A HINDI FESTIVAL-DIWALI
The festival of Diwali is one of the most important religious festival in India. It lasts for five days around the end of October. It is the festival of Laxmi, the Goddess who, in the Hindi region, brings peace and prosperity.
Preparations for the festival begin several weeks before the festival itself. People clean and decorate their homes, prepare special food and buy new clothes and jewelery to welcome the Goddess into their homes. All over India, people light up their homes with oil lamps and colourful light. The celebrations take place on the darkest night of the lunar month, Amavasya. In the evening, fireworks fill the sky to make Diwali a true “Festival of Light”.
EASTER IN POLAND
 In Poland, there are many customs at Easter: for example, the “blessing basket” containing (among other things) colored eggs, bread, salt, and white sausages. Everything in the basket has a meaning: the eggs represent Christ, the bread, salt and sausages good health and enough money in the coming year. The family Easter breakfast on Sunday morning is as important as Christmas dinner for Poles. And there is one more Polish tradition connected with Easter Monday: “watering”. People throw water at each other and this is a wish for good health, too. Even strangers on the street are not safe from a bath of cold water on Easter Monday!
ISLAMIC FESTIVALS-RAMADAN
Because the Islamic religion uses a calendar based on the moon, not the sun, the exact date of religious festivals changes from year to year. The Islamic Calendar begins with the hijra, the year when Mohammed left the city of Mecca for Medina. The New Year is a time for peaceful prayer for most Muslim people. Every year in the month of Ramadan -the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar – all Muslims fast from early morning until evening. By living without everyday comforts, a fasting person better understands the life of poor people who are hungry and also grows in his or her spiritual life.