Speech on the “Commercialisation of festivals has eroded their real significance”
Most festivals have a religious origin. The original intention of holding them, therefore, was to inspire religious feelings or religiosity. This was done in various ways. Sometimes a religious procession was taken out, whose members sang and danced and played musical instruments as they went their way. Sometimes people undertook fasts to commemorate an occasion. Fairs were also held in which the life and times of the religious personage in question were highlighted.Notable figures gave uplifting speeches, and plays and dance dramas were enacted in honour of the festival’s central figure. On some occasions, special services were held in places of worship. Sometimes two or more or all these observances went together, and the cumulative effect was to inspire the individual into thoughts and acts of goodness. Another aim was…