The Festivals of Mithilanchal and Their Importance - DEO CIRCLE

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Monday, December 2, 2013

The Festivals of Mithilanchal and Their Importance

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Shiva Linga Being Worshipped in Shivratri
The Festivals of Mithilanchal and Their Importance
  • Mithila celebrates its scores of religious festivals and fairs of great local fervor

  • Each festival is unique in style and is characterized by color, gaiety, enthusiasm, feasts and heterogeneity of prayers and rituals

  • Need not to mention traditional Indian festivals like Ramnavami, Dussehra, Diwali, and Holi are also feted with great extravaganza in Mithila

  • Major religious celebrations include the Hindu festivals Deepavali and Vijayadashami, 
  •  followed by the spectacular Chhath Puja (sun worship) six days after Deepavali
  • Both Deepavali and Chhath are celebrated with a carnival atmosphere

  • The festival of Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna (February/March)
    Raksha Bandhan
  • Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama, in March–April (9th Day of Chait month of the Maithili calendar)
  • Janaki Navami, the birth anniversary Maa Sita in late April or early May (9th Day of Baisakh month of the Maithili calendar) And
  • Vivaha Panchami or Vivaha festival re-enacts the wedding of Rama and Sita at the famous Vivah Mandap temple on the fifth day of the waxing moon in November or early December (after Kartik Purnima), where Rama broke the bow of Shiva
  • Pilgrims stay in one of the city's five good hotels or small guest houses
  • There are also five fully equipped dharmashalas (cheap lodgings for pilgrims)
  • The people of this region are deeply religious minded
    Kojagra
  • They believe in the trinity of God i.e. Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the protector, and Shiva, the destroyer
  • Besides, these three gods in their different incarnations, they also worship many other gods and goddesses
  • They worship goddess Durga, the incarnation of supreme power in the form of mother
  • They worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and welfare
  • They worship Saraswati, the goddess of learning, art, and music
  • They also worship Lord Ram and Lord Krishna
  • They regard them as the incarnation of Vishnu and the manifestation of ultimate reality
  • They also worship Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati
  • On the occasion of every religious rite, Lord Ganesha the harbinger of prosperity and the destroyer of all obstructions is worshipped first

  • They also worship Vishwakarma the chief mechanical engineer of gods and Kartikeya, the supreme commander of gods
  • Besides these gods and goddesses, they also worship lot of legendary heroes like Deena- Bhadri, Lorik, Raja Salhes, and Dulra Dayal etc
  • Festivals are celebrated to commemorate their birth or marriage or their victories over evil forces
  • Mithila is mainly an agricultural region
  • In an agro society, festivals are organized to celebrate the harvest
  • Some of the festivals are completely agricultural in nature
  • Some of the festivals are based on myths and legends and some are religious in nature
  • The people of Mithila enjoy the real pleasure of life in these festivals
  • On the festive occasions, religious or folk songs are sung
  • These festivals are celebrated in every season and perhaps in every month of the year