Tag: Festival

How to celebrate eco-friendly Holi?

March is here and many are looking forward to celebrating the Holi festival. As per the calendar, this festival will be start on 20th March and end on 21st of March in the year 2019. It is a very exciting time especially for young children. Holi festival marks an onset of spring season and the end of winter.

As per Indian customs and traditions, Holi festival is celebrated with water, balloons and colours. However, due to more awareness in recent years, people have realized some of the health hazards due to harmful chemicals used during the festival. Hence, it is better to enjoy and have fun in an eco-friendly manner. Here are ten ways to celebrate an eco-friendly Holi festival.

1. Avoid Wastage of Water
As we all know, water conservation is the need of the hour. There is water shortage and scarcity in many places of Maharashtra and other parts of India. Play a dry Holi without wasting water. You can avoid the use of Pichkaris to spray water on others.

2. Use Natural Colours
There are many harmful chemicals in synthetic colours. Hence, you can use natural colours like henna, turmeric, chandan, beetroot powder and more. These would not cause damage to your skin or hair. They can be washed off easily and serve the purpose well.

3. Holi Bonfire Made Easy
Instead of using precious wood by chopping off the trees, one can burn eco-friendly waste for Holi bonfire which will not create pollution. Use ingredients like cow-dung cakes, coconut waste and camphor to light up. Pledge to protect trees and have a greener environment this Holi festival.

4. Respect the Ban on Plastic
As we all know, many states have completely banned the use of plastic. This has been done in order to protect the environment. Respect the rules and avoid the use of plastic bags. Teach your children to protect the environment by avoiding the use of plastic bags.

5. Focus on the Traditional Aspects
We all love food and parties. So why not celebrate Holi festival by organizing a party with traditional dishes like ‘puran polis,’ ‘malpuas’, and ‘gujiyas.’ Celebrate Holi with a colourful party involving traditional Holi dishes which are delicious and sumptuous.

6. Holi with Flowers
Did you know that decomposed flowers act as a great organic fertilizer for the soil? Instead of polluting the environment, play a gentle Holi using scented flowers. Avoid harsh and aggressive behaviour during the festival. Instead of troubling friends and forcibly playing with them, the use of flowers is calming and has a soothing effect.

7. Protect Animals
Many a time, people involve animals during festivities. Yes, Holi festival is fun however you must not become too excited and cross your limits. Applying colours on animals and spraying water on them is not at all required. We should love animals; so stay away from harmful behaviour and have an animal friendly Holi celebration.

8. Make Your Own Colours
Make your own colours using natural or herbal products only. You can mix and create your own combinations. Turmeric, sandalwood, fuller’s Earth, besan, soaked peels of pomegranate and beetroot juice, etc can all be used to create colours and add fun to your day.

9. Have a Safe Holi
Did you know that some people actually use items like sand, eggs, petrol and even oil paints during the Holi festival? You should definitely not spray or apply such stuff to your body as it is very harmful and absolutely not required.

10. Don’t Litter or Pollute the Environment
We should clean up the surroundings after celebrating Holi festival. Keep a separate area for playing and once you are done, avoid messing the place. Do not pollute the water or environment as it can damage the trees and surroundings.
We should celebrate Holi festival keeping in mind the spirit of this festival. Holi is more about the triumph of good over evil. Buy sweets from reputed shops only as many stores sell adulterated sugary sweets on the occasion of Holi. Following tradition is equally important along with protecting the environment. Celebrate an eco-friendly and see the benefits for yourself. You will enjoy and have a great time with family, relatives and friends. Stay healthy, safe and happy on this beautiful day!

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History of Halloween

From communion with the dead to pumpkins and pranks, Halloween is a patchwork holiday, stitched together with cultural religions and occult tradition that spans centuries.

Before Halloween

It all began with the Celts; a people whose culture had spread across Europe more than 2,000 years ago. October 31st was the day they celebrated the end of the harvest season in a festival called Soin, that night also marked as Celtic New Year and was considered a time between years; a magical time when the ghost of the dead walked the earth as called as time when the veil between death and life was supposed to be at its thinnest.

At that time the villagers would gathered and lit huge bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living. But as the Catholic Church’s influence grew in Europe, it frowned on the pagan rituals like sawing.

The name Halloween

In the 7th century the Vatican began to merge it with a Church sanctioned holiday. So November 1st was designed All Saints day to honor martyrs and the deceased faithful. Both of these holidays had to do with the afterlife and about survival after death, it was a calculated move, on the part of the church, to bring more people into the fold.

All Saints day was known as then Hallowmas; hallow meaning holy or saintly, so the translation is roughly mass of the saints. The night before October 31st was All Hallows eve while gradually morphed into “Halloween“.

How the holiday spread

The holiday came to America with the wave of Irish immigrants during the Potato Famine of the 1840s. The brought several of their holiday customs with them including

  • Bobbing for apples and,
  • Playing tricks on neighbors like, removing gates from the front of the houses
Irish immigrants

Trick-o-treat

The young pranksters wore masks so they wouldn’t be recognised but over the years the traditional of harmless tricks grew into outright vandalism such as in 1930s, pranks during Halloween became really holiday, as there was such a hooliganism and vandalism.

Trick-o-treat was originally a extortion deal, give candies or get your house trashed. Storekeeper and neighbors began giving treats or bribes to stop the tricks and children were encouraged to travel door-to-door for treat as an alternative to trouble making. By the late 30s trick-o-treat became a holiday greeting.