The latest news, updates and events in Birmingham
Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali. October and November are busy periods for celebrations in the Hindu calendar. Most people know of Diwali, the ‘Festival of Lights’, goodness overcoming evil, light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair, but very few are aware of Navratri and Dussehra which proceed the Diwali celebrations.
Janmashtami is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Kashav Sehra, a co-opted Trustee and a member of the Shree Geeta Bhavan Mandir in Handsworth, provided us an insight into the religious celebration:
Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists across Birmingham are celebrating Holi today, with festivities involving a lot of colourful chaos taking place across the city. Many began celebrations of the ‘Festival of Colours’ over the weekend in temples, homes and community centres across the Midlands; getting together to share love and joyful spiritual expressions of unity and forgiveness.
Happy Holi, also known as Festival of Love. It’s the month of March and what a busy month already, we’ve shared the love with International Women’s Day, we’ve shared the love with a pint of Guinness for the early celebrations for St Patrick’s Day, and now we’re sharing the love with the ‘Festival of Love’…