User:AJanelle/sandbox

Festivals celebrated in Mauritius are extremely various, as the island is a melting pot of Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Chinese celebrations, as well as historical commemorative events. When the country became independent in 1968, public holidays were instituted in proportion to the presence of each ethnic group.

Thaipoosam Cavadee
The originally Tamil celebration of Thaipusam is determined by the lunisolar calendar and it marks the end of a ten-day fast by means of a Hindu purification ritual. The Cavadee is a wooden arch covered with flowers and offerings that is carried by participants for several hours from the banks of a river to a temple. Some people’s bodies are even pierced with needles from which little objects and fruit are hung – a self-inflicted pain used in an attempt to uplift their soul.

Chinese New Year/ Spring Festival
Each year, in accordance with the Chinese calendar, the island’s Chinese community celebrates the coming of spring in what is known as Chinese New Year. Offerings in pagodas, parades, dragons, dances, decorations, lanterns, fireworks and scratch bombs all abound in an effort to repel demons.

Abolition of Slavery
On February 1st each year, ceremonies, concerts and spectacles commemorate the end of slavery in Mauritius in 1835. This celebration is extremely popular among the creole community.

Maha Shivaratri
The date of the festival of Maha Shivaratri is also determined by the lunisolar calendar. Maha Shivaratri is one of the festivals most widely celebrated among Hindus on the island in honour of lord Shiva. It lasts for four days with the Great Night of Shiva culminating a period of fasting and chastity with a procession of hundreds of thousands of Hindus, all dressed in white, making their way to the sacred Ganga Talao lake.

National Day
Having gained its independence on March 12, 1968, Mauritius, like many other countries, celebrates this event annually. There is a ceremonial hoisting of the flag at noon to the Mauritian national anthem. In the afternoon, the island hosts cultural shows, parades and other commemorative events.

Holi: the Festival of Colours
Fertility and love are celebrated on the day of the spring equinox, March 20th, during the Hindu festival of Holi. On the night before the celebration, bonfires are lit in joy to symbolise the destruction of the demon Holika. The next day, participants celebrate by splashing each other with water and coloured powder.

Assumption
For the Christian feast day of the Assumption of Mary, a multitude of masses and processions are held throughout the island. The grandest of them all is without a doubt the celebration in Marie-Reine-de-la-Paix, a sanctuary dedicated to the Holy Virgin.

Eid-ul-Fitr
Marking the end of a thirty-day fast known as Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr is a day of celebration by means of prayers, giving of gifts and a biryani feast. Biryani is a Muslim dish imported from India that is now common in Mauritius. In some countries, Eid is not celebrated on the same day.

Père Laval Feast Day
On September 8th, Mauritians pay tribute to the “Apostle of the Black People”, Jacques-Désiré Laval, by making a pilgrimage to his shrine in Sainte-Croix, to meditate and invoke miracles. Lively, open-air masses are organised likewise.

Diwali: the Festival of Lights
On October 26, the festival of Diwali signifies the victory of Good over Evil for Hindus. Diwali celebrates the liberation of Sita and the return of her husband, Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. For this celebration, lamps made of clay are placed along walls and balconies, and throughout gardens. They are lit at nightfall to light up the way.