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Hello All,

I wish you and your family, friends, near and dear........

A very holy Good Friday Festival (10/04/09) and happy Easter on Sunday (12/04/09).

Good Friday, also called Holy Friday or Great Friday, is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus at Calvary. However, it is called ‘Good Friday’ because, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be and the hope that no tragedy, not even death, can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace. In some secular communities Good Friday has been erroneously referred to as "Easter Friday". However, the following Friday (after Easter) is the correct day to be named as Easter Friday. Good Friday or Black Friday, is a religious holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Golgotha, an event central to Christian theology. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover.

On this day, Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the place of the Skull, or "Golgotha" in Hebrew and "Calvary" in Latin. There he was crucified along with two other criminals. Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours and gave up his spirit. Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock in a garden near the site of crucifixion and rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb. On the third day, Sunday, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or Pascha, the Jewish feast of the Passover), Jesus rose from the dead.

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar. Based on the scriptural details of the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most probably been on a Friday. The exact year of Good Friday has been estimated as AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon.

In many countries with a strong Christian tradition, the day is observed as a public or federal holiday. Many Protestant communities hold special services on this day as well. In the German Lutheran tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, this was the most important holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. Holy/Great/Good Friday is observed as a strict fast, and adult Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. Also, ‘Spring Holiday’ is a generic North American term sometimes used in place of Easter or Good Friday. This term is used primarily in the United States as an evidence of a secular/non-religious purpose. Happy Spring Holiday….

Many many happy returns of the days.

All the best and take care….

With thanks, regards and best wishes,
G.Srikanth.

Hello All,

I wish you and your family, friends, near and dear........

A very happy, serene and joyful Sri Rama Navami wishes (04/04/09).

Rama Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of Hindu God/Lord Rama, son of King Dasaratha of Ayodhya, and a divine figure in Hinduism. The day also known as Sri Rama Navami, falls on the Navami, ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu lunar year in 'Shukla paksha' or waxing moon, thus named Chaitra Masa Shuklapaksha Navami, and marks the end of nine-day Chaitra-Navaratri celebrations. Hindus normally perform Kalyanotsavam (marriage celebration) with small murtis/idols of Rama and Sita in their houses, and at the end of the day the deity is taken to a procession on the streets. This day also marks the end of the nine-day utsavam called Chaitra Navaratri (Maharashtra) or Vasanthothsavam (Andhra Pradesh - festival of Spring), which starts with Gudi Paduva (Maharashtra) or Ugadi (South India).

In South India, the day is also celebrated as the wedding anniversary of Rama and his consort Sita, thus ceremonial wedding ceremonies, 'Sitarama Kalyanam', of the celestial couple are held at temples throughout the region, with great fanfare and accompanied by group chanting of name of Rama, 'Rama nama smaranam'.
Some highlights of this day are -

Ø Kalyanam (Ceremonial wedding of Sri Rama and Sita Devi performed by temple priests) at Bhadrachalam on the banks of the river Godavari in Khammam district, Andhra Pradesh.
Ø Paanakam, a sweet drink prepared on this day with jaggery and pepper.
Ø Procession of idols in the evening that is accompanied with play of water and colours.

Sri Rama Navami occurs at the beginning of the summer when the sun starts moving nearer to the northern hemisphere. The Sun is considered to be the progenitor of Rama's dynasty which is called the Sun dynasty. This dynasty is famous for great kings like King Dileep, King Raghu and many others. In all King Raghu was noted to stand for his word. Following the foot prints of his great ancestor King Raghu, Lord Rama too went to jungles to keep the promises made by his father Dasaratha to his step mother Kaikeyi. Hence Rama came to be known as Raghunatha, Raghupati, Raghavendra, Raghunandana and Raghurama. All these names beginning with the prefix ‘Raghu’ is also suggestive of some link with Sun-worship. The hour chosen for the observance of the lord's birth is that when the sun is overhead and is at its maximum brilliance. In some Hindu sects, prayers on Rama Navami day start not with an invocation to Rama but to Surya (Sun - Ravi in Sanskrit). Again the syllable ‘Ra’ is used in the word to describe the sun and brilliance in many languages.

The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, thronged by thousands of devotees; and Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as 'Shobha yatras' of lord Rama, his wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman, are taken out at several places and in Ayodhya, thousands of people take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu, on this auspicious day.

Many many happy returns of the day.

All the best and take care….

With thanks, regards and best wishes,
G.Srikanth.