Bonfire - Sunday reading task

Hello friends , 

              Today ,I am going to share my knowledge and my reading about the bonfire. This task given by Dr Dilip Barad sir so let's view my blog on Holika Dahan.

Brief information about the Bonfire :

              A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.

                       The literal meaning of the bonfire is a large open-air fire on which bones are burnt and it is derives from the term balefyre from a time when the corpses of witches, heretics and other nonconformists were burned on a pyre instead of being buried in consecrated ground. When we heard the term Bonfire Night then we characterised it with firework and celebration, but do you know how this tradition was started."It almost doesn't matter what you burn but, instead, how you burn it." ... Some people are more creative with what they burn.

History behind the tradition of Bonfire Night :

                         The history bonfire night is part of a 400 year old tradition that began in Great Britain. In Great Britain, 5th November marked as the day of celebration and fireworks because on this day in 1605 AD, the conspiracy to blow up the British Parliament was foiled. This day is celebrated as the thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

                The whole episode of conspiracy was plotted when Protestant King James I came to power and English Catholics hoped that their new kings grant them the freedom to practice their religion but it was not happening. Then they assemble to kill the King and blow the House of Lords.It was Guy Fawkes who managed to arrange 36 barrels of gunpowder to be placed under House Lords. But he was caught red-handedly before he could do any damage.

He hanged till death before hanging him, his testicles were cut off.

                 After his death, his dead body was quartered and each part was sent to the four corners of the kingdom as a warning to others against performing this sort of uprising or attack. From that day, Bonfire was started as a national thanksgiving from November 5, 1606 .

1) How many countries celebrate Bonfire? Why? (If you can find reasons? Are there common reasons?)

The word is actually derived from Middle English bonfire, meaning literally "a fire of bones." (Way cooler etymology, right?) The earliest appearance of the word is glossed ignis ossium—Latin for "fire of bones." And a citation from the 15th century confirms that this is not just a learned folk-etymology.

      Here we can see  How many Countries are doing Bonfire celebration ; 

                1. Australia 2. Canada 3. France 4. India Iran 6. Iraq 7. Ireland 8. Israel 9. Italy 10. Japan 11. Luxembourg 12. Nepal 13. Nordic Countries 14. Lithuania 15. Poland 16. Romania 17. Slavic Europe 18. Czech/Slovak Republic 19. Turkey 20. United Kingdom 21. Scotland 22. United States

2) What are the rituals around such celebrations ?

                 Rituals of the ancient festival of Holi are religiously followed every year with care and enthusiasm. 

Holika Dahan Celebration :

                 Then on the eve of Holi, Holika Dahan takes place. Effigy of Holika, the devil minded sister of demon King Hiranyakashyap is placed in the wood and burnt. For, Holika tried to kill Hiranyakashyap's son Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana.

                       

                  The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of a true devotee.Children also hurl abuses at Holika and pray pranks, as if they still try to chase away Dhundhi who once troubled little ones in the Kingdom of Prithu. Some people also take embers from the fire to their homes to rekindle their own domestic fires.

                    The tradition of playing colours is particularly rampant in north India and even in that region, there can be no comparison to the Holi of Mathura and Vrindavan. In Maharashtra and Gujarat too Holi is celebrated with lot of enthusiasm and fun.Next day, is of course the main day of Holi celebrations. The day is called Dhuleti and it is on this day that the actual play of colours take place. And everyone has enjoying with beautiful colours and water balloons .

3) Is there any story or myth around those celebrations? Write about various myths around bonfire. About the myths believed in by Vaishnavites and Shaivites in India. In which myth do you believe more than the other one.

Story of Holika Dahan,India  :

            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.  

Sadeh festival ,Iran :

       The "Sadeh" celebration is the largest celebration of fire and one of the oldest rituals known in ancient Persia. It is a festivity to honor fire and to defeat the forces of darkness, frost and cold. Until the Arab invasion of Iran in the seventh century, most Iranians in the powerful Persian Empire were Zoroastrians, who celebrated the feast at the start of the 30th January. 

                           The festival is held as a gathering of a city’s dwellers where a big fire is set. The observers help each other gather firewood, making the festival a celebration for cooperation and empathy between people.  

Bonfire Night Newfoundland, Canada :

                   When English and Irish people, in search of a better life, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, they took their traditions with them. The English took Guy Fawkes Night, the Irish took Samhain and over time the traditions merged into Mischief Week. 

With a belief that certain types of naughty behaviour (soaping windows, taking pins from gate hinges or stealing old tires for bonfires) is permitted at this time, many of Newfoundland & Labrador's close-knit communities hold bonfires and celebrations. 

Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) , 

England :

                   The bonfire tradition continues to this day, and usually there's an effigy of Guy Fawkes placed at the centre of it. One of the biggest celebrations is in the town of Lewes in Sussex where, in recent years, effigies of various current figures, including those from the UK banking world, have been burned.

Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine's "Oniyo" Fukuoka, Japan:

                   Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island, is one of Japan's largest cities and hosts one of its oldest fire festivals. Daizenji Tamataregu Shrine's "Oniyo" (Fire Festival) is a ceremony to drive away evil spirits that has been practiced for 1,600 years. It's held in early January each year. A "devil fire" that has been guarded at the temple is transferred - at around 9 p.m. on the seventh day (January 7) - to six massive torches measuring one meter in diameter and 15 meters long.

The torches are transported around the grounds of the shrine by a group of men in loincloths. It sounds like a potential health-and-safety issue, but it's considered to be good luck if embers or ash from the torches fall on them.

Thank you ...