WE, AS a youth organisation, have, over the years, listened to the cries of many Hindus, especially our youths, who complain of being unable to attend Maha Shivraatri services due to work and school. Concerns have been raised about not being afforded the opportunity to engage in satsangh or congregational worship on this day. 

We are told that, due to rigid work environment regulations in some instances, Hindus do not get to attend their mandirs; various local temple services’ times vary. Maha Shivratri is considered to be one of the most auspicious days. It occurs this year on the 17th February.
In several countries worldwide, there has been a continued call to declare this sacred day as a national holiday (recently in Sri Lanka, http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/call-declare-maha-shivarathri-day-mercantile-holiday ). We accept that Guyana cannot afford another National Holiday; however, we are urging employers to facilitate a flexible arrangement that will see our Hindus being given some special consideration (time off, day off, or half-day off) on this day to worship. The same for the school system. The majority of the temples across Guyana are involved in 12 to 24 hours of worshipping; not allowing our Hindus to be a part of this important prayer engagement is tantamount to denying them their religious rights.
The festival of Mahashivaratri has tremendous significance in Hinduism and is celebrated by all Hindus. Devotees of Lord Shiva perform the ritual worship of Shivratri with care and devotion. They observe day and night fast and give sacred bath to Shiva Lingam with honey, milk, water, etc. Hindus consider it extremely auspicious to worship Lord Shiva on a Shivaratri, as it is believed that worship of Lord Shiva with devotion and sincerity absolves a devotee of past sins. He/ she is also liberated from the cycle of birth and death and attains moksha or salvation.
While major holidays such as Holi and Diwali are more of a celebratory nature, Mahashivratri is a more spiritually inclined holiday that allows for deeper self-introspection, worship and prayers. Mahashivratri is not just another festival of Hinduism that indicates worshipping different forms of God. It is  celebrated  to make people aware of the universe and their inner selves. It drives out ignorance and radiates the light of knowledge.
According to Hindu mythology, observance of Maha Shivratri Vrat with discipline helps a devotee to control the two great natural forces that afflict a man, rajas guna (the quality of passionate activity) and tamas guna (the quality of inertia). When a devotee spends an entire day at the Feet of the Lord and worships with sincerity, his motion is controlled and evils like lust, anger and jealousy, born of Rajas, are ignored and subdued. Besides, when a devotee observes vigil throughout the night (jaagran) he manages to conquer the evils of Tamas Guna too.
From the lands of our foreparents, it is celebrated across India and is a holiday in the following states: Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh.
Maha Shivraatri is as important as Eid-Ul-Fitz and Prayer of Jumma on Fridays for our Muslim brothers and sisters, and as sacred as Good Friday for our Christian brothers and sisters. We ask that this auspicious day of Maha Shivratri be considered in the same way as those religious days and that Hindus in private and public sectors and schools be given time for worship on this day.
In conclusion, we wish to reiterate our calls to the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Service and the Private sector to heed our call and facilitate same.

Submitted By
Youths of Golden Om Dharmic
Youth Arm East Berbice Praant
Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha