CulturalFestivalsMauritius

CHAMAREL WATERFALLS

Chinese Spring Festival – 28th Jan

As part of the celebrations firecrackers are set off

according to tradition to drive away the evil

spirits.

Families get together and celebrate the New Year

with an abundance of food. At the end of the

festivals, Chinese dancers will perform the Lion

Dance.

The festival celebrations include parades with

figures of dancing dragons, lions and a firework

show. The dominant color during this festival is

the red which is the symbol of happiness.

The main celebrations are held on that day in

Port Louis in China town with Chinese Dragons,

lion dances and fireworks.

Most hotels of the island also decorate their

public areas to celebrate this event and welcome

the lion dance.

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Thaiposam Cavadee– 9th Feb

This religious festival is celebrated mostly by

Indians of Tamil origin and is one of the most

impressive festivals in Mauritius.

The devotees are after a period of fasting, and

many have their cheeks, tongues and chests

pierced with needles before going to the temple

with their offerings on their backs. The devotees

who are considered to be in a trance, walk bare

feet to the temple, while carrying on their back

the Cavadee (an arc of wood, metal or plastic)

symbolizing the sacred mountains.

The Cavadee is covered with flowers and with a

pot of milk. The arc is laid down in the temple at

the feet of the statue of a divinity

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Maha Shivaratree – 24th Feb

The Maha Shivaratree is celebrated every year in

honor of the Lord Shiva. The Maha Shivatree is a

three-day Hindu festival, during which thousands

of Hindus pilgrimage to Grand Bassin to sanctify

themselves in the water of the lake.

Grand Bassin is a holy lake for Mauritians of

Hindu faith. It is said that the water inside the lake

communicates with the waters of the holy

Ganges river of India. Once at the Grand Bassin,

they make food sacrifices and fetch holy water

from the lake. The participants are dressed in

white, while carrying bamboo contraption on their

shoulders as a sign of sacrifice and they walk

from different regions of Mauritius to Grand

Bassin.

The whole scene is reminiscent of the great

rituals on the banks of the Holy Ganges in India.

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Mauritius National day–12th Mar

On this day, there are Parades and festivities, held

in memory of the foundation of the state of

Mauritius on March 12th, 1968.

On that day, most of the hotels have a rich

program to celebrate this day. There’s a small

parade in the hotel, cake cutting and sharing with

the guests. Mauritian dinner in the evening ending

with a cultural show.

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HOLI FESTIVAL-13th Mar

The Holi festival is an Indian festival of fire and

colors. The Holi celebrations last two days and

usually start with a bonfire in the evening. There

will be lots of singing and dancing with folk songs.

The bonfire symbolizes the death of the evil

Holika who burned to death and was reduced to

ashes after she tried to kill her nephew who was a

good god.

The following day those taking part in the

festivities throw coloured powder and water at

each other wherever they happen to be. The

streets, parks, beaches ... Musicians play drums

and other musical instruments accompanied by

singers.

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Ganesh Chaturthi-26th Aug

The Ganesh Chaturti Festival is celebrated by the

Hindus which commemorates the birth of Lord

Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is believed to be a big

foodie and devotees offer him Modak, a sweet

dish made with rice flour, jiggery and coconut

stuffing. In the evenings aarti (prayer) is held and

people sing songs praising the lord.

You’ll see processions of devotees carrying

statues of the Elephant God adorned with

colourful trinkets. On this day the Hindus will go

to riverbanks or beaches to immersed the statues

in water before sunset. .

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Divali (Diwali) Festival or Festivals of Light -19th Oct

The Divali is celebrated by the Hindus. It marks

the victory of good Rama over evil Ravana in the

epic Indian poem. During this night as from six

o’clock all Hindus and many Mauritians decorate

their homes with small oil lamps, candles, clay

lamps or electric bulbs. Nowadays also a lot of

houses are decorated with electrical lights chains

and also some of the main streets are lighted

with special light decorations. This is why this

festival is also known as the festival of lights.

Cakes are cooked and shared among families

and neighbors on that day.

At Connections, we organized night tours to

enable clients to show how Mauritian celebrates

light.