Winter: the best time to stop running around and settle...sit at a place quietly, speculate and evaluate, spend quality time with family, go for movies, museums, research centres, complete all pending works before year ends, spread happiness in Christmas and New Year...time to spread our arms wide and welcome the fresh year and learn from past year, wave a good bye and to never look back...gone is gone...
Best time to re-connect with family members...around fire place, painting, telling stories to kids, writing books/novels/poems...to talk to kids regarding any issues bothering them an finally to ‘cuddle around’ little bundles of joys inside a blanket and whisper ‘good night, sweety’ and watch them slowly closing their eyes...mine would try his level best to keep them open...then, slowly we both drift together to dream land...WOW...
Now, i want to share this cute fairy tale story with all of you from the EPIC "RAMAYANA"....
Lord Rama, was the prince of a huge kingdom called Ayodhya. His step mother sent him to exile for 14 long years in order to have her own son succeed the throne of Ayodhya. But her own son, Bharata, disowned his mother for this selfish act and vowed to himself to take care of the kingdom till elder brother comes back. Lord Rama was accompanied to the forest by his beautiful wife Sita and younger brother Lakshmana...in the forest, Sita was abducted by the king of Lanka, demon RAVANA...
Lord RAMA got the support of forest animals and won the battle against mighty Ravana...WHEN he returned back to his kingdom after winning the battle safe and sound with his wife and brother, people of the kingdom celebrated the occasion by lighting the oil lamps ( in the snap, posted here)...to mark the victory of light over darkness... Since that day, this festival is celebrated with great pomp and show in India every November...kids get new dresses, newlyweds get jewellery, delicious food is cooked with all exotic dishes and in the evening the entire house is decorated with oil lamps and Papa used to get us toys made of clay on Diwali...and finally fireworks and the time for me to hide under couch till my sister finished her and mine share of lighting fireworks...then, a brave girl (me) would come out and go out with my parents for a stroll around the neighbourhood to enjoy the ‘festival of lights’...DIWALI...that day, no studies...WOW...
this day all my friends come home and Mom makes delicious sweets for all of them...No one bothers about religion...the main idea is to ENJOY and CHILL OUT....life is uncomplicated and fun...
( in the center is Lord RAMA, next to him is Devi Sita and Brother Lakshmana, and sitting near his feet is Lord HANUMANA who helped him win the battle and is the greates devotee of Lord RAMA)
Every year, the dummy of RAVANA is made with clothes and woods...and is filled with fireworks and burnt to celebrate the end of evil soul, That is known as DUSSEHRA which comes prior to Diwali....
Then one more festivalknown asDURGA PUJA, in which Goddess DURGA kills one more demon called MAHISHASHURA and symbolises the power of a woman in a modern world...SHE REPRESENTS POWER and Encourages all women to stand up against injustice...
....GODDESS DURGA LOVES THE COLOUR "RED" and hence all married women are supposed to wear red bangles, red kumkum on forehead to be in touch with her...GODDESS saves the family from evil forces...
Another one is KARVACHAUTA – in which married women fast the entire day for their husbands’ long life and they eat only in the night after moon comes out ....lol...this is tough...
WINTER!!!!!!! i absolutely positively LOVE winter! well, autumn is my all time favorite - but i'll save that for chapter 4! :D
all right - so winter. well, here in missouri we have bi-polar weather. one day it will be warm. the next it will be REALLY cold lol we don't always get a white christmas :( but for the past 2 years we've gotten a little snow on the ground to make me smile :)
let see. winter. i love the crisp air. i love the icy wind. i love the snow. when it does snow, i go sledding XD and snow skiing ^^ then we get off school for winter break. we get our christmas tree by going to a christmas tree farm and chopping it down ourselves :)
its a family tradition to put the ornaments up on the tree all together. mom will be pulling them out of there boxes and my sister and i will unwrap them and hang them up. my brother tries to help but he always puts the prettiest ornaments on the back of the tree so we cant see them, so then we have to fix them lol
then on christmas eve we eat turkey and i drink sparkling grape juice b/c i cant have wine yet lol
i used to write santa a letter ^^ and leave him milk and cookies! :D
ooo and i have a funny story to share XD
i was laying in my bed when i was little, waiting for santa to come. b/c they say he comes when everyone is in bed and he'll land on the roof with his sleigh and reindeer and come down the chimney. and i SWEAR till this day that i heard him walking around on the roof XD lol i could hear the reindeer too. hehe ^^
oh and then christmas morning! waking up in pjs and running downstairs, trying to get everyone awake so we can open presents. and we all are sitting around the tree with our quilts and theres a fire going in the fireplace ^^ and then we open gifts!
i think my favorite christmas present ever was my ipod XD i always call her my "baby" and yes i gave my ipod a gender. lol. i take her with me wherever i go :D
ooo and then new years! theres the count down in new york - but i dont live there so i have to watch it on tv lol
staying up all night XD
last year i celebrated with a good friend. once it turned midnight - me, him, and even his MOM went out into the streets and banged pots and pans! shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
it was so much fun :)
haha well THATS winter for me XD
i had so much fun talking about winter! its my second favorite season. its sooo beautiful outside then!
thank for inviting me pratibha!!! this was so much fun!
Posted: Jul 3, 2008
Winter is my favourite season! I love the long, silent winter nights. Winter is associated with my best childhood memories when the home always felt cosier, hearts closer to eachother. Winter is when we exchanged ghost stories while huddled together at night, and played games and sang songs. Oh, and I think I look smart in winter clothes!
Back home in the western part of India where I come from, we used to celebrate a kite festival on the 14th of January. It was called Makar Sankranti. It was a holiday, and all of us, adults and children alike would be on the rooftops or on open grounds from dawn, and fly kites. Preparations would be going on from many days before the festival, with people buying colorful kites of all shapes and sizes, some even making their own kites; the lines which were used to fly kites were made deadlier using a solution of crushed glass over it, to enable one to cut down the kites of the rivals! We used to carry drums and all kinds of noisy instruments along and sing songs all day long. In the night, special kites with lanterns were used.
This festival heralds the transition of sun into the northern hemisphere. Variations of it are celebrated in many parts of central Asia and races descending from there. The flying of kites was supposed to have been used originally to determine the direction in which the wind was blowing, and also for predicting the subsequent seasons. Of course, everyone loved being out in the sun for the whole day after spending a dreary winter indoors.
There could be some more winter festivals from back home, but I don't remember them since they were not as much fun. I guess I can check it out with my mother and see if she is able to add to the list.
Posted: Jul 4, 2008
Wow! This was like a little lesson in history. I loved this post, I love learning about different cultures, and I recognise some of the names but I feel like I have a little more background knowledge now. It's really interesting, and the pictures are lovely too. I'm not sure I will remember it all so I might have to come back and re-read it.
Hmm, my winter makes me think of quite a few celebrations. My birthday, *grins* Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Christmas and New years. My favourite is Christmas; I love our family roast dinners, which is tradition here in England (if not many other places). We as a family have our other little traditions, like table presents with our dinner. Boxing day is also just as important for me as I see my dad for the day.
Well, I could go on and on, but I will save you and stop, ha! Thanks for another great read Pratibha! I loved it and can't wait for more! :) ~ Nixie
Posted: Jul 5, 2008
Ah, Ok, so you asked for more so I’m back! :) I think Guy Fawkes is a good one to talk about. Well, in the 1600's, a man named Guy Fawkes who was part of a Roman Catholic revolution, in England who planned a gun powder plot to blow up the houses Parliment. This was supposed to take place on November 5th, but he was caught, along with I think about 5 or 6 other people including his brother (possibly brothers). Guy Fawkes was apparently placed on a bonfire as a death penalty. (Pretty gross!) Anyway, to celebrate this, every year November 5th is Bonfire night. We make huge bonfires and have Guy Fawkes dummies on top of them and we set off fireworks.
I actually have a fear of fire so I rarely enjoy this celebration as much as the others, but it's a nice part of our history. Or not, it's pretty evil really!
Anyhow, I might be back again. :) ~ Nix
Posted: Jul 6, 2008
Being a florida girl, I pretty much hate winter. I like the snow and cold for the first snow, sometimes it can be pretty, and I of course love christmas and new years, but the rest can go hang. I loved hearing about the Indian holidays and traditions. I want to hear more! My favorite winter past time is christmas though. I love the gifts of course but it's really the family time that I cherish. When I was a kid we would wake up at the crack of dawn and run out in the living room hoping to see Santa. My parents would have stockings filled with little gifts that we could play with until they woke up. Then we would tear open all out presents, watch everyone open theirs, and pretty much make a huge mess. Then we'd have breakfast and go to my grandparents house. Then we'd open more presents! Then dinner was sometime in late afternoon with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, cranberry sauce, and of course pie. And then we'd play with out toys, try on clothes, and watch 'It's a wonderful life' Ah, good times.
Posted: Jul 6, 2008
^_^ I too love hearing of the India Festivals, wow so rich and exotic. as for christmas, truly as I have grown, I only wish for the excitement to die down a bit and for the familys to just share in mealtime and gather afterwards to tell storys and sing songs,oh, doesnt that sound so nice? I mean when i was young it was the presents we looked forward to but when you get older that just doesn't matter anymore. simple to me is much better. ^_^ Thanks Pratibha, it is such fun and good times to share together on your pages.
~katie
Posted: Jul 7, 2008
uma baskar
(not registered user)
Good honey, even i want to learn about other cultures and traditions, this is a perfect article to learn more!
Winter is a very cosy, cuddly month. I always feel to curl myself like a cat on a couch with a favorite blanket and drink coffee or soup and watch a nice movie.
We celebrate Diwali- festival of lights, fireworks and sweets.
Then New year- visiting and wishing friends and family. Then comes a festival called Pongal celebrated mainly in South India.
Pongal-Jan 14: is a festival to thank Gods for the good harvest of food. The farmers mainly gather all their harvest of food at one particular place, decorate with flowers, fruits, sugarcane and thank Mother Nature for protecting their crops by making Pongal- a sweet dessert and many traditional recipes as well. We cook a lot on that day, invite friends and have a good time eating all the delicious food.
The next day is celebrated as Mattu Pongal-Jan 15. Mattu means cow, we have to thank the cow for giving us Milk. The cow will be decorated and many offerings will be provided like fruits, jaggery. We have to make a sweet dessert.
This festival is mainly food, a special day for all the important elements of nature- Sun, Air, Water. Hence we thank Mother Nature for providing and protecting us. Thank you Pratibha for giving me this opportunity.
Posted: Jul 8, 2008
Well, I grew up in Southern California: the land of ocean and sunshine lol. As such, summer is the main holiday and everyone hates winter! I didn't grow up with very many winter traditions. But for me, winter is my favorite season because I LOVE cold weather, winter clothes, hot drinks, and cuddling up to stay warm. In winter comes Christmas (which is also my little brother's birthday). On Christmas morning the whole family wakes up early to open presents, eat breakfast, and go to church together. The entire afternoon is spent enjoying our gifts and cooking a delicious dinner. My mom and I have so much talking and laughing while we cook together. We usually eat turkey, potatoes, vegetables, and homemade bread. After dinner we celebrate my brother's birthday with more gifts, singing, games, and cupcakes with sprinkles.
My favorite part of Christmas Day is that the whole family is together. My boyfriend and I try to fly home especially for Christmas, so we can see our families. It's a great time of year!
Stephanee :)
Posted: Jul 9, 2008
hi! pratibha. i'm adjusting to -48 here and sunshine is always welcome in this part of canada. when sun is out, v call it a "beautiful day." v don't get very many sunny days so people revel in what little god bestows on them.
of course, festivals r celebrations of life for they r solively and bring the entire family together. even if one has to go for work, a leave from work is taken. their importance in life cannot be denied.
my friends r of all hues and religions. some of them don't celebrate as they r atheists. but v do get together and open a pop, pizza, chips, etc and party together. i like that festive atmosphere. everyone is relaxed, smiling and in the day.
till now i've celebrated easter, christmas, eid, baqra eid, baisakhi, etc. i'm looking forward to making some hindu friends to enjoy holi, diwali and revel in colors and sweets. the more festivals, the merrier the life.
everyday can be a festive time if the heart is ready to cheer. lol. ;-)
Posted: Jul 10, 2008
i love this post. also read this fairy tale in my eastern culture class. i know about some indian culture because back home in st.lucia there are a lot of indians who retained some of their ancestors culture. in st.lucia there is no winter but christmas is a huge thing back home. first to prepare for it we kill the cow, goat , sheep or pig in the villages slaughtering the meat is a big thing in st.lucia for christmas. then will make a drink called sorrel. you soak the sorrel leaves in water for a while and then strained it and make the juice, then we will have lots of ground provisons such as yam, dasheen etc we'll have fruit cake which we call black cake before we make the cake we usually soak the fruits in rum or some type of acholol sometimes days, sometimes a year before, sometimes a day before it depends on the person. we have festival of lights a couple of days before christmas. during christmas eve we beat drums especially in the villages. christmas day everyone goes house to house and eat their belly full., then we have a next hoilday on the 26 which is boxing day, this the day where people just rest after having good time on christma. new year's in st.lucia is a bit different we have dinner and lunch, then we dress nice for the new year, we go church and we have fireworks when the new year comes in and then on the 1st to 3rd of january sometimes it might run yuntil the 6th depends on the year and when school opens we have something call assu square where there's cultural activities, rides, music etc.
Posted: Aug 22, 2008
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