As my husband entered the house, my little girl Chavi hastened to him and said: “Papa, I want to go and see the Ramleela, please”. Seeing the exhausted expression on my hubby’s face I anticipated his response. He calmly dismissed her, breaking her bubble of excitement as Chavi sprinted back to her room. My daughter’s excitement for the festival was brimming in her eyes but my husband’s post-work exhaustion was justified too.
Children have an innate curiosity to know the reason behind everything that their innocent eyes see. Every year around the festival season starting from October, Chavi is high-spirited and full of questions.
“Mumma why did Ram kill Ravan?”, “Mumma why was Ram sent to the jungle? Doesn’t his father love him?” I answer her but her excitement is never satiated. Her interest takes me by surprise or maybe I no more let myself be engulfed with the revelry of festivals.
Take a moment and think what does a festival mean to you?
Festivals are just another public holidays when you can wake up in the noon, laze around or may go out for a movie and send ‘e-wishes’ via the smartphones. It might sound vague as you read but this is the harsh modern reality. In the hurly-burly of our metropolitan life, we are missing out on so much of the cultural ethos that festivals bring in. The purpose of festivals is to bring everything in a state of buoyancy and relieve us from the monotony of life. It is that time when we get an opportunity to link back to our roots.
Why festivals are important for children?
All the Indian festivals hold a historic or an epic tale behind them. It is important to us as parents to maintain the spirit of festivity for our children. Celebrating festivals is a great way to teach your child about the Indian culture. Knowing more about why a festival is celebrated, what its significance is, and why did we start celebrating it in the first place, can help a child understand the importance and significance of each festival, and it can be a great way to impart values to the child as well. Festivals create an environment of cultural harmony. They teach them to forget enmity and embrace one another in the bond of love. The moral, ethical, social values of life mix up with entertainment through festivals.
How to engage your child in the festivities?
Promote the cultural engagements of your child. Indulge them in decorating the house around the festival time. Small contributions will make them happy and their enthusiasm can be utilized positively. Children can also be indulged in craft activities related to the festivals. Dress up your little one in the colours of the festivals. Buy them new dresses and gifts so they feel special and excited. Have meaningful conversations in the dinner-time, narrate them stories of the Hindu mythology, they might end up absorbing just a bit but it will be a fruitful exercise.
Festivals weren’t meant to be spent on your couch, get up and never let the spirit of festivity fade in your life. It’s time you bring in the festival season with zeal and excitement. Make each day a celebration!
Help your child learn faster with the help of CG Slate- The Smart Educational Tablet.
