Most Extreme Asian Festivals Whose History Touched My Heart
Asia has a very diverse culture and with the diverse culture comes festivals. All over Asia there are a lot of festivals celebrated all throughout the year. Some of the festivals are:
Eid-ul-Fitr
Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the most important festivals of the Muslim community. The festival name means the breaking of fast. During the holy month of Ramadan, the Muslims fast for 30 days. The fasting is very tough as the person cannot eat or drink anything from sunrise to sundown. They eat once a day and are not allowed to even drink water for the day. Even the small kids take fasts knows as ‘Roza’. On the day of Eid, the people break their fasts and a big feast is held. There are two types Eid-ul Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. Both are celebrated same but at two different times of the year. The festival was started by their preacher Prophet Muhammad after he migrated from Mecca.
The festival is celebrated to thank Allah for all his blessings and doing charity during these days is considered to make Allah very happy.
Holi and Diwali
Holi and Diwali both are Hindu festivals. Both these festivals are based on the concept of good winning over evil. During Holi people color each other with gulaal or other colors and wish each other good health and prosperity. The story behind it is that a prince was extremely wounded by his uncle who could not be killed by a human. So to rescue the kid, Lord Vishnu came as a half man half lion and killed the evil king and saved the kid. The festival Diwali is performed to celebrate the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. Ravana kidnapped Lord Rama’s wife Goddess Sita. He kept her captive but she was later saved by her husband who killed Ravana and showed that good always wins over evil. The Hindus light diyas and worship goddess Laxmi on this day.
It is also known as the festival of lights. Many Indian delicacies are cooked and served to the guests. People burst crackers and celebrate the happiness.
Hadaka Matsuri
Hadaka Matsuri is a Japanese festival also known as the naked festival. The name is given because it is celebrated with the Japanese men wearing no clothes except for a thin linen cloth wrapped around their waist. They struggle with each other to catch the lucky stick that is thrown into the crowd by the priest. The man who catches the stick and thrusts them in the wooden box is called as Masu and is blessed with a year of happiness. There are a hundred of them thrown in the crowed and have to be found.
The festival dates back 500 years when the priest threw paper talisman at the people as a token for completing the New Year acentric training.
Dragon Boat Festival
This is one of the most important festivals of Chinese. As the name suggests, it involves dragon boats. The normal boats are shaped as a dragon and the men sit on the boat and paddle it across the river. It started when the ancient people set out boats to look for the body of a very famous patriotic poet Qu Yuan who has drowned himself in the river Miluo.