Importance of celebrations and festivals

And festivals provide the opportunity to renew personal ties with family, friends and loved ones. They also allow us time to rest and renew our energies. Festivals are time to reminisce on the past, enjoy the present and plan ahead for the future. They are a wonderful opportunity to relax and simply have fun as festivals are always full of celebrations and merry making.

Celebrating festivals is also important to society as people need to interact with each other for the society to develop. Society is also run on peace and mutual harmony, and festivals promote them by bringing people together. Most festivals are celebrations of a special trait of a culture and celebrating the same thing makes people identify with each other and unite them too.  In olden times, festivals were closely related with administrative functions. It was usually during festival times that all the people of a community would gather and select their chiefs and leaders.

Festivals are also reservoirs of knowledge and they serve as a reminder of our customs and traditions. They keep us in touch with our roots and origins. Festivals preserve the traditions and customs of a society and they record the patterns of cultural change. They also promote awareness and knowledge of one’s culture. Learning the origins and significance of a festival make people understand the implications of the celebration and why it is important for them. Festival traditions and customs can also impart values to young children in a fun way.  Festivals can be classified into some broad categories like Cultural or National holidays. They may be religious, cultural, social or political but all festivals serve to foster peace and harmony in society and at the same time broaden our cultural horizons.

Rakshabandhan is one such festival with lot of social implications. The festival is marked by the tying of the sacred thread known as rakhi.  The tradition of tying rakhis is not exclusive to real brothers and sisters. And rakhis are tied on anybody whom one considers as brothers whether they are neighbors, family or friends. Indian tradition maintains that when a girl ties a rakhi on  the wrists of any male, he takes on the role of a natural brother and must protect her at all times. Thus the festival of Rakshabandhan promotes a peaceful society where everyone lives as brothers and sisters.

People celebrate the festival with lots of enthusiasm and it is an exciting occasion for young children as the day is filled with elegant rakhis and delightful gifts. Most families spare no efforts in obtaining the best rakhis for kids as they usually love to display them to their friends. Shops and stores are filled with exclusive Rakhi gifts for kidsranging from chocolates and cakes to soft toys and other fun gifts such as rakhi threads with children’s favorite cartoon characters and superheroes.