Added: 08/13/2005 |
Celebrating Mauritius holidaysMauritius is situated in the southern part of the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar. This island is of volcanic origin, and its coast is protected by coral reefs. Flights to Mauritius are frequent, convenient and not problematic at all. You do not need a visa to go to Mauritius, all you have to pay upon your leaving airport is a fee of 20$. Flights to Mauritius are serviced by several carriers, international as well as national.
Mark Twain once compared this island with a paradise, and it is really so. One of the local wonders is the many-colored soil of Mauritius. The layers of soil have yellow, pink, orange, brown and blue colors, and they do not blend even in rain. Just as a many-colored soil, the culture of Mauritius strikes visitors with its diversity. People have been coming here for centuries from all continents, bringing their languages, customs and religions with them. All these cultures intertwined with each other, and all people here live in harmony without any misunderstandings. Mauritius holidays are numerous and very diverse.
Mauritius holidays are mostly of religious origin. Chinese people celebrate the Chinese New Year, or the holiday of spring, lay tables, get together with their relatives, and give donations to temples. Performers dress up in the costumes of dragons and organize performances in the streets. Moslems celebrate the end of Ramadan and Moharram according to the Islamic calendar. The latter used to be the holiday of repentance and prayers, but by now it has turned into a celebration, the main attraction of which is a ghoon, a huge bamboo tower decorated with ribbons and winged horses. Sinners inside these ghoons beat and torture each other, and watching this show you get a feeling that you are in a "One Thousand and One Nights" fairy tale.
One of the greatest Mauritius holidays celebrated by Hindu people is Maha Shivahatri, when more than 300,000 pilgrims go barefoot to the sacred lake Gang-Talao during four days in order to clear themselves in the sacred waters. In October Hindu celebrate Divali, the Holiday of Light, which is connected with the liberation of the Goddess of Prosperity, Lakshmi, captivated by the King of Demons, Bali. Everyone is asking the Goddess for prosperity and in the evening people open the doors of their houses so that the Goddess can come in. So, if you want to attract wealth and prosperity, you are welcome to Mauritius to celebrate this holiday together with local followers of the goddess.
There is another exciting festival that takes place once a year, the Festival of Fire. This holiday is truly fascinating and may be even shocking to some people. The participants perform ritual dances getting ready for a more serious event. Then, prepared psychologically, they take turns running on live coals for about 7 meters and amaze the public by demonstrating the absence of burns.
Mauritius holidays are exciting and beautiful, and they add a lot of special atmosphere to the island attracting many tourists. The weather is nice and pleasant all year round. The high season here is traditionally around Christmas holidays. If you are a diver, the best time to go to Mauritius is December though March, the best time for surfing is June to August, and fishing for sharks traditionally takes place between October and April.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
