What is your favourite festival?

kanaka Raghavan · Aug 11, 2007

Dear friends
I would like ask you what is favourite festival
My vote would be for Diwali.All said and done I really look forward to this joyous occasion.I even now join the fun of bursting crackers with thechildren of my block.My son joins the fun,but my daughter hates it.
I still vividly remember how when we were young we used to start preparing for the occasion several days before.Being the youngest I used to have the privilege of choosing clothes as well as crackers.We used get up early in the morning and apply oil and nalangu.We used to burst crackers before bath and after bath it used to an array of crackers.It was always customary to eat a piece of sweet before we wore new clothes.It was idlis in the morning followed by a sumptous lunch in the afternoon.The whole day was spent bursting crackers,there is used to continous phone calls and visitors.
Once my father's friend's son and I kept the rocket horizontally on the road and lit it.Luckily for us there was no one.There were occasions when we used put bombs in all manner of containers and burst it.We used to light red fort from candle light and just throw it.More fun was seperating oosi vedi and lighting.Evening was only for flower pots and chakarams.At the end of the day it is bonfire for all bits and pieces of paper strewn all over. Even 5 years back when I did it,my friend,s 10 year old daughter came in between.Luckily she had only few burns in her arm.From then I stopped doing it.
My father always used to tell us to give a certain share to street children
Where are those fun loving days gone?I think this generation has lost them...........But you can't say that now as the prices of crackers have really sky rocketed.............

pavithrasriram · Aug 12, 2007

hi krishnamma,
for me all these festivals are special coz when u travel abroad u really understand the joy of celebrating the festival at home with family and friends and relatives meeting up with everyone!!!!!!so any festival together with ur near and dear ones is special for me!!!!!
regards
pavithra

sunitha · Aug 12, 2007

My favourite is Onam.I love the wonderful Onam Sadhya that my mother prepares...hmmmmm....sooooo tasty!

At my husband's place,I like Diwali again mainly for the sweets and savouries.:yes:

honeybee · Aug 12, 2007

Food apart...
My vote is for " navarathri " , " Deepavali","Onam".
A a kid it was always a joyous experience to get dressed every evening and wait for friends and relatives to drop in for thamboolam during navarathri and the highlight being saraswathi pooja when you get a well deserved break from books and studies :tongue .
Deepavali.. the customary enquiry beggining a month ahead.. "diwali purchase aayacha?", the shops competing with each other to launch sarees and salwars under fancy banners... crackers what a feast to the eyes.
I agree with kanaka.. bursting crackers has come down drastically.Is it because of the variety entertainment each channel provides on the festival day?
Onam.. watching huge pookalams is worth dying for.

Kanaka thanks for starting an interesting thread and rekindling my memories.

Sindhuja · Aug 12, 2007

Hi Kanaka,
All festivals are my favorite ones:yes: .
We celebrate Diwali two times, one within the family (if it comes during the weekdays) and another one with our friends (during the weekends). We will have a potluck party. There will be cultural programmes too. We come home at 2 or 3 at night. It's real fun!

Coming to Pongal, the three day festival is also my favorite. I will try to buy something new on the day of Bhogi. My kids like to shout Pongalo pongal along with their dad. I love keeping kannu pidi.

Next is navarathiri, I keep 5 steps for navarathiri. This time i am planning to get custom made steps:-D . Love to shop for new bommais every year(though it is very difficult to find here). I usually call all my friends and give them vethilai pakku (Thamboolam). I get utmost satisfaction in choosing different gifts every year for Vethilai pakku. We enjoy singing bhajan songs on that evening.
Thanks for starting this thread.

regards,

Shanvy · Aug 13, 2007

hi kanaka,

My vote is to diwali. From buying clothes for the whole family, planning the preparation of sweets and savories for the family and also for distribution.
The second best is navarathri, for all the nine days you have a flow of people coming and going.

manjumnair · Aug 13, 2007

My favorite festival is Onam... I like Onam because of the old memories I have about the festival when I was very young.. I love the Onam feast... full of traditional Kerala dishes on a plantain leaf.

In my childhood days, I was in Kerala with my grandparents. I used to put the 'Pookkalam' or the flower arrangement for all the 10 days of Onam starting from the Atham day till Thiruvonam... Had to wake up in the early morning and take bath and make the Pookkalam...

On the Uthradam day, we need to clean the house and the surroundings... On the Thiruvonam day, one should not take the broom. Thiruvonam day morning itself, the elders in the house will be very busy preparing the feast..

Also, for Onam, we take new dress. Also we take dresses for the elders in the family now.

Then the boat races, I love them... Recently concluded Nehru trophy boat race is a very fascinating experience... One should really see them live...

ramyanand · Aug 14, 2007

Hi kanaka,
My vote is for diwali..It always brings nostalgic memoreis of my childhood when our family goes for diwali purchase,me askign my mom abt our crackers budget and equal share of pattasu with my elder sis..I usually dont bother much abt the new clothes but i was always eager abt the sweets and savouries my mom used to make..My mom used to be particular that for each and every diwali she wuf try a new recipe of sweet and kaaram..
on the day of diwali we wake up as soon as possible and my mom wud apply a lil bit of kumkum on our new dress and my patti wud apply oil on our hair and wud feed us maaladu..
Gone r those days..i miss all that ...:-(

Ramya

Blondie · Aug 14, 2007

ramyanand said: ↑

Hi kanaka,

Gone r those days..i miss all that ...:-(

Ramya
Click to expand...

Hello all,

i am kind of sad seeing the repetition of longing for the gone by days. Yes we have grown up and those days are gone for us. But how about us try to recreate the same magic for our children?? why are we giving up on traditions so easily because we now live in bigger cities in foreign countries?? We cannot say the younger generation is losing it when we have not taken trouble to teach them. getting up before the sun rises on festival days is becoming a rare thing for young adults leave alone the kids.

All the indian festivals are my favorites and i specially love holi both for what it is a harbinger for and all the fun associated with it. The kaama dahan the night before used to be my favorite.

Now my kids and I gather up all the neighbourhood kids during holi and play paintball /watergun. having quite a few indian families in the neighbourhood helps too. Once they see the fun the kids are having even the adults join in.

I buy fire crackers during july 4th here and store them to use during deepaavali.

Prepare a list of all our festivals and the days they fall on and plan my vacation days/work days accordingly.

Try as I might i am unable to teach my kids the concept of saving a new outfit to wear on festival day. To them a new outfit should be worn right away and it is their way of showing that they like it so much that demands wearing right away:-D

kanaka Raghavan · Aug 16, 2007

Dear friend
I wake up the entire household on Diwali and we still celebrate the day in a traditional way.My children hate watching the TV on that day.The children in our block celebrate the day together.I have a traditional meal spread out on that day.Try(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to make sweets and savouries at home and send them to others.W emanage to visit our friends and relatives.