Ethnic Festivals In The First Quarter

Let’s update ourselves about some important festivals being celebrated in Canada during the first quarter of the year.

January:

Guru Gobind Singh Gurpurab: The birth anniversary of the 10th Guru of the Sikhs is celebrated with great devotion. Thousands of devotees visit the temple, offer prayers, meditate and eat together at the community kitchen

Harvest Festivals for South Asians: South Asians normally celebrate the Makkar Sankranti in different regions under different names. It is the beginning of the New Year and also the harvest festival. Tamils celebrate it as Pongal, Punjabis as Lohri and north Indians as Makkar Sankranti. Punjabis tend to celebrate the first Lohri of the newly weds or a new born child with great feastings and rituals accompanied by a lot of presents.

Chinese New Year: Also known as the spring festival, the Chinese New Year normally spans over a few weeks and is largely characterized by ethnic food, dance, colorful costumes and family get-togethers.

February:

Lantern Fesitval: It marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year and is characterized by multicolored paper lanterns in the likeness of butterflies, dragons, birds, dragonflies decorated all around the major buildings.

Mahashivratri: Mahashivaratri is a hindu festival which according to the Hindu mythology, marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the 'Tandava' dance. It is also believed that on this day Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. Shiva devotees celebrate it by observing fast and offering fruits, flowers and bel leaves on Shiva Linga.

March:

Naw Ruz: Naw Ruz is the Persian New Year festival and is celebrated by all Bahais and Persians alike. The festive spirit is marked by family get together, exchanging gifts, decorations at home, offering prayers at the temple and enjoying the “new day”.

Holi: Also called the spring festival, it is characterized by song, dance, fire, water & colour. The two part festivals bids farewell to the winter with fire and ashes and welcomes spring with rejoicing. The Sikhs celebrate it as Hola Mohalla during which the traditional martial art contests and displays are held in temples and cultural centers.

Hina Matsuri: A very popular Japanese festival, Hina Matsuri is also known as the peach festival, the main part of the festival is the display of family heirloom.

Purim: The Jewish spring festival also known as the festival of freedom is celebrated during 8 days and the traditional food Matzah is consumed.