Introduction
The birth anniversary of Lord Rama is known as Ramnavami. Ram is also known to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. India is the only country which has majority of Hindus, so the celebrations are primarily in India. However, this does not mean the festival is not celebrated in other places. With Indians spread all over the world, the festival of Ramnavami is celebrated almost everywhere in the world! It is considered as one of the five, most sacred festivals of the Hindu religion. Even those who do not celebrate would have definitely heard of famous ‘Ram Leela’. It is a musical dance drama that depicts the life of Ram. Temples and idols of Ram are beautifully decorated. Some of the devotees observe rigorous fasts for all the nine days and eat only fruit and milk once a day. They believe fasting will please the gods and bring blessings upon them.
pooja
The pooja thali is prepared and consists of roli, aipun, rice, water, flower, bell, and a conch. During this time events of Ram’s life are narrated as per the Ramayana by Valmiki and Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas. The entire family gets together to worship and they begin with the youngest female putting teeka on the male members of the family. Other than the pooja, the fast and the bhajans, there is also the Rath Yatra. A huge fair is organized in Ayodhya and Rath yatras or ‘chariot processions’ of the idols of Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman are taken out on streets as part of the Ramanavami celebrations. The places for worship are filled with fervor of religious people showing their love towards their gods.
celebration