KARTIGAI MAHA DEEPAM

Hello friends.
Are u rdy to join this deepam thiruvizha? ok.then u see.
Karthigai deepam coms in karthigai month. It is ( between
nov 17 to dec 17) on a full moon day n krithistar is karthigai
deepam.It s also a grand festival. All the siva, vishnu and muruga
temples celebrate grandly.
let me tell you in detail about it now. this festival s celebrated in a grand manner at thiruvannamalai(famous shiva temple), which s around 350km from chennai.
In our life there s wat s called 'the pancha budam'--fire,wind,sky,water and earth playing a very vital role! now i ll tel you about one among it--the AGNI! the diety shiva in tis temple is in his agni roopam(as symbol of fire)!agni has neither a head nor a feat.its just a flame. the tample has a big bowl(agal)-shaped, lamp-like rock. its our custom tht on karthigai deepam day ,people who go ter pour 20-30tins of oil and they make a huge thread from cotton clothes(called 'thiri')to be put into tht bowl-rock. before 4 days of the festival,daily at 6pm the temple start their pooja, aradhana and lighting arrangements!
in the other siva temples also they use palm leaves, cut it into 4 or 6 pieces and make a tent out of it.on the day of karthigai deepam, they light it up with camphor and it starts flaming. this s called the 'CHOKKA PANNAI'.its oly at this thiruvannamalai where shiva gives half of his body to shakthi. which clearly depicts the equal rights for both men and women.
all Vishnu and muruga temples are also decorated with lamps. polur, rameshwaram and kancheepuram are some other famous places where tis festival s greatly celebrated every year.
now lets see how it is celebrated by us from home.
first and foremost is we buy lamps made of clay(agals), brass, silver, porcelain,wax etc. clean them up and apply with sandhanam and kumkum. we also make some sweets-athirsam, payasam,aval poriwit baked rice),appam etc. fruits, coconut and all are put before the lamps and pooja ll be performed to god with flowers. everyone at home light all the lamps and do neivedhyam and show camphor jyothi to god.
we make some rangoli in the pooja room and decorate it to look in much colourful and brighter way by placing the lighted agals over it. we also keep some agals at the entrance of the house,over the staircase, compound wall and floor. the kuthu vilakku(traditional lamp) ll be kept in the pooja room. if ter s any newly married daughter-in-law at home she ll be asked to light the kuthu vilakku. as the gal is celebrating her thalai karthigai(first post-married karthigai deepam) the gal's parents ll bring her some fruits, sweets,rice, dals, few lamps made of clayor brass or silver according to their capabilities.they also get new dresses for their daughter and son-in-law.
all the brothers of a gal ll bless her for her happiness and prosperity and sometimes give her gifts like clothes or money.the young gals of the family usually take part in this festival with great enthu and show their interests in the form of decorating the house with lights allaround.
in almost all states of our country tis festival s celebrated.but there ll be some subtle difference based on their tradition and culture.

so wat else are you looking for now?hmmm... go and get ready!hav a very happy karthigaideepa thirunaaal...:) and have fun!!
meet you with some other interesting topic... bye...