Festivals
Outline:
1. Introduction: Festivals fill our life with thrill
2. Religious festivals give us spiritual pleasure.
3. Public / National festivals are the celebration of heroic deeds.
4. The cultural values of festivals unite the nation.
5. The social utility of festivals.
6. Conclusion: All segment of society should be included in festivals.
Life in our country is marked by the enthusiastic observance of a large number of public festivals. Festivals fill our dull life with color and thrill. Festivals, however, can be divided into two major groups the religious and the public festivals.
The religious festivals are celebrated by each community according to the belief and prescription of its religion. They may, therefore, be called religious festivals. The second group consists of those that are observed on a national scale and participated in by members-of all communities.
We celebrate many religious festivals every year in Pakistan. The most important among them are the Eids and the Muharram. The Eids are two in number Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Azha. The first takes place at the end of a month-long fast during the lunar month of Ramadan. It is a great occasion. Muslims in hundreds of thousands gather on the day in various mosques to offer their prayer. More pompous and expensive, however, is the Eid-ul-Azha, which comes off on the 10th day of Zil-Haj, the last month of the lunar year. Apart from usual rejoicing and festivity, prayer and greeting, this day is marked by the sacrifice of animals whose flesh is eaten and distributed among the poor. The first Eid is meant to mark the ending of self-imposed trials and hardships to purify the soul throughout a full month of fasting and abstinence from all evil thoughts and actions. The second Eid is celebrated to commemorate the great sacrifice that Hazrat Abraham (A.S.) had made of his son in the name of Allah.
Markedly different in appearance, but similar in spirit to the Eids, is the festival of Muharram. It is a sad occasion, meant to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A.), the youngest grandson of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). He voluntarily sacrificed his life in the battle field of Karbala to hold up the banner of Islam. It is observed in tears and prayers and intended to recall the great sacrifice made by the Imam.
Other important Muslim festivals are the Shab-i-Barat, Shab-i-Miraj and Shab-i-Qadr. The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) is a real public festival.
It falls on the 12th day of the lunar month of Rabi-ul-Awwal. Religious meetings are held on this occasion and thousands of Muslims gather to offer praise to them beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and discuss his life and achievements. Others are important as rites but not so as festivals, being confined mostly to individual prayer at home or in the mosque.
Pakistan also observes several national festivals. The Independence Day falling on the 14th August is celebrated to mark the beginning of our career as an independent nation. The Pakistan Day is observed on the 23rd March to commemorate that the Muslims of India made to achieve Pakistan. The Quaid's birthday is celebrated on the 25th December to pay homage to the great soul who was sent by Providence to give the hundred million Muslims of India, a homeland in the shape of Pakistan. All these occasions are celebrated at State initiative and people of all communities celebrate them in the most befitting manner. New resolves are made on every occasion to defend our freedom and to march from progress to progress.
The national festivals are, in a greater measure, loaded with social utilities. On these days, we recount the past, recollect our great fighters and in that light renew our determination to translate their dreams into practice. Every occasion conveys new inspiration to the nation and generates new consciousness of our rights and obligations. People of all sections meet on the common ground and develop stronger national solidarity.
All segment of society should be included in festivals. They should not forget that they belong to a nation. They should forget their individualistic interests. They should keep in mind that they draw sustenance from a society and a nation.
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