Celebration

I am going to tell you about celebration of festival. Festival is an event generally, celebrated by a community. It is usually a religious or cultural event

In India every state has its own festivals. For example in Gujarat state, people celebrate, Rakshabandhan, Janamasthami, Diwali, Utarayan, Holy, Navratri, Independence Day and Republic day.

From all these festivals I would like to tell about Navratri festival.

The Navratri means celebration of nine nights. The name indicates this festival is of night.

This festival start at the beginning of the last month of the Vikram Savant Calendar - the ‘Asho’ month, and the Diwali festival or the Hindu New Year comes on the last day of this month'

Navaratri is a Hindu religious festival, to pray to Goddesses, like Ambaji, Khodiar, Kali, Durga and Chamunda etc.

The ‘ratri’ in the name ‘Navaratri’ means the festival of night. At night, people dance in big open plots in traditional dresses worn by women and men, of various ages with Dandia, (pieces of wooden stick), to the songs of goddesses, with music. While in some places they dance without dandia, it is called Garaba.

Every night is related to various goddess. The festival starts at evening with a prayer to goddesses and continues till late night.

During Navaratri, on the 8th day of the festival, there will be a Havan ( Yagna) in the morning, to pray goddesses for good blessing. It is a belief that due to Havan the atmosphere becomes pure.

The Navaratri festival is a full of enjoyment by dance and prayers to goddesses.