Festivals of India – Janmashtami

 

Greetings on Janmashtami

The stamp on Janmashtami issued by Nepal Post

Today is Janmashtami – The birthday of Lord Krisna.This religious festival is celebrated all over India in the month of August/September on the ashtami of Krishna Paksh or the eighth day in the month of Bhadon according to the Hindu calendar with great devotion and zeal. Janmashtami is also known as Gokulashtami, Krishnasthami, Srijayanti.

This verse is from the Bhagawad Gita, where Arjuna was not willing to fight the Epic war of Mahabhaarat and Krishna explains to him to perform his duties.

The Bhagavad Gita  also referred to as Gita, is a 700–verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. This scripture contains a conversation between pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Krishna on a variety of philosophical issues. The Janmashtami of Mathura and Vrindavan, the places where Lord Krishna had spent his childhood, are famous all over the world. Devotees from across the world come to these pious places to celebrate Janmasthami. On this auspicious occasion, temples and homes are beautifully decorated and illuminated. Night long prayers are offered and religious hymns are sung in temples.

Famous temple of Lord Krishna – Jagannath Temple Puri and Jagannatha Yatra - Puri

The temples especially in Vrindavan witness an extravagant and colourful celebration on this occasion. Raslila is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.

Romance of Lord Krishna – special cover issued during Kashmir Philatelic Exhibition – Kasipex – 79, Jammu

Phagwa Festival

Guyana Post issued a set of four stamps in 1969 on Lord Krishna playing Holi - “Phagwa Festival “.

Photo : Kenneth Sequeira – Dubai (UAE)

Festivals of India – Raksha Bandhan

 

'”To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts.  We share  family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.”

Greetings on Raksha Bandhan

Greetings to all Indians on this festive occasion. Have great celebration with your family !

 

 

 

Vesakha festival…

 

 

 

Today is Buddha Purnima also known as Vesakha or Vesak. Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti or Vesākha is the most sacred occasion for the Buddhists. As per Hindu Mythology Lord Buddha is believed to be the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. One among the most important festivals, Buddha Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day of the Vaishaaka lunar month (that corresponds to the month of April-May).

This is a special day when Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautum Buddha. Initially Buddhism spread from India and gradually assimilated into many foreign cultures, therefore Buddha Purnima is celebrated in many different ways all over the world.

In most of the Buddhist countries the cities, villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with colorful Lanterns, electric lights and beautiful decorations. In India, pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Purnima celebrations. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colorful flags and flowers.

On this day devout Buddhist and followers wear only white clothes. They gather in their Viharas or temples before dawn for the ceremonial, honorable- hoisting of the Buddhist Flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the Holy Triple Gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sagha (his disciples). On this day, the Buddhists free birds and animals from cages, distribute fruit and clothes to poor and sick.

Offerings in form of incense, flowers, candles and fruits are made before Lord Buddha’s Statue. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as flowers- fruits will parish after a short while, the candles and incense sticks would burn out, so the life is subject to decay and destruction.Followers should reaffirm faith in the five principles called 'Panch Sheel'. These are- not to take life, not to steal, not to lie, not to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants and not to commit adultery.

In most of the Buddhist countries the villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with color Lanterns, electric lights and colorful decorations. In India, pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Purnima celebrations. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colorful flags and flowers.

Read More…

Read : Vesak

Happy Holi !

 

 

Wishing you all a very Happy Holi !!

 Have a Wonderful Splashing Holi !

With all colours of Life !......

 

Festivals of India – Holi

 

Hi ! It’s festival time here….Today we are celebrating Holi in Kullu, though Holi will be celebrated tomorrow all over India but in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh it is a tradition to  celebrate Holi a day before the main Holi day.

Holi is one of the biggest festivals of India. It is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun which is the month of March as per the Gregorian calendar.  What makes Holi so  special is the spirit of love and fraternity between people all over the country and  across the globe, wherever it is celebrated.

Entire country wears a festive look during Holi celebration. Market places get abuzz with activity as frenzied shoppers start making preparations for the festival. Heaps of various hues of gulal and abeer can be seen on the roadside days before the festival. Sprinklers in innovative and modern design too come up every year to lure the children who wish to collect them as Holi memorabilia and of course, to drench everybody around.

 

A sheetlet on Children’s Day was issued in 2002 featuring festival of Holi.

Festivals of India - Mahashivratri

 

 

Greetings on Mahashivratri

 

Maha Shivratri  a Hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri Festival or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of Hindu Trinity. Shivaratri falls on the moonless 14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun, which corresponds to the month of February - March in English Calendar. Celebrating the festival of Shivaratri devotees observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam to appease Lord Shiva. A souvenir sheet was issued by Guyana Post on Lord Shiva during INDIPEX 2011 !

 

Legends

According to a legend, Parvati performed tapas, prayed and meditated on this day to ward off any evil that might befall her husband on the moonless night. Since then, Mahashivaratri is believed to be an auspicious occasion for women to pray for the well-being of their husbands and sons. An unmarried woman prays for a husband like Shiva, who is considered to be the ideal husband. Another legend of the day is that Shiva and Shakti married each other.

There is one more legend of shivaratri associated with Samudra Manthan, a battle between devas and asuras during which a pot of poison came out of the ocean and on the request of gods, Lord Shiva drank the poison. The poison was so potent that it changed the color of His neck to blue. For this reason, Lord Shiva is also called Neelkanth.

Club News

New Special Covers

Festival of Coins,currencies and Stamps - Kozhikode

Dharohar 2012 – 7th Delhi Philatelic exhibition

Indian Science Centre, New Delhi

Delhi Development Authority

 

 

Press Clipping

 

 

: Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur

Greetings on Republic Day

 

 

Today we are  celebrating our 63rd Republic Day.

Greetings to all Indians

living in every corner of the world !!

 

 

Let us remember the golden heritage of
our country and feel proud to be a part of India.
HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY !!

 

Cover : Praful Thakkar - Ahmedabad

Festivals of India..

 

Makar Sankranti - Pongal

India is a land of many festivals where pious people relish all religious days, and one of the auspicious occasions for  all is Makar Sankranti, celebrated in all parts of India . Makat 'Sankaranti' was celebrated  today on 15.01.2012 . 

Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival . According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in the month of Poush in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the earth from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14th January every year but this year it occured on 15th Jan.

In Tamil Nadu, New Year begins from the date of 'Sankrat'. Different cultural people enunciate various names of 'Sankranthi'.It is 'Thai Pongal' for South Indian, 'Uttarayan' for Gujartis , 'Makar Sankranti' or 'Til Sankrant' for Norther Indians and 'Tirmauri' for Sindhis.

Festivals of India - Guruparv

 

 

Greetings on Gurunanak Jayanti 

Today is Gurpurav , also known as Guru Nanak Birthday, is the birthday of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, and one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism.

Golden Temple of Amritsar is the most important shrine of the Sikhs

Celebrations take place on a large scale in Punjab, Haryana and other parts of the world where Sikhs reside. Processions are taken out and verses from the Guru Granth Sahib are recited. The festivities in Sikhism revolve around the anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus. These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs. Their birthdays, known as Gurpurabs, are occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs.

One of the main shrines of the Sikhs is the Golden Temple of Amritsar, in Punjab.  The Temple foundations were Laid by the Fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das (1534-1581). The birthday of Guru Nanak Sahib falls on Kartik Poornima, i.e., the day of the full moon in the month of Kartik. In the Gregorian Calendar, the birthday of Guru Nanak usually falls in the month of November, but its date varies from year to year, based on the traditional dates of the Indian calendar.

 

Christmas stamps from Royal Mail…

Royal mail  issued a set of new stamps  on 8 November for this year’s Christmas .

This year, the seven Christmas 2011 stamps each feature a beautiful image inspired by the accounts of the Nativity from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The large and small second class stamps show the Angel speaking to St Joseph in a dream. The large and small first class stamps depict Our Lady dress in a red holding the Baby Jesus.

The 68p stamp portrays the stable scene. The £1.10 one shows an Angel speaking with the Shepherds, and the £1.65 stamp is of the Three Kings, discussing the Star which will lead them to Bethlehem.

Date of Issue :19 October 2011

Dwarkapex 2011 – Bosco Public School, New Delhi

: Ashwani Dubey – Gorakhpur 

 

From our Readers…

Maxim Card 

 

Maxim card prepared by Sanjiv Jain, Dehradun email : jainsanjiv@live.com

Today is 1.11.11…

 

From our Readers…

Cover with date 1-11-11

SK Jain, Dehradun

Press Clippings

Festivals of India – Chhath

Nepal’s postage stamps on Chhath: leave Indian philately far behind!

 

Date of Issue : December 31^st, 2009

What the Chhath devotee may find heartwarming is that neighbouring Nepal has stamps for Chhath already beating India by several years by issuing postage stamps in the name of Chhath festival in 2009 itself. Nepal did this as part of their ‘culture’ series giving the terai [plains] people of Nepal their due. Chhath is however not confined to the plains region anymore but celebrated widely in Kathmandu as well due to the large presence of the plains population in the Nepal capital.  According to a report in the Nepal press, during this festival, devotes gather at the water bodies of Kathmandu – Rani Pokhari, Gauri Ghat, Manohara River and Bagmati River are some of the popular areas where the people gather to mark this amazing festival. According to Bijaya Kumar Karna, Spokesperson of Tarai Sanskriti Pratisthan, that will be organising this year’s festival in Rani Pokhari, around 40,000 people residing in Kathmandu celebrate this festival here.

According to a report, years ago Pradip Jain, a member of the Indian Philately Advisory Society had suggested issuing of stamps on Chhath to the Postal Department of the Indian government. But no action has been taken so far on this.

Read More

Chhath on Nepal Stamps – Hindustan Times 31 Oct. 2011

: Pradip Jain,Patna