Navratri is an incredibly joyful, exuberant, and lively festival in India. The festival is in honour of the Hindu Goddess Durga.
The festival comprises 9 different days for the 9 different avatars of the goddess. Although this festival is famously associated with the westernmost state of India called Gujarat, where I am from, people from all around the country and abroad celebrate it. The celebration is full of delicious sweets and lively dances. However, the story behind this story is rather heroic and epic.
The Hindu goddess, Durga is the symbol of feminine strengths. The festival is celebrated on the occasion of the end of the monster Mahishasur. Lord Durga, as mentioned has 9 avatars, Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kalaratri, Mahaguari, and Siddhidharti.
Let us make this an excuse for empowering women and supporting them.
As always, Schoolhouse is a great platform for celebrating cultures and sharing them. This can be done through the schoolhouse.world slack channels (if you are a tutor). An example is the #cultural-diversity channel. Or, you can join Community sessions on schoolhouse as well to learn about cultures all over the world. If you are a tutor, you can also host cultural sessions here! Some examples of cultural sessions are the Chinese learning session by Ceris E and Korean language sessions by Taeho K.
Wishing you a prosperous and happy Navratri, if you celebrate this holiday.