A country of Celebrations Living In India A country of Celebrations

Many Festivals India has many different communities and religions Different celebrations for different regions Environment – harvest, weather, seasons, animals Gods and goddesses – many linked to established religions National Festivals  Children's Day Gandhi Jayanti Independence Day Republic Day Teacher's Day General Festivals Father's Day Halloween Mother's Day New Year Thanks Giving Valentine's Day Festival Rituals Aartis Azaan Festival Calendar Hindu Fasts Naamkaran Click here to see a timeline of Festivals

Many Festivals cont…… Hindu Festivals Baisakhi Diwali Durga Puja Dussehra Ganesh Chaturthi Holi Janmashtami Karwa Chauth Mahashivaratri Makar Sankranti Naag Panchami Navratri Onam Pongal Rakhi Ramnavami Buddhist Festivals Buddha Purnima Hemis Gompa Losar Ullambana Christian Festivals Christmas Easter Good Friday Muslim Festivals Bakra Eid Eid-ul-Fitr Muharram Sikh Festivals Guru Nanak Jayanti Guru Purab Holla Mohalla Lohri Zoroastrian Festivals Gahambars Jamshed Navroz Khordad Sal Zarthost No Deeso

Diwali Festival of Lights Region: Nationwide Religion: Hindu Celebrated: October/ November at the new moon Diwali customs: lamps rangoli art New clothes Religious Activities: Worship of Goddess Lakshmi, worship of Lord Ganesha, worship of Mother Kali, worship of Lord Chitragupta and worship of Govardhan Parvat. bright lights candles buy gold and silver new utensils

Diwali Days 5 days: Day 1: Dhanteras – buy new utensils, gold, silver Day 2: bath before sunrise and rub special oil on body Day 3: new clothes, gifts, sweets, special foods, diyas (lamps), candles Day 4: Padwa – celebration of love and respect for husband and wife; Anna- Koot – preparation of 56 or 108 dishes to offer Lord Krishna. Gods bathed in milk, given new clothes, jewels, precious metals Day 5: brothers and sisters celebrate their relationship, give gifts to each other

Traditional Indian Dance Much of this dance is from Natya, the sacred Hindu musical theatre styles

Traditional Indian Music The basis for Indian music is "sangeet".  Sangeet is a combination of three artforms: vocal music, instrumental music and dance.  Sitar The most famous instruments are the sitar and the tabla Tabla

Comparison with Australia Some similar celebrations – based in British occupation history and American influences Many different religions , so many celebrations but with same focus – harvest, weather, gods Similar traditions of decorating, dance, music, food, just different styles Some localised celebrations, some national just like Australia Similar traditions of giving and receiving gifts, just a different style

The India Travel guide: Festivals of India http://www.theindiatravelguide.com/test/festivals.htm information on festivals of India The India Travel guide: Map of India http://www.theindiatravelguide.com/test/main1.htm map of India showing regions I love India http://festivals.iloveindia.com/independence-day/index.html list of festivals in India Lonely Planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/india/ Map of India showing major cities and towns I Love India http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-customs.html Information on diwali customs http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/when-is-diwali.html Information on when diwali is held http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-rangoli.html image of rangoli art http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-diya.html image of diwali diya http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-candle.html image of diwali candles http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/govardhan-puja.html Information on dewali day 4 http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/bhai-duj.html Information on bhai-duj and image of bhai-duj artifacts Google Images http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tokoha.ac.jp/jiym/participants/p_2003/images/singapore.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tokoha.ac.jp/jiym/participants/p_2003/singapore.html&h=343&w=500&sz=49&hl=en&start=18&um=1&tbnid=KTnUcWHQHcCAWM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=130&prev= Images of traditional Indian dance

Google Images http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Classical_indian_dance_10a.jpg/250px-Classical_indian_dance_10a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogs.ibibo.com/govind/dance-in-india.html&h=270&w=250&sz=22&hl=en&start=19&um=1&tbnid=yJ-sQRWmHXJtCM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=105&prev= Images of traditional Indian dance http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/instrument.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/instruments.html&h=305&w=600&sz=25&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=giZSdiyItaFIeM:&tbnh=69&tbnw=135&prev= Images of traditional Indian musical instruments Chandra and David’s homesite http://www.chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/tabla.html Image of tabla Abydos Enterprises http://www.magictails.com/abydos/images/mid-east/stringed/large/sitar_pro_RKS.jpg Image of sitar