Festivals are occasions that bring joy, unity, and a renewed sense of hope to our lives, and if we reflect on their essence, the deeper meaning we realise that what we actually celebrate during festivals is our togetherness, love and bonds with others. We do not celebrate merely an occasion, but the cheeriness of our spirit.
The Dalai Lama has aptly said, “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
This festivity lies within us, our actions and intentions, it makes us participate in creating joy, spreading love, and nurturing meaningful connections – resulting in a celebration.
Wasn’t this the quote by Buddy, a character from the movie Elf meant when he said- “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
So, a festival is to feel the festivity inside and ignite it in people around you, which makes childhood a festivity on repeat – daily!
Children are precious young souls who are mostly in a perpetual state of boisterous festivity, and their presence suffices as a good enough reason for feeling dizzily celebratory all the time.
They are the source of joy and hope, our chance to correct our past mistakes and make new ones, an opportunity to grow better, to see through their eyes lit up with joyful brightness of tomorrow’s celebration.
But the best festival is childhood and this is the responsibility of us the elders to ensure that whether Diwali or Eid, Guruparab or Onam, the celebration of childhood must not be overshadowed by external trappings of the world, the feisty spark of childhood must not fade away.
We at wizkidcarnival offer some tips to ensure this –
Involvement –
Involving children in the preparation of festivals is the simplest and surest way to make them feel connected and responsible for the festival. Rather than make them glued to their gadgets with comfort and give junk food items to ensure smooth festive preparations, we must get uncomfortable and involve them in proceedings.
The involvement must be age and inclination appropriate. For example , a four year old child can’t take care of arranging flowers at the altar, but he can surely pass garlands , leaves and other items to the elder standing on a ladder helping decorate the entrance of the house or the temple. This little involvement also ensures that this four year old is never going to destroy any entrance decoration, ever.
Recognition –
Irrespective of the task the elder must ensure that the credit goes to its due place. Not once must the elders forget to mention to each guest how diligently the four year old helped his uncle decorate the entrances of the entire house!
Share it just like that, with pride, with gratitude, but as plain fact. Do not compare with other four year olds nor allow the child to be inspected and shown off as a decor item by guests, it might sow the seed of vanity in him.
Blocking Virtual World-
Make the festive time a social media free time. The pictures can be uploaded later, the entire day’s footage needn’t be posted , your life is not a reality show where each moment needs to be viewed by the public. Be strict regarding virtual life taking over real life.
Taking care –
To rear better children, we need to take better care of ourselves and our elders. The time we spend with our elders, siblings, neighbours and friends builds the foundation of our children’s future relationships and bonds. We must also ensure to maintain the sanctity of the rituals and follow them devotedly – creating a connection between the occasion, the ritual and the relaxed happy feeling in the child’s mind. This works as a de-stress trigger, a comforting memory in his later adult life.
Thoughtful gifts –
These nurtures the soul of the giver and receiver, both. It’s always a pleasure to realise that a family member knows us in a way that he/she is able to present us something we always desired! To gift readymade sweets to our elderly aunt who is diabetic and is a voracious reader is silly, to gift her some bestseller is polite, but to gift her her favourite author’s latest work would be thoughtful and emotionally fulfilling- a moment of unforgettable pure joy, etched forever as a happy memory not just for her, but for you and the children who would witness it.
Meaningful conversations –
Are the best ways to solve issues, ease out tensions and bring on the cheer, the real inner cheer, independent of streamers and noise, the inner music of the soul filling the surroundings.
Children are sensitive to the energies in the environment, they might not understand words, they understand vibes. Harmony is the best gift we as elders can give them and meaningful conversations ensure harmony.
All these tips when practiced in routine work wonders for relationships , for our children, for us. The festivity multiplies magically with children, who when reared properly have the power to make life a never-ending celebration.
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