Intialainen uusivuosi?

islamin uutta vuotta kenties? Intiassa sen vaikutus on todella pieni, sillä muslimeita Intian väestöstä on vain n 10%.

Islamin uuden vuoden vietto poikkeaa muutenkin aika lailla siitä minkä me miellämme uuden vuoden juhlinnaksi. Uusi vuosi on enemmänkin perhe- ja ruokakeskeinenjuhla, ja sitä viettetään hillitysti lähimpien ihmisten kanssa.

22. päivä tätä kuuta on Holi-juhla. Se ei ole uudenvuoden juhla, mutta näkyy ja kuuluu kyllä. Väki roiskii silloin värivettä toistensa päälle ja muutenkin ollaan kaduilla ja iloitaan.

Hinduilla on sellainen juhla kuin Diwali, joka noin suunnilleen vastaa meidän joulua ja uutta vuotta yhdessä. Sitä vietetään loka-marraskuussa. Silloin poltetaan kynttilöitä, annetaan lahjoja ja käydään kylässä. Useat yritykset vaihtavat mm. tilikautensa Diwalista, kuten meillä uudesta vuodesta.

Why Celebrate Holi?
From Gyan Rajhans

Enjoy the Festival of Colors
Holi or 'Phagwah' is the most colourful festival celebrated by followers of the Vedic Religion. It is celebrated as harvest festival as well as welcome-festival for the spring season in India.
Why Celebrate Holi?
The festival of Holi can be regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood - an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. It is one occasion when sprinkling colored powder ('gulal') or colored water on each other breaks all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same and universal brotherhood is reaffirmed. This is one simple reason to participate in this colorful festival.

Let's learn more about its history and significance...
What is 'Phagwah'?
'Phagwah' is derived from the name of the Hindu month 'Phalgun', because it is on the full moon in the month of Phalgun that Holi is celebrated. The month of Phalgun ushers India in Spring when seeds sprout, flowers bloom and the country rises from winter's slumber.

Meaning of 'Holi'
'Holi' comes from the word 'hola', meaning to offer oblation or prayer to the Almighty as Thanksgiving for good harvest. Holi is celebrated every year to remind people that those who love God shall be saved and they who torture the devotee of God shall be reduced to ashes a la the mythical character Holika.

The Legend of Holika
Holi is also associated with the Puranic story of Holika, the sister of demon-king Hiranyakashipu. The demon-king punished his son, Prahlad in a variety of ways to denounce Lord Narayana. He failed in all his attempts. Finally, he asked his sister Holika to take Prahlad in her lap and enter a blazing fire. Holika had a boon to remain unburned even inside fire. Holika did her brother's bidding. However, Holika's boon ended by this act of supreme sin against the Lord's devotee and was burnt to ashes. But Prahlad came out unharmed.

The Krishna Connection
Holi is also associated with the Divine Dance known as Raaslila staged by Lord Krishna for the benefit of his devotees of Vrindavan commonly known as Gopis.

http://hinduism.about.com/od/holifestivalofcolors/a/celebrateholi.htm

Hindi New Year (Saka Era 1930) Friday 21-03-2008

http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-alm.htm

The Hindu Calendar System
India's cultural diversities are of eccentric proportions — even when it comes to counting days. Just imagine people in different part of the country using 30 different date systems! With so many different calendars, one might land up having a couple of new year celebrations every month!

Until 1957, when the government decided to put an end to this colossal confusion, about 30 different calendars were being used for arriving at the dates of various religious festivals among Hindus, Buddhist and Jains. These calendars were mostly based on the astronomical practices of local priests and "kalnirnayaks" or calendar makers. In addition, the Muslims followed the Islamic calendar, and the Gregorian calendar was used for administrative purposes by the government.

India's National Calendar
The current national calendar of India was set up in 1957 by the Calendar Reform Committee that formalized a lunisolar calendar in which leap years coincide with those of the Gregorian calendar, and the months are named after the traditional Indian months (see table).





Epochs and Eras
In the Indian civil calendar, the initial epoch is the Saka Era, a traditional era of Indian chronology that is said to have begun with King Salivahana's accession to the throne, and is also the reference for most astronomical works in Sanskrit literature written after 500 AD. In the Saka calendar, the year 2002 AD is 1925.

The other popular epoch is the Vikram era that is believed to have begun with the coronation of King Vikramaditya. The year 2002 AD corresponds to 2060 in this system.

However, the Hindu religious theory of eras divides time in four "yugs" or "yugas" (ages): Satya Yug, Treta Yug, Dwapar Yug and Kali Yug. We live in the Kali Yug that is believed to have begun with the death of Krishna, which corresponds to the midnight between February 17 and 18, 3102 B.C.
The Panchang
The Hindu calendar is called the "panchang" (or "panchanga" or "Panjika"). It is a vital part of the lives of Hindus, for it is indispensable in calculating the dates of festivals, and auspicious times and days for performing various rituals. The Hindu calendar was initially based on the movements of the moon and allusions to such calendars can be found in the Rig Veda, dating back to the second millennium B.C. In the first few centuries A.D., Babylonian and Greek astronomical ideas reformed the Indian calendar systems, and since then both solar and lunar movements were considered in calculating dates. However, most religious festivals and auspicious occasions are still decided on the basis of lunar movements.

The Lunar Year
According to the Hindu calendar, a lunar year consists of 12 months. A lunar month has two fortnights, and begins with the new moon called "amavasya". The lunar days are called "tithis". Each month has 30 tithis, which may vary from 20 - 27 hours. During the waxing phases, tithis are called "shukla" or the bright phase — the auspicious fortnight, beginning with the full moon night called "purnima". Tithis for the waning phases are called "krishna" or the dark phase, which is regarded as the inauspicious fortnight

http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/edu/hindi-new-year.htm

The New Years all over India
In Nepal, the Hindus celebrate New Year on the third week of March. The Hindu Kashmiris have their New Year in the second week of March. However, the Hindus of the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka celebrate the New Year in late March or early April.

For the Bengalis, the New Year falls around mid-April. It is the Poila Baishakh. It is a state holiday in West Bengal and a national holiday for Bangladesh.