Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in Nepal, celebrated by all. Dashain falls in late September to mid-October, after the monsoon season. It is 15 days long and ends on the day of the full moon. There is feasting, fasting, rituals and rejoicing. Dashain goes by many different names (Dasara, Bada Dashain, Vijaya Dashain, Durga Puja) all of which mean the same thing: a day of victory of the Gods over the wicked demons.Thousands animal sacrifices take place to honor the Goddess Durga who is worshipped as the divine mother Goddess. (Before you judge - remember that most of us eat meat nearly every day, and it has to get to our plates somehow...) Apparently homes are thoroughly cleaned and beautifully decorated as an invitation to the mother Goddess so that she might visit and bless the home with good fortune.
There are many more details and rituals around Dashain, but I do not want to write too much as I haven't experienced Dashain myself, so I feel ill-equipped. (My limited information comes from reading and talking with people who have been....)
I can tell you that I adore nothing more than a really clean house. I’m all about honoring the mother Goddess. I also quite like meat, and local and fresh is best. I'd love to have 15 days off work to celebrate spirituality. So, as far as I'm concerned, Darshain is just my type of festival. Count me in.
Namaste
2 comments:
After taking my class on Hinduism last year, I was quite impressed with how powerful Durga is! Some of the stories and images of her certainly helped explain the traditions of this festival for me. Maybe I will use this as inspiration to straighten up my house a bit more...inspiration certainly is needed as motivation for that does not come from within ;-)
It would be incredible to experience this festival in person some day!
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