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Holla Mohalla is celebrated by the Sikhs
Holla Mohalla is celebrated in the month of Chet according to the Nanakshahi calendar
Significance
Holla Mohalla is celebrated by the Sikhs and is celebrated with great fervor in Punjab. This is one of the most blessed festivals of Sikhs. This is a festival which lasts for a week, there are camping out and the Sikhs enjoys this festival as they get to show all their talent of fighting ability and bravery. All this is followed by kirtans, poetries and music.
Holla Mohalla festival is celebrated in the month of March every year that comes one day after Holi that is Holla. Mohalla is derived from the Punjabi word Mohalla that means a organization that is in the form of an army column that is escort by the war drums and standard-bearers and moving from one Gurdwara to another.
Holla Mohalla is a festival started in order to gather all the Sikhs for giving military exercise and mock battles after holi by the 10th Guru- Guru Govind Singh. This festival is now a traditional annual festival that is celebrated at Anandra Sahib and at Kiratpur Sahib that is in Punjab. This is also celebrated as the New Year according to the lunar Nanakshahi calendar. Sikhs celebrates this festival with great joy by watching and some also perform their skills of martial arts parades this is led by the Nishan Sahib of the Gurdwara. Even today Sikhs celebrates this festival with same traditions and customs.
Guru Govind Singh thought that the festival of holi is losing its originality day by day. Hence to bring back the charm of this festival he organized this festival where all the Sikhs came together and celebrated with great enthusiasm and fun. After this festival they got back the essence of the original festival that was celebrated in the Khalsa customs.
Celebration of Holla Mohalla
For Holla Mohalla people get up early in the morning have bath visit Gurdwara make the beginning of this festival by prayers. Their main guru Guru Grantha Sahib is brought out with proper respect and ritual, placed on the dais. There are giving a symbolic bath that is with milk and water. Karseva, Akhandapathas, kirtans and shabads are performed during the bath. The Karah Prasad is distributed to the worshippers after it has been consecrated by Guru. In the noon all the men and women sit together and eat at the guru ka langar. This breaks all the barriers of caste and creed that are made by people.
Traditional food
Langar is a meal which is one of the attractive features of Sikhs. Though this langar is prepared everyday at Gurdwara, there are special dishes on the special occasion. This langar consist of soup, dal, paratha, jeera rice, Paneer, dal thdaka, chapattis, salad and along with this there are sweet dishes also available for all the people present at the Gurdwara.
Holla Mohalla is a festival that is annually celebrated in Punjab at Muktsar and Anandpur. There are also some cultural programs that are preformed in the evening.
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