Abstract
Lahore has been a cultural city for centuries where numbers of activities such as political, religious, economic, social and cultural continue to take place on the regular basis and one such activity is the festivals in Lahore. The festivals in Lahore are taking place almost every day whose followers celebrate the festivals with great zeal. Therefore, this study focuses the forms and rituals of the religious festivals, diversity and response of the people to these festivals. Terrorist incident of September 11, 2011’ radically changed the life of a common man in Pakistan. A place with the most exciting ancient traditions faced the blowback to be the frontline. The life and the settings at social level radically have undergone a transformation. Punjab, the soil of five waters, historically has been a centre for all the activities with their focus on spiritualism especially in Lahore city. After 9/11 this land witnessed the most crucial challenge of security which severely damaged its spiritual identity. A land, once famous for its festivities, gone by a span of terror when authorities discourage spiritual gatherings. In such a backdrop, this article is an effort to revive and review the details of various religious gatherings, Lahore was once famous to host. It will give first an account of the festivals and will further analyze its cultural and civilization significance. This is a conscious effort to save the indigenous cultural traditions in the backdrop of emerging security challenges in post 9/11 Lahore. Lahore, the heart of Pakistan, despite of its rich social, cultural and political heritage has been overlooked by the historians. The ignorance of the charms of such a beautiful and historically important city is sad. In fact the ‘Festivals’ in Lahore attract thousands of followers almost every day to the city to celebrate the various occasions which add the beauty and grandeur of the city. The culture and civilization of this city has impacted its citizens. Therefore, the Lahorites are considered to be peace-loving people because they enjoy these activities by showing their great regards and veneration. Lahore has been a cultural city for centuries where numbers of activities such as religious, social and cultural continue to take place on the regular basis and one such activity is the festivals in Lahore. The festivals in Lahore are taking place almost every day whose followers celebrate the religious festivals with great zeal. In the contemporary world to spend a peaceful in any part of the world especially in Pakistan has become difficult because of continuous fear, terror and anxiety in the society. It has become, indeed, a strange world infested by numerous religious and sectarian organizations. In the festivals and social customs people reflect their temperaments, habits, religious beliefs and values on which society lays the greatest emphasis. These serve as a means of expressing sorrows or happiness and are considered a reliable measure of the depth and maturity of a culture. Festivals mostly have their roots in religious rites or owe their origin to customs, including folkways which run back to centuries, in matters of dress, however, weather and geographical factors, besides religion determine the choice of wearing apparel. The same hold true for Lahori society where one notices the influence of religion in festivals, customs and rises of the people. In the homes of Lahore religious rituals and festivals arc observed with unusual enthusiasm. The zeal and enthusiasm with which Lahore families celebrate religious festivals is a refreshing spectacle. And festival is a unique combination of wholesome pleasures for throughout the course of jubilations the spiritual and the secular cores of the festival receive a balanced emphasis. The main festivals, which are celebrated in the homes of Lahore with enthusiastic rejoicings are Ashura, Eid-Milad Al-Nab. Eid-Ul-Fitar, Eid-Ul-Adha.Shab-L- Barat, Holi, Dewali, Christmas and Easter. A graceful combination of simplicity and grandeur is invariably the predominate note in all such festivities.