Can a person drink alcohol during pitra paksha?
It would be based on your personal beliefs. There is no Hindu religious ban on the use of alcohol like there is in Islam. Are there certain Hindu sects or practices that require completely abstaining from alcohol? These do exist, but are not ordained for everyone. Hinduism encourages a balanced view in which those involved know the good and bad; the right and wrong of how things can be used.
Hindus:: What is the special reason in using plantain leaves in auspicious functions?
Particularly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, no auspicious function is performed without using main parts of a Plantain tree. 1. First of all a pair of plantain trees tied at the main entrance of the venue of the function 2. For performing "Kalasa Pooja", rice is spread on a plantain leave and the kalasa is installed on it 3. Plantain curry is a must on Amavaasya days 4. Normally the meals/food is served on plantain leaves What are the special reasons in using plantain tree upto this level ??? I want to know the spiritual reasons as well as the scientific, if any.
Why is Halloween not celebrated in India?
The truth is, Halloween is not a Christian festival. It is an ancient Celtic (pagan) festival that was Christianized to make it conducive for the European pagans to assimilate into Christianity, during the early history of the Catholic Church. Therefore, it is more of a cultural festival than religious - one that belongs to most European cultures. Christians in India tend to follow a Biblical form of Christianity, whereby they do not observe Christianized festivals of European pagan origin. 31st October, the day of Halloween, is observed as All Saints' Eve by most Indian Christians; a day to commemorate all the departed souls. Not being an occasion to celebrate, All Saints' Day is not nearly as cool as Halloween.No one's stopping you from celebrating it though, just because it has a small following doesn't mean we can't make it big in India. Go ahead, play dress-up to your heart's content!