Letters to the EDITOR: Celebrate Diwali with Joy, not Gambling

Celebrate Diwali with Joy, not Gambling

As autumn arrives, Assam comes alive with a series of vibrant festivals. From Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja to Kati Bihu, the season brings many ways for communities to come together and celebrate. This time, Diwali, Kali Puja, and Rash Mahotsav will add even more to the festive spirit, each celebration fostering a sense of unity and joy.

However, some troubling issues have emerged during recent festivities, leaving many concerned. Celebrations have occasionally led to disruptive behaviour, with some individuals consuming alcohol and creating disturbances on the streets late into the night. This increase in unruly activities has led to more accidents, raising worries about public safety. Despite rising prices, Diwali spending continues unaffected, with people in Assam spending substantial amounts on celebrations. Many feel that the impact of inflation on people’s spending is exaggerated in the media.

Gambling often accompanies the festivities, with impromptu gambling setups springing up along roadsides and market corners. For some, Diwali has become synonymous with this risky activity, with phrases like, "Let’s bet Rs. 100 for Diwali," commonly heard. While spending and celebration are natural parts of festivals, the gambling trend has left a concerning mark on some families, leading to financial losses and hardships. Embracing the joy of the season without resorting to gambling would be a more meaningful way to celebrate.

Let’s hope the Chief Minister takes necessary steps to promote responsible celebrations and safeguard the spirit of unity during these festivals in Assam.

Chandasmita Kashyap

(chandasmitakashyap@gmail.com)

Celebrating the feast

of all saints and souls

All Saints' Day is a Catholic festival celebrated to honour all the saints. It is also known as the Feast of All Saints, All Hallows’ Day, Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas. As the name suggests, it is a festival to honour all of the saints, known and unknown. The feast is celebrated on  November 1 by the Catholic Church. In Catholic countries, All Saints' Day is an official public holiday. In the eastern orthodox churches and the other eastern Catholic churches, associates celebrate All Saints' Day on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

 All Saints' Day is observed to honour and remember all those who have lived a pious life on earth and may not have been taken cognisance by the church to honour them to be revered as saints. It is presumed that they are in their heavenly abode. These could be anyone from our families—from grandparents’ generation to present times—they are remembered with special liturgical services on November 1.

 On November 2, the Catholic Church all over the world remembers the departed ones in people's families, including friends, relatives, and strangers who have passed away.  The Catholic celebration of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2) stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church triumphant") and the living (the "Church militant"). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven.  The Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth can help cleanse the souls of those who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with lesser sins on their souls. Somehow, parishioners give more emphasis to their departed ones in keeping with the old church tradition and are seen flocking to the local cemeteries to clean up the graves of their separated ones and decorate them with flowers in preparation for the Eucharistic services that are to be held at the cemetery grounds. This is an annual religious exercise attended to remember and respect the memories of their missing loved ones. But the good news is resurrection for those who accept and follow Jesus.  In the homily of the liturgy, the parish priest stresses upon this aspect of the faith, alerting the faithful to keep away from leading a sinful life. Compassion and understanding are the essence of human dignity; forgiveness is pleasing to God, and caring for the sick and the elderly is upholding humanity. Let us therefore, as we observe the day of the departed, reach out to the needy in times of distress, loneliness, and suffering and bring relief and succour to them.

 There is a scriptural basis for this belief. The primary reference is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32. "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. Thus made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin."

 The first Catholics revered as saints were the martyrs who died under the Roman persecution in the first centuries after Jesus Christ was born. These martyrs were honoured as saints almost instantaneously after their deaths, as Catholics who had sacrificed their lives in the name of God.

Jubel D'Cruz,

(jubeldcruz@yahoo.com)