Nepal, it is the homecoming of Lord Rama of Ayodhya, after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the evil demon-king Ravana.In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name: Deepavali. Over time, this word transformed into Diwali in Hindi and Dipawali in Nepali, but still retained its original form in South and East Indian Languages.

Durga Images

Garba

GARBA is a very graceful and beautiful form of dance among the Gujaratis and all over india. Garba rass is peformed on 9 nights, 'Navratri' to Goddess Ambica, where women dance gracefully in circles sometimes also using, 'Bedu, Kanjari' or just 'Taali' and 'Chapti' They are dressed in exqusitely embridored, set in mirrors 'Choli', 'Ghagra' and 'Bandhani' dupattas, silver oxidised jewellery where in 'Tika' and 'Anklets' are a must the dress code of men is Kehediyu, Chudidar and a Turban.The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garba Deep.









The greatest difference between garba and western social dancing is that it is circular and is religious in origin. The meditative circular movement and spiraling dance has similarities to other ancient spiritual practices.
Modern garba is also heavily influenced by raas , a dance traditionally performed by men. The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy dance that is seen today.

Navratri

Navratri, the festival of nine nights is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine forms. According to the Hindu calendar, Navratri begins from the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin which usually coincides with the end of the rainy season.
The nine days have great religious significance as Goddess.The festival is celebrated with true devotion and purity all over the country.

Significance of 9 Nights

1st - 3rd day There is a tradition of sowing barley seeds on the first day of the Navratri. A small bed of mud is prepared in a little container and barley seeds are sown in it. This is placed in the Puja room and cared for during the fasting period. At the end of the fast the shoots reach a height of 3-5 inches. These are pulled out and given to devotees as form of blessings. 4th - 6th day During these days, Lakshmi Goddess, the Goddess of peace and prosperity is worshipped.On the fifth day, that is, Lalita Panchami books are gathered, lamp is lighted to invoke Saraswati. 7th - 8th day These final days belong to Saraswati Goddess who is worshipped to acquire the spiritual knowledge. This in turn will free us from all earthly bondage. But on the 8th day of this colourful festival, yagna (holy fire) is performed. Mahanavami The eighth and ninth day, Yagna (sacrifice offered to the fire) is performed to honour heavenly Goddess and bid her farewell. The festival of Navratri culminates in Mahanavami. On this day Kanya Puja is performed. Nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped.