| Parents Worship Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | India |
| Type | Cultural |
| Celebrations | Worship of Parents |
| Date | 14 February |
| Frequency | Annual |
Parents' Worship Day, known as Matri Pitri Poojan Diwas (also Matru Pitru Poojan Divas) was started by Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu in 2007 as an alternative to Valentine's Day. [1] [2] [3]
It is celebrated on 14 February every year. [4] It is based on the Sanskrit words for mother (मातृ, mātṛ) and father (पितृ, pitŕ).
The day was first celebrated on 14 February 2007 at Sant Shri Asharamji's Gurukul, Ahmedabad. [5]
This festival draws its inspiration from the pujan of Shiva and Parvati performed by Ganesha. [6] In India, Valentine's Day is being substituted with "Parents Worship Day", a celebration of love between parents and their children, amid concerns about teenage pregnancy. [7]
According to The Hindu, the Indian state of Chhattisgarh has been celebrating Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas since 2012, on the advice of Asaram. [8] [9] [10] [11] It is officially celebrated by the Chhattisgarh Govt in schools and colleges as ordered by the Chief Minister Raman Singh. [12] [13]
In 2013 some schools & colleges in Bhubaneswar started to celebrate the Parents Worship Day. [14] [15]
In 2015 the state government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party made it an official celebration. [16] [13] In 2015 the right wing political party Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha endorsed the day. [16] On 14 February 2015, it was celebrated on a large scale by an NGO Bhartiya Yuwa Shakthi at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Krida Mandal, Nehru Nagar, Kurla. The event imparted theoretical and practical values to parents and children. [17] It was celebrated by Sanatan Dharma Sabha in Jammu in 2015, 2016, and 2017. [18] [19] [20]
In 2017 the District collector in Madhya Pradesh issued a notice for schools, youth and urged people to celebrate 14 February as Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas. [21] [22]
In December 2017, the education minister of Jharkhand, Neera Yadav issued a notice to celebrate the day in 40,000 government schools in the state in 2018. [23] [24]
In 2018, Gujarat Technological University and Swaminarayan Institute of Technology celebrated Parents Worship Day to reaffirm respect towards Parents. [25]
In 2019, Gujarat Education Minister, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama appreciated the initiative of celebrating 14 February as Matru Pitru Pujan Diwas. [26]
In 2020, Gujarat Education department told schools to organize Parents Worship Day on 14 February in order to nurture best values from childhood and to protect Indian culture. [27]
In 2024, Education minister Madan Dilawar of Rajasthan mentioned about the plan to conduct Parents Worship Day celebration from the next academic session. [28]
Matru Pitru Poojan Diwas (MPPD) also called Matra Pitra Pujan Divas is a festival initiated by Asaram. On this day, children from all religions worship their parents and seek their blessings by offering them tilak, garland. [25] It is seen by many as a method to cement the bond between family members and to imbibe good values like respect, obedience and humility in children. Right wing activists claim that it is an alternate method to counter teenage pregnancy. [29] In several states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Valentine's Day has been officially renamed as Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas. [30] [31] [32]
As per Directorate of Public Instructions, every year February 14 is celebrated as Parents' Worship Day instead of Valentine's Day in Chhattisgarh. Parents are invited to schools and children worship them by performing aarti and offering sweets. [33]
Muslim students expressed love for parents by celebrating the day as 'Abba Ammi Ibadat Diwas'. [34]
The Gondi (Gōṇḍī) or Gond people, who refer to themselves as "Kōītōr", are an ethnolinguistic group in India. Their native language, Gondi, belongs to the Dravidian family. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe for the purpose of India's system of reservation.
Vasant Panchami, also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom.
Teej, literally meaning the "third" denoting the third day after the new moon when the monsoon begins as per the Hindu calendar, is a combined name for 3 Hindu festivals primarily dedicated to Hindu deities - the mother goddess Parvati and her male consort Shiva, mainly celebrated by married women and unmarried girls mostly in Nepal and North India to wish for the long life of their husband or future husband and to welcome the arrival of monsoon season with the singing, swings, dancing, enjoyment, prayer rituals and often fasting.
Narayan Nagbali is a three-day Hindu ritual performed at Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik District [Maharashtra, India.The Narayan bali ritual is performed by families to liberate souls of family members who met an untimely death and the Nag bali to absolve the sin of killing a king cobra respectively.
Balmikism or Valmikism is a Hindu sect that reveres the sage Srishtikarta as their ancestor as a patron saint. Followers believe that Valmiki was an avatar of God, and they consider his works, the Ramayana and the Yoga Vasistha, as their holy scripture. Balmiki is often depicted as wearing red clothing and is thus known as Lal Bhekh.
Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, known by devotees as Asaram, is an Indian spiritual leader and convicted rapist, who started to come into the limelight in the early 1970s. By 2013, he was estimated to have established over 400 ashrams and 40 schools in India and abroad.
Morari Bapu is an Indian spiritual leader and narrator of Rama katha from Gujarat. He is an exponent of Ramcharitmanas with more than 900 kathas recited over the last 60 years. Bapu's core message is truth, love, and compassion (satya-prem-karuna) and encouraging awareness about Hindu scriptures.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is an Indian right-wing Hindu organisation based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to organise, consolidate the Hindu society and to serve and protect the Hindu Dharma". It was established to construct and renovate Hindu temples, and deal with matters of cow slaughter and religious conversion. The VHP is a member of the Sangh Parivar group, the family of Hindu nationalist organisations led by the RSS.
Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and the principal architect of constitution of India. The observance marks the birthday of Ambedkar, who was born on 14 April 1891. His birthday is also referred to as 'Equality Day' by many in India. In 2016, The Government of India declared 14 April as Rashtriya Samarasata Diwas to honor Ambedkar's legacy and contributions.
Tulasi, Tulsi or Vrinda is a sacred plant in Hindu tradition. Hindus regard it as an earthly manifestation of the goddess Tulasi; she is regarded as the avatar of Lakshmi, and thus the consort of the god Vishnu. In another iteration, as Vrinda, she is married to Jalandhara. The offering of its leaves is recommended in ritualistic worship of Vishnu and his avatars, like Krishna and Vithoba.
The World Hindi Conference is a world conference celebrating the Modern Standard Hindi register of the Hindustani language. It consists of several Hindi scholars, writers and laureates from different parts of the world who contribute to the language.
Narayan Sai, also known as Narayan Prem Sai is the son of the Indian spiritual leader Asaram. He and his father are serving life in prison for rape and other crimes. He was mentioned in a list of fake sadhus released by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex organisation of Hindu Sants (saints) and Sadhus (ascetics) in India.
The celebration of Valentine's Day in India began to become popular following the economic liberalisation. There have been protests against the celebrations by groups who consider it a Western influence. Almost every year, law and order problems occur on 14 February in many cities in India due to protests.
Tulsi Pujan Diwas is an Hindu festival that is celebrated annually on 25 December. The plant Tulsi is planted and worshipped on the occasion. In 2014, The festival was started by spiritual guru Asaram Bapu. Devotees hold the belief that worshipping tulsi brings blessings from Krishna.
The 2017–18 Senior Women's National Football Championship is the 23rd edition of the Senior Women's National Football Championship, the premier competition in India for women's teams representing regional and state football associations.
Rath Yatra is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in Ahmedabad. Since 1878, the Jagannath Temple, Ahmedabad has organized the Rath Yatra procession on Asadh Sud Bij. This festival celebrates the deities Jagannath, Balrama and Subhdra.
The 2019–20 Senior Women's National Football Championship, also known as Hero Senior Women's National Football Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 25th edition of the Senior Women's National Football Championship, the premier competition in India for women's teams representing regional and state football associations. The tournament was hosted in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, between 10 and 24 September 2019 at the Indira Gandhi Golden High School, Kiyit Secondary School and Daying Ering Football Stadium, Nari.
Madhya Pradesh Day is a state holiday which is celebrated in 1 November on the occasion of formation of Madhya Pradesh.