Christian Festivals And Celebrations
With more than 2 billion adherents, Christianity is the most popular religion in the world. Chritianity has its deep roots in India and is followed diversely in many parts of the country. With India's trading relationships with other countries, Christianity became familiar here and several people started to embrace the religion attracted by its principles and philosophies. According to the followers of Christianity, Jesus Christ who appeared in the Holy Land about 2,000 years ago, was the incarnation or the Son of God. People who followed his lessons became the disciples of Christianity and a number of Christian churches developed after the end of his life.
Christian Festivals And Celebrations
Christian festivals are celebrated in the same way as other festivals are rejoiced by people. The most populat Christian festivals celebrated across the country with much devotion are Good Friday, Easter and Christmas. All these celebrations are multihued and full of spiritual sentiments.
Christians strongly believe that the birth of Jesus Christ was as per the prophecies that took place in the Jewish Old Testament claiming that the Messiah would set free Jewish citizens from imprisonment or slavery.
Good Friday :Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and it was Friday The day before Easter is observed as Maundy Thursday when Jesus delivered his last commnadments to His disciples. Good Friday does not include any celebrations, but the entire day is observed with fasting and prayers where people sit by the cross and meditate. There are people who commit themselves for fasting prayers on the entire day. Many of the churches portray the sequence of incidents happened during crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the form of Wooden frames.
Easter :It is also recognized as Pascha , the Sunday of the Resurrection, the banquet of the rebirth or the Resurrection Day, is the most significant religious feast that falls out in Christian Calendar. This festival is observed linking late March plus late April while in East early April to early May. It rejoices the rebirth of Jesus, which took place after the ending of his life by crucifixion. In various Catholic Churches, Easter is in fact considered an eight-day feast also known as the Octave of Easter.
Christmas : It celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth and communicates his message of tolerance, love and brotherhood. It's a carnival of mankind and humanity. Though this festival is the primary celebration of the Christian calendar, but now it has an exceptional importance in everyone's life. People all over the world celebrate it as a universal festival. In 336 A.D, in the previous Roman calendar, the first mention of 25th December as the birth Jesus’ birth date occurred. In India it holds a specific significance.
Christian Pilgrimage Sites located in India:
- The Church of St. Cajetan, Goa
- Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa
- Church of St Francis of Assisi, Goa
- Christ Church & St. Michael's Cathedral, H.P.
- Santa Cruz Basilica, Kerala
- Church of the Sacred Heart, Delhi
- Little Mount, Chennai (Madras)
- Cathedral Church of St. Thomas, Mumbai