Diwali also known as the "festival of lights", is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated in

autumn every year.

[2][3]
The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness,
knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.
[4][5][6]
The festival
preparations and rituals typically extend over a five day period, but the main festival
night of Diwali coincides with the darkest, new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar
month Kartik. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali night falls between mid-October and mid-
November.
Before Diwali night, people clean, renovate and decorate their homes.
[7]
On Diwali night,
Hindus dress up in new clothes or their best outfit, light up diyas (lamps and candles)
inside and outside their home, participate in family puja typically to Lakshmi - the
goddess of wealth and prosperity. After puja (prayers), fireworks follow,
[8]
then a family
feast including mithai (sweets), and an exchange of gifts between family members and
close friends. Diwali also marks a major shopping period in nations where it is
celebrated.
[9]

Diwali is an important festival for Hindus. The name of festive days as well as the rituals
of Diwali vary significantly among Hindus, based on the region of India. In many parts of
India,
[10]
the festivities start with Dhanteras, followed by Naraka Chaturdasi on second
day, Diwali on the third day, Diwali Padva dedicated to wife-husband relationship on the
fourth day, and festivities end with Bhau-beejdedicated to sister-brother bond on the fifth
day. Dhanteras usually falls eighteen days after Dussehra.
On the same night that Hindus celebrate Diwali, Jains celebrate a festival of lights to
mark the attainment of moksha by Mahavira,
[11][12]
and Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor
Divas.
[13]

Diwali is an official holiday in India,
[14]
Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and
Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia,Singapore and Fiji.
History[edit]
Diwali dates back to ancient times in India, as a festival after the summer harvest in
the Hindu calendar month ofKarthikai. The festival is mentioned in Padma Purana,
the Skanda Purana, and other Sanskrit Hindu scriptures; thedivas (lamps) are
mentioned in Skanda Purana to symbolically represent parts of sun, the cosmic giver of
light and energy to all life, who seasonally transitions in the Hindu calendar month of
Kartik.
[16][22]


Eid al-Fitr (Arabic: d al-Fir, IPA: [id al fitr], "festival of breaking of the fast"),
also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, theSugar Feast, Bayram (Bajram), the Sweet
Festival
[3]
and the Lesser Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated
by Muslimsworldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month
of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day during which Muslims are not
permitted to fast. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-
sunset fasting during the entiremonth of Ramadan. The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the
first day of the month of Shawwal. This is a day when Muslims around the world show a
common goal of unity. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the
observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration
varies by locality. However, in most countries, it is generally celebrated on the same day
as Saudi Arabia.
[2]

Eid al-Fitr has a particular Salat (Islamic prayer) consisting of two Rakats (units) and
generally offered in an open field or large hall.
[4]
It may be performed only in
congregation (Jamaat) and, has an additional extra six Takbirs (raising of the hands to
the ears while saying "Allhu Akbar", literally "God is greatest"), three of them in the
beginning of the first raka'ah and three of them just before Ruku' in the second raka'ah in
the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam.
[5]
Other Sunni schools usually have twelve Takbirs,
seven in the first, and five at the beginning of the second raka'ah. This Eid al-Fitr salat is,
depending on which juristic opinion is followed, Fard (obligatory),Mustahabb (strongly
recommended, just short of obligatory) or mandoob (preferable).
Muslims believe that they are commanded by Allah, as mentioned in the Quran, to
continue their fast until the last day of Ramadan
[6]
and pay the Zakat and fitra before
offering the Eid prayers.
Timing[edit]
Main article: Islamic calendar Astronomical considerations
Traditionally, it is the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the crescent moon
shortly after sunset. If the moon is not observed immediately after the 29th day of the
previous lunar month (either because clouds block its view or because the western sky
is still too bright when the moon sets), then it is the following day.
Before the advent of Islam in Arabia, there is mention of festivals as well as some others
among the Arabs. The Israelites had festivals as well, but as is evident from the Old
Testament and other scriptures, these festivals related more to commemorating certain
days of their history.

Christmas (Old English: Crstesmsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual commemoration
of the birth of Jesus Christ
[6][7]
and a widely observed cultural holiday, celebrated generally
on December 25
[3][4][5]
by billions of people around the world.
[8][2][9]
A feast central to
the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve
days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night.
[10]
Christmas is a civil holiday in many of
the world's nations,
[11][12][13]
is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,
[1][14][15]
and is
an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.
While the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7 and
2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are unknown.
[16][17]
His birth is mentioned in two of the
four canonical gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, theWestern Christian Church had placed
Christmas on December 25,
[18]
a date later adopted in the East,
[19][20]
although some churches
celebrate on the December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which corresponds to January in the
modern-day Gregorian calendar. The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to
correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians believed Jesus to have been
conceived,
[21]
or with one or more ancient polytheistic festivals that occurred nearsouthern
solstice (i.e., the Roman winter solstice); a further solar connection has been suggested because
of a biblical verse
[a]
identifying Jesus as the "Sun of righteousness".
[21][22][23][24][25]

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of
pagan, pre-Christian, Christian, andsecular themes and origins.
[26]
Popular modern customs of
the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas
cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations,
includingChristmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe,
and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa
Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to
children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.
[27]
Because
gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity
among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key
sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has
grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
The Chronography of 354 AD contains early evidence of the celebration on December
25 of a Christian liturgical feast of the birth of Jesus. This was in Rome, while in Eastern
Christianity the birth of Jesus was already celebrated in connection with theEpiphany on
January 6.
[40][41]
The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later: in Antioch
by John Chrysostomtowards the end of the 4th century,
[41]
probably in 388, and in
Alexandria only in the following century.
[42]
Even in the West, the January 6 celebration of
the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.
[43]
In 245, Origen of
Alexandria, writing about Leviticus 12:18, commented that Scripture mentions only
sinners as celebrating their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker
hanged (Genesis 40:2022), and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded.

Ganesha Chaturthi ( ) is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the
god Ganesha, the elephant-headed, remover of obstacles and the god of beginnings
and wisdom. The festival, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, is observed in the Hindu
calendarmonth of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the
waxing moon period). The date usually falls between 19 August and 20 September. The
festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Anant Chaturdashi (fourteenth day of the waxing
moon period).
The festival involves installing clay images of Ganesha in public pandals (temporary
shrines), which are worshipped for ten days with different variety of herbal leaves, plants
and immersed at the end of the festival in a water(lake) along with the Idol. After adding
herbal and medicated plants and leaves(patri) in lakes, the water in the lake becomes
purified. This was in practice because, in early days people used to drink lake water, and
to protect people with infections and viral diseases especially in this season, this
tradition was introduced. Some Hindus also install the clay images of Ganesha in their
homes. It is believed that Ganesha bestows his presence on earth for all his devotees
during this festival. The festival is celebrated as a public event since the days
of Shivaji (16301680).
While celebrated all over India, it is most elaborate in Maharashtra and other parts
of Western India
[1]
and Southern India.
[2]
Outside India, it is celebrated widely in Terai
region of Nepal and by Hindus in the United
States, Canada, Mauritius,
[3]
Singapore, Indonesia,Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Burm
a, Fiji, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana.
Date[edit]
The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on
the shukla chaturthi, the fourth lunar day of the waxing moon fortnight.
[6]
The date usually
falls between 20 August and 20 September. The festival lasts for 10 to 12 days, ending
on Anant Chaturdashi.
Celebration, rituals and
Weeks or even months before Ganesh Chaturthi, artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha
are made for sale by specially skilled artisans. They are beautifully decorated and depict
Lord Ganesh in vivid poses. The size of these statues may vary from 3/4 of an inch to
over 70 feet. The tallest Ganesha Idol made which stood 117 feet tall was situated in the
city of Visakhapatnam in 2012.

Navratri (Hindi: Gujarati: Oriya: Bengali: Kannada:
Assamese: Marathi: Punjabi: Kashmiri: /
Telugu: Tamil: Malayalam: ) is a festival
dedicated to the worship of theHindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri means 'nine
nights' in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights.
[2]
During these nine
nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The tenth day is
commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or "Dussehra" (also spelled Dasara). Navratri is
an important major festival and is celebrated with great zeal all over India. Diwali the
festival of lights is celebrated twenty days after Dasara.
This festival corresponds to a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th
lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily by the ethnic Chinese
of Min Nan linguistic group in Southeast Asian countries
like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia,Thailand and also the Riau Islands called the Nine
Emperor Gods Festival.
The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are considered to be important
junctions of climatic and solar influences. These two periods are taken as sacred
opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother Durga. The dates of the festival are
determined according to the lunar calendar.
Navaratri represents a celebration of the Goddess Amba, (the Power).
Navaratri or Navadurga Parva happens to be the most auspicious and unique period of
devotional sadhanas and worship of Shakti (the sublime, ultimate, absolute creative
energy) of the Divine conceptualized as the Mother Goddess-Durga, whose worship
dates back to prehistoric times before the dawn of the Vedic age.
A whole chapter in the tenth mandal of the Rigveda addresses the devotional sadhanas
of Shakti. The "Devi Sukta" and "Isha Sukta" of the Rigveda and "Ratri Sukta" of the
Samveda similarly sing paeans of praise of sadhanas of Shakti. In fact, before the
beginning of the legendary war between the Kauravas and Pandavas in the
Mahabharata a foundational Sanskrit epic in the Hindu tradition Lord Krishna
worshipped Durga, the Goddess of Shakti, for the victory of the Pandvas.
Vasanta Navaratri[edit]
This is celebrated during Vasanta Rhitu (beginning of summer) (March- April). This is
also known as Chaitra navarathri as it falls during the lunar month of Chaitra.