Pancha Ganapati-Our way to Celebrate 25th December :)

[Ram11]

Namaste,

Recently,I came to know about the Pancha Ganapati festival that is celebrated from 21st December to 25th December.

Pancha Ganapati

Daddy, why don't we have Christmas? What do we do? Don't we get presents, too? That question was heard in so many Hindu homes some 15 years ago that it inspired us to create a new holiday based on time-honored traditions. In cooperation with swamis, scholars and elders, an alternative for Christmas was conceived and put into action. Pancha Ganapati, a five-day festival celebrated from December 21 through 25, has since become a favorite in homes all over the world.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Think of this as the Hindu Christmas, a modern winter holiday full of family-centered happenings, but with five days of gifts for the kids, not one. From December 21 to 25 Hindus worship Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed Lord of culture and new beginnings. Family members work to mend past mistakes and bring His blessings of joy and harmony into five realms of their life, a wider circle each day: family, friends, associates, culture and religion.

Way to celebrate each day and the signifance behind each day's unique decoration:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancha_Ganapati

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/med...anapati%20.pdf

[Anirudh]

Think of this as the Hindu Christmas, a modern winter holiday full of family-centered happenings, but with five days of gifts for the kids, not one.

Namaste Ram ji

Can you tell me one logical reason to support this mad love emulating Abrahamic festivals? Few days ago, some one came up with Vaishnava Christmas thread. Sanity prevailed when Satay deleted the thread. And now this from you. Not acceptable.

Daddy, why don't we have Christmas? What do we do? Don't we get presents, too? That question was heard in so many Hindu homes some 15 years ago that it inspired us to create a new holiday based on time-honored traditions.

What do we do on Hindu festivals? Don't we invite friends relatives during festivals. Don't we exchange home made food with our friends and relatives.

Think about the implication of these kind of emulation on Indian economy. A decent Chocolate or pastry (1 in number) cost around Rs 25. For Rs 25 you get a packet of Kadalai Mittai at least 5 or 6 in number. By buying Kadalai Mittai you are helping local small businesses and buying a Cadbury you are indirectly enriching others coffers...

Now you ll argue with me Cadbury cost a Rupee or two.

I am not against Cadbury or chocolates per se but aren't we forgetting and destroying our own culture? And what is the effect of chemicals vis-a-vis Indian food on our child's health?

Come Diwali or any other festival, TV commercials bombards you with non Indian foods. WHY? Why not on Indian delicacies like Laddu Jalebi Murukku etc etc? THINK.

[Ram11]

Namaste Ram ji

Can you tell me one logical reason to support this mad love emulating Abrahamic festivals? Few days ago, some one came up with Vaishnava Christmas thread. Sanity prevailed when Satay deleted the thread. And now this from you. Not acceptable.

Namaste Anirudh Ji,

I think you are missing the point.I suppose you did not read the full article or the pdf link I attached.It seems Sri Lankan Hindus celebrate Markali Pillayar(Sri Ganesha) festival during december,so there is no emulation or new invention here.

If you read the article you would understand that there are no Christmas trees or other related decorations rather Ganapati Puja is performed by a family together.And each day of the five days is meant for keeping Hindus engaged in five day Sadhana during the long holidays given for Christmas in some countries.If you google image Pancha Ganapati you would know what is happening,whether is Christmas or Ganesh Puja.

What do we do on Hindu festivals? Don't we invite friends relatives during festivals. Don't we exchange home made food with our friends and relatives.

Think about the implication of these kind of emulation on Indian economy. A decent Chocolate or pastry (1 in number) cost around Rs 25. For Rs 25 you get a packet of Kadalai Mittai at least 5 or 6 in number. By buying Kadalai Mittai you are helping local small businesses and buying a Cadbury you are indirectly enriching others coffers...

Now you ll argue with me Cadbury cost a Rupee or two.

I am not against Cadbury or chocolates per se but aren't we forgetting and destroying our own culture? And what is the effect of chemicals vis-a-vis Indian food on our child's health?

Come Diwali or any other festival, TV commercials bombards you with non Indian foods. WHY? Why not on Indian delicacies like Laddu Jalebi Murukku etc etc? THINK.

In fact,in the original page of the Himalayan Academy website,hand made greeting cards having Vedic quotions are suggested,the recipe of Vadai is given.

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules...hp?itemid=5071

How did this festival begin? In 1985, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, founder of Hinduism Today magazine, conceived of and introduced Pancha Ganapati during the thirty days of the Markali Pillaiyar home festival. With five days of gift giving at the time of year when Christmas is widely celebrated, it offers Hindu families, especially in the West, a meaningful way to participate in the holiday season without compromising their Hindu values. Their children receive and give gifts just as do their non-Hindu friends. Adults can fulfill the season's social custom of sharing gifts and greeting cards, as well as accepting them from relatives, neighbors, friends and business associates.
How is the Hindu tone maintained? While the festival occurs at Christmas time, Hindus celebrate Pancha Ganapati in a distinctly Hindu way, without Christmas trees, Santa Claus or symbols of other religions. Greeting cards are Indian in design and content, conveying Hindu wisdom from scripture. Hindu music and bhajans take the place of Christmas carols.
How is the home decorated? Lord Ganesha is depicted as coming from the forest; therefore, pine boughs, bamboo, palm fronds or banana leaves may be used. Durva grass, sugarcane, garlands of limes, vadai or sweet modaka enhance the home shrine. Flashing lights, oil lamps and colorful hanging ornaments are often added. After each puja, the sweets prepared for the day are given to the children.

If you are still not satisfied after reading the article and fact checking,you may please put forward your objections.

[Anirudh]

Namaste Ram ji

Can you tell us the about the origin of Shree Pancha Ganapathi? I have seen a SPG temple in my area.

The information you shared, is probably a solution to people living in abroad. Still it is trying to present itself as an alternative to an Abrahamic festival in a place where Hindus are minority.

US seems to have made Christmas as secular festival. Under the secular garb the US Gov is forcing Christmas on Hindus.

From the material you gave, it is clear that an American Hindu has come up with this to avoid "embarrassment" faced by minority Hindus children. But why Hindus should be embarrassed and react?

So during Christmas minority Hindus are indirectly forced to celebrate that occasion. It is like asking a Hindu to celebrate Jan 1st but our year doesn't start then. Even then we celebrate but why?

I am not against these 25th Dec or 1st Jan. But in both occasions we are just trying emulate the west.

Ask yourself how many Hindus make resolutions on Jan 1st via-a-vis on Ugadi or Diwali or Hanuman Jayanthi?

Do you think all these punya divas (sacred days) doesn't worth to make a resolution?
You aren't seeing the bigger picture.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: I've been familiar with Pancha Ganapati since its inception, although I never spoke personally to Subramuniyaswami about it, and asked why, so I'm really just conjecturing here. But I do have some thoughts.

In the west, the Christian festival is really overwhelming. It starts way back in November, the music is in the malls, schools have programs, and it's just everywhere. The year I spent in the east (Mauritius) for that time period was just such a relief. It wasn't nearly so overwhelming, and we went about our normal business barely noticing another culture was having a festival.

So the Hindus in the west were getting caught up in it. Kids were dealing with their parents in questioning ways, figuring they were missing out on something. Until you've lived in the west, and had the opportunity to observe this, you really can't imagine how pervading it is. Adults can handle it, turning deaf ears to all of it. I don't shop, buy gifts, or entertain. I have will. But little kids? (My 5 children are all adults now) We'd go to the mall and see the Santa display, and face a barrage of questions on the way home. "Daddy, how come we couldn't sit on Santa like all the other kids?"

So it was uncomfortable all around. So hence Pancha Ganapati. If you can't beat them, join them. But lets do it in a thoroughly Hindu way, and explain some Hindu mystic concepts while we're doing it. Then there is far less to deal with in raising kids, and living in the west through this 'thing'.

Now .... in India it is totally unnecessary I believe. I've never been there at that time of year, but I don't think the same all-pervading nature of a particular festival is there at all.

Of course we have free will to celebrate any festival, or not as we see fit, according to our own tastes or not. In this house Pancha Ganapati is there, but it's no big deal. Not like the annual temple festival, or even Thai Pusam of Shivaratri.

So in the end it remains entirely up to the Hindu individual to celebrate or not ... but if you're raising kids in the west, and you're having trouble keeping the 'other' forces at bay, then well, here it is...a great alternative.

Aum Namasivaya

[Anirudh]

Namaste EM ji

I understood your argument. If Ram ji had mentioned (that it is for west), it would have made lot more sense.

However why do we need Shree Pancha Ganapathi temple in India? If Pancha Ganapathi was invented for a specific reason, then that reason is not valid for India. I am against universalism and pseudo secularism because under its garb people ridicule Hinduism.

Here in India, on Dec 25, Jan 1st and Feb 14 young and 40+ aged people spend lavishly. The same wont donate (to poor people) even 15% of it in the entire year. And business around these festivals are looting India.

[Eastern Mind]

However why do we need Shree Pancha Ganapathi temple in India?

Vannakkam: I think you meant festival, not temple.

You don't. Just as various parts of India do not need festivals celebrated in other parts of India, or different sects don't celebrate other sect's main festivals, any festival celebration is totally optional. It's up to the individual to decide. Situations, and the way we all practice dharma vary greatly.

Aum Namasivaya

[NayaSurya]

The pressure here is very tremendous. I can see throngs of my friends from our temple, all native Hindu...with trees on their face book profiles.

My heart goes out to them...as I understand what they are trying to do.

I sat on the floor in my temple...as one of these sweet families explained to me that they worship christ as well...even chided me for being so against decorating.

But, we have come up with a perfect way to work our holly days out. We celebrated the return of our Beloved Sun...and his Son.

Starting with Saturnalia going to Mithras. We celebrate Beloved Lord Shani Deva and Beloved Lord Surya.

Our children get their gifts over a week earlier than their xtian friends...and because our government shuts down always the week prior to xmas...we always have our days off too.

and...instead of being home a week then getting some gifts and having one week to play with them...our children have the entire two weeks of vacation to play.

Also, we don't have to worry about the xtians shutting down stores on us for our meal or if we run out of milk. Our meal happens when they are still scrambling to purchase gifts.

Now, instead of my children coming home saying..."why don't we get gifts?" I have my children come home and say..."Mom! my friends want to know how come they don't get gifts early!"

Being here means we must bend to what the cultural majority wishes...and so we have these two weeks off. So we just have to find ways to own them as much as they do.

Once we do this...it loses its power over us...and the pressure disappears.

I sincerely suggest this to anyone having difficulties with the pressures of this time of year.

[Sudas Paijavana]

Namaste,

How the celebration of a deity, in this case Lord Shri Ganesha, a mere act that is completely against the foundational and theological cores of Abrahamic ideologies wherein it just happens to fall in line with the dates of Christmas-related festivities, the latter whose very origin is polytheistic and non-Christian, mind you, wherein murti-s of Lord Shri Ganesha are offered laudations and comfort, during which the propagation of a Bharatiya deity is enamored and embellished with Dharmic forms of bhakti; can be seen as anti-Hindu, escapes my noggin entirely.

[Anirudh]

Namaste

How the celebration of a deity can be seen as anti-Hindu,.... escapes my noggin entirely.

Either one has to spend time in India with the masses or should read the thread completely.