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Navaratri
Navarathri or Dussera
festival is celebrated in the month of purattasi. This festival seems to have been
introduced to Tamil Nadu by the Mysore rulers. It is celebrated mostly in
the towns or in places connected with kings and chieftains. Observance of
Navarathri and exhibition of dolls in their wide
variety and colour and costumes is confined to the upper strata
of society. The common folk in the villages celebrate the Puravai
Eduppu or festival of horse dolls in the temples of Ayyanar in the summer.
This festival of dolls has helped to sustain the amazing skill at
clay doll-making in Tamil Nadu. The raw materials used are clay,
papier-mache
and paints.
Deepavali
Deepavali is an important festival of Hindus.
It is celebrated by taking
oil-bathe, wearing new apparel, consuming a rich and sumptuous feast
and firing crackers etc. Several agriculturists families do
not attach importance to this. They have neither the money nor
the time to celebrate any festival in October. Only the leisured classes
have any feeling of significance regarding Deepavali. A few wealthy
people celebrate Deepavali at Varanasi having a dip kin the Ganges.
Karthigai Deepam
Karthigai Deepam or the festival Lights is
celebrated in Tamil Nadu from the days of Tolkappiam. Every house is
illuminated with a large number of flat earthen lamps and there is great
rejoicing, children using crackers and lighting lamps.
Vaishnavites in some areas of Tamil Nadu use a type
of light prepared by themselves to illuminate their homes. It is
called Pori Vaanam and is made of a stick called Kavattaik-kambu with
cloth, cloth rope, saw-dust, konkani resin and Maruthankai being the fruit of
Maruda trees. This combination produces a sparkling light .
Elephant shaped lights (made by the potters) are sent by
parents to their daughters on this occasion.
This day comes in November-December on the Karthigai
constellation day is specially important to Thiruvannamalai. Birth in Tiruvarur,
death at Varanasi, worship at Chidambaram give salvation to human
beings. At Thiruvannamalai, Shiva is supposed to have appeared as a pillar of
fire, one of the five elements, on the Karthigai day. The local hills is said
to been established by God, so that the holyday may be observed in
perpetuity, by the annual appearance of a blaze of light at the top,
witnessed by the presiding deity, Arunachaleswarar .
Karthigai synchronises with the full moon and people greet the
deity with shouts of Annamalaiyarku Arohara. In a big copper urn,
large quantities of high quality camphour ghee and wicks are placed
and as the flame is lighted on the hill at 5.00 pm, ignorance fades to
merge with God in glory.
A large cattle fair is held in Thiruvannamalai for ten
days along with this festival. On the important days, the deities are taken
round in procession on various types of ornamental vehicles, these
procession are rare sights.
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