Hello everyone,
I am Nidhi Jethava and I'm a student of MK Bhavnagar university. This is my second blog of the second semester. This year is very different for all of us. Generally this month is usually considered a month of examination But due to Covid-19 we have some differences with our educational calendar.
We Indians celebrate Holi Festival with full of fun and enjoyment. In this same way every Country has their own myth and way of Bonfire Festival.
So let’s discuss various Born and different rituals. I am starting with our Indian rituals of Born fire.
Before starting with Indian bonfire I would like to discuss what do you mean by bonfire ?
Answer :-
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Indian celebrate Bonfire :-
In India bonfires are also known with different names like Holika Dahan, in Punjab Lohri , In Assam in the northeastern part of India, a harvest festival called Bhogali Bihu is celebrated to mark the end of the harvest season in mid-january. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai , the Bhogi , which is also the first day of the farmer festival ‘Pongal’.
Story of Holika Dahan :-
According to folk tales Hinduism Today, a king named Hiranyakashipu who, like many demons and Asuras, had the intense desire to be immortal. To fulfill this desire, he performed the required Tapas or penances until he was granted a boon by Brahma. Since the gods rarely granted immortality, he used his guile and cunning to get a boon that he thought made him immortal. The boon gave Hiranyakashipu(also referred to as Hiranyakashyap)five special powers: he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra (projectile weapons) nor by any shastra (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air. As this wish was granted, Hiranyakashyap felt invincible, which made him arrogant. Hiranyakashyap decreed that only he be worshiped as a god, punished and killed anyone who did not accept his orders. His son Prahlad disagreed with his father, and refused to worship his father as a god. He continued believing and worshipping Lord Vishnu.
This made Hiranyakashyap very angry and he made various attempts to kill Prahlad. During a particular attempt on Prahlad's life, King Hiranyakashyap called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special cloak garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashyap asked her to sit on a bonfire with Prahlad, by tricking the boy to sit on her lap. However, as the fire roared, the garment flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Holika burnt to death, Prahlad came out unharmed.
Vishnu appeared in the form of Narasimha - half human and half lion, at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyap at a doorstep (which was neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon). In this form, the boon of five special powers granted to Hiranyakashyap were no longer useful. Prahlad and the kingdom of human beings were thus free from the compulsion and fear of Hiranyakashyap, showing the victory of good over evil.
Iran- Sadeh Festival :-
Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) - England
The Gunpowder Plot conspirators, led by Robert Catesby, were zealous Roman Catholics enraged at King James I for refusing to grant greater religious tolerance to Catholics. They planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster) during the state opening of Parliament, intending to kill the king and members of Parliament in order to clear the way to reestablishing Catholic rule in England. The plan failed when the conspirators were betrayed. One of them, Guy Fawkes, was taken into custody the evening before the attack, in the cellar where the explosives to be used were stashed. The other conspirators were all either killed resisting capture or—like Fawkes—tried, convicted, and executed. In the aftermath, Parliament declared November 5 a national day of thanksgiving, and the first celebration of it took place in 1606.
Today Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom, and in a number of countries that were formerly part of the British Empire, with parades, fireworks, bonfires, and food. Straw effigies of Fawkes are tossed on the bonfire, as are—in more recent years in some places—those of contemporary political figures. Traditionally, children carried these effigies, called “Guys,” through the streets in the days leading up to Guy Fawkes Day and asked passersby for “a penny for the guy,” often reciting rhymes associated with the occasion, the best known of which dates from the 18th century:
Fireworks, a major component of most Guy Fawkes Day celebrations, represent the explosives that were never used by the plotters. Guards perform an annual search of the Parliament building to check for potential arsonists, although it is more ceremonial than serious. Lewes, in southeastern England, is the site of a celebration of Guy Fawkes Day that has a distinctly local flavour, involving six bonfire societies whose memberships are grounded in family history stretching back for generations.
Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine’s “Oniyo” - Fukuoka, Japan:-
The Oniyo Fire Festival is a 1,600-year-old ceremony to exorcise evil spirits. The sheer scale of the festival, held in early January in Daizenji near Fukuoka, is astounding. The climax comes when six enormous torches are lit, and men climb them and dance in a seemingly mad frenzy.
The festival is one of Japan's three most important fire festivals and is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.
The Jeju Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival has kept alive the culture of Jeju cattle breeding, bringing it up to date for the current lifestyle.
On the Full Moon Day, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month of the year, the Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival is held in order to pray for a healthy year and good fortune. Visitors to the festival can experience the traditional lifestyle and practices of Korea’s farmers. Long ago Jeju farmers would set fire to their fields, so that the harmful bugs would be chased away, and their cows could then eat the grass. In this festival this practice is revived, and visitors get to experience setting pheasants free, traditional wedding ceremonies, and much more.
Up Helly Aa, Lerwick - Shetland Islands, Scotland
