As you will find out when you come to visit Bali, the Balinese people have a lot of celebrations that go hand in hand with their numerous rituals. You may even see a procession or two from your villas Bali or hotel room. Not only do they have rituals and celebrations for birth, marriage and death but they have days for blessing livestock and tools used in daily activities. This is because the Balinese people practice Hinduism as well as remembering their pre-Hindu animistic roots, which allows for ancestor worship and the belief that every living thing has a soul.

They have ceremonies at the full moon, new moon, and holidays for the many gods they worship. Their religious festivities can’t be missed with the brightly decorated areas and temples. They have ceremonies for children starting with a ceremony for the ease of birth during the 8^th month of pregnancy all the way until they reach puberty, or menek kelih. This ceremony takes place when either the girl starts menstruating or the boy’s voice starts to crack. In the past, this ceremony meant that the person was ready to marry. As part of this ceremony, they children are paraded around the village and announce that they are now adults. It is also to remind the teenager that they need to let go of childish things and prepare for the challenges of adulthood. It is this time in their life, that Hindus practice trikaya parisudha. Trikaya parisudha is actually three types of conduct that need to be purified. These conducts are kiyika, physical actions, manacika which is thought, and wacika which is speech. This isn’t performed by all castes in Hinduism.

One thing Balinese Hindus value is seeking knowledge. They believe that it is important to learn because it plays a pivotal role in their ability to achieve the goal of life as a human. That is why they celebrate Saraswati. This is a day that is dedicated to the Goddess of learning, science and the creative realm. She is also the patron saint of libraries and schools. On this day, prayers are done at temples in schools, home, villages and businesses from morning to noon. You may be able to see children running to their schools with fruit and cakes that they plan on giving as an offering at the school temple from your villas Bali.

One of the more important days that Balinese Hindus celebrate is Galungan. This is the celebration for the victory of dharma, truth and justice, over Adharma, or evil. This celebration lasts 10 days and the Balinese people believe that the gods come to Earth for a visit. They cleanse the temples as well as give offerings and special prayers in order to please the visiting deities. This is the time where ancestors as also celebrated in family temples.  There are numerous feasts and ceremonial dances to entertain the gods. This is a great time to visit the island. You may even get some great deals during this time for hotels and Bali villas for rent.

On the 10^th day of Galungan, it is time for the kuningan, which gets its name from the special offerings of yellow rice. This is the day where families come together to gather yellow rice, pray and lay the yellow offerings to their ancestors.  This is the time they believe their ancestors will be heading back to heaven. This is usually done in the privacy of their homes but some may go to their family shrine, which may be located at one of many privately owned Bali villas for rent, or at their family temple. The day after kuningan is a day for rest, relaxation and having fun.

Bali is truly one of the most interesting places to visit with a ritual or ceremony at least twice a month not including marriages, births or funerals that can happen on any day. But they are truly amazing for the rituals they do to bless the implements and livestock that make their lives better and jobs easier to do. If you go to many areas not far from area villas Bali, you may come upon a celebration that may seem strange to foreigners and tourists.

In Bali, they don’t use machines to harvest their crops or to plow their fields for planting. They use livestock such as cows and oxen to pull their plows. They use chicken, duck and pigs as their sources of meat. There is a celebration called Tumpek Kandang. This celebration is dedicated to Sang Hyang Rare Agnon, the God of All Cattle and Livestock. This is the day where the Balinese people show their gratitude to all domesticated animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens that help one way or another in their daily lives. The cows are washed in the river and dressed in human clothing and cone shaped spirals of coconut leaves are placed on their horns. Even the pigs get their bellies draped with a white or yellow cloth. Afterward, they will be fed the best foods as a show of appreciation. So if you are walking down the lane by your Bali villa rental and see a cow dressed as a human, never fear, it is their day of relaxation.

There is a day dedicated to Sang Hyang Pasupati, or the God of steel implements, named Tumpek Landep. This is the day that the Balinese show their appreciation to the god of all steel implements such as tools and sacred ceremonial keris or sacred swords. If you look out of your villas Bali, you may see lines of people lined up around village temples to have their tools blessed. This is because this is the day that weapons are sanctified especially those that have been imbued with magical power.

A really good ceremony that all people, no matter their walk of life, should take part in is Tumpek Pengatag. This is a special ceremony devoted to the God of All Food.  On this day, every plantation and farm throughout the island, asks for blessing upon their plants to continue giving good crops and products to the humans. The Balinese Hindus honor the plants and trees because they give oxygen, fruit, food, leaves and the breath of the Earth to all people. So if you are visiting Bali during the time they celebrate this ceremony. You can hold your own blessing over the plants in your Bali villa rental as a way to show your appreciation for all they do for the human race.

The final and most important ceremony for objects and ideals is the Galungan.  This is the day that the Balinese Hindus celebrate the victory of truth and justice (Dharma) over evil (Adharma).  This celebration lasts for ten days when the Balinese Gods visit the earth. In order to please the visiting gods, their temples are cleansed and special prayers as well as offering are given to them. Dances are performed to entertain the Gods while they are here on Earth. Ancestors are celebrated in family temples and there are many great feasts going on all around the island. This is one of the best times to visit Bali and enjoy the many celebrations the island has to offer.

One thing that you can enjoy besides Balinese cuisine, their traditions and gorgeous views all over the island are its unique fruits. You can go for a short walk from your hotel room or villas rental Bali to a local market place and find many varieties of fruit that aren’t normally available in other parts of the world. Their fruit is unique in its size, shape colors and flavors. Here are some examples of what you may find in the stall of the marketplace.

There is a fruit that can be found easily all over the island, it is called the jackfruit. It has a sweet taste and it releases a certain aroma when they ripened.  It has pit in the middle much like a peach. Many people use the jackfruit in local dessert dishes to sweeten it and lend it a pleasant aroma. Many dishes are prepared with this fruit including Es Campur; a dessert made with coconuts, jackfruit, milk and sugar, jackfruit chips and fried jackfruit.  The unripened jackfruit is used to make a curry and a dish called lawar, a favorite Balinese dish made on special occasions. If you venture out of the Bali villas for rent to attend a ceremony, you may be asked in Balinese, “Are you brave enough to eat lawar?”

Another fruit that may be interesting to try is the keffir lime. The main thing that makes this fruit stand out is the rough and bumpy outer skin and it grows on a thorny bush. The leaves are very aromatic and are used as a seasoning. The mangosteen fruit is another famous fruit on the island of Bali. It has s deep purplish red fruit when ripened and has white colored fruit meat. It may take a knife or strong hands to open this fruit.

There is a fruit widely known as the king of fruits.  It is called the durian fruit. This fruit is native to Bali and is usually found from June to August. This fruit when ripened has s scent that can be smelled from a great distance. It has a high sugar and fat content. You can find it in many marketplaces and may find it imported if it isn’t in season. So if you are visiting Bali during the summer months, you should check out the local market and pick some up to take back to the Bali villas for rent and try it out for yourself.

The star fruit or also known as belimbing by the locals is high in vitamin C and the leaves are used as an herbal medicine to help with mild headaches. There is also a hairy fruit, or rambutan. It is a very common fruit that can be found around pretty much every household. This round red fruit can be found in loose cluster and has pliable spikes which give it a hairy appearance. Another native fruit to Bali is salak or snakeskin fruit. This fruit is called that because of the reddish brown scaly appearance of the fruit. It is popular with tourists and locals because of the crunchy yellowish flesh that is mildly sweet and tart.

So if you decided to visit the fresh fruit market during one of your outings away from your villa rental Bali, take a list that has at least two or more of these fruits on it so you many give each a try just to say you did.