Top 20 Most Celebrated Festival of Incredible India
Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest and most beautiful religion and is synonymous with many festival and deities. This belief in more than one god brings a multitude of fair and festivals in India.
India is a land of festival land and here is the list of Top 20 Hindu Festivals of Incredible India.
Pahela Baishakh, Rathayatra of Mahesh, Ratha Yatra Festival, Vat Purnima, Palkhi Festival, Mahalakshmi Vrata, Shigmo, Rath Yatra, Raja Parba, Basoa, Bathukamma, Bonalu, Hornbill Festival, and Kartik Poornima are all major cultural and religious festivals in India.
Makar Sankranti ! मकर संक्रान्ति
In the Hindu calendar, each year on 14 January, the sun enters the Makara (Capricorn) part of the zodiac. On this day Surya (the sun god) is also worshipped with unparalleled devotion throughout the country. Since this day is popularly referred to as Makar Sankranti, the nomenclature varies from state to state, as do the customs in question.
It’s called Pongal by Tamils; it’s celebrated by the Assamese as Bihu and most North Indians call that Lohri. Makar Sankranti, irrespective of the monikers, is a festival made special by its festivities, ranging from kite-flying to bonfires and riverbank rituals.
Vasant Panchami ! बसंत पंचमी
Vasant Panchami is an important Indian festival that according to the Hindu calendar is celebrated every year in the month of Magh. Celebrated on the fifth day of Magh, the day according to the Gregorian calendar occurs somewhere in February or March.
Maha Shivratri ! महाशिवरात्रि
Shiva is the principal god in the Hindu pantheon and believed to be the destroyer. Maha Shivaratri, or’ Shiva’s Great Night ‘ commemorates Shiva’s supremacy. People refrain from sleeping and pray to the great lord instead.
Holi ! होली
Holi is an Indian color festival and a spring harbinger. Holi’s onset is marked by the burning of a Holika effigy–an evil entity from Hindu mythology–to signify the triumph of good over evil. Around the bonfire, the night of revelry continues until the embers die.
The next morning starts with people smearing colored powder on each other, more carousal and occasionally bhang consumption, an intoxicating edible preparation of cannabis.
Nag Panchami ! नाग पंचमी
In Hindu mythology, Cobras occupied a special place. Shesha Nag is celebrated in all corners of India, in honor of the Hindu snake God; Nag Panchami.
Guru Purnima ! गुरु पूर्णिमा
Guru Purnima festival is mostly a common feast among Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains. Following the Hindu calendar, the Shakha Samavat is observed annually on the day of the full moon. Devotees celebrate this festival to thank their mentors for their teachings and enlightenment.
गुरूर्ब्रह्मा गुरूर्विष्णुः गुरूर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरूर्साक्षात परब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ।।
Vat Savitri ! वट पूर्णिमा
In Purnima or Vat Savitri Vrat is a day to celebrate the love of a woman for her husband in the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and certain eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh.
Teej ! हरतालिका व्रत
Teej, a Hindu festival spanning three days, is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It falls in the month of Shravana or Sawan, and Bhadrapada or Bhado, which corresponds to the July-August-September Indian monsoon season. The exact day it’s being celebrated is decided by the movement of the moon.
This festival is held in various states- Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, Punjab, Jaipur, Haryana, and even Kathmandu-and different called religions.
Rang Panchami ! रंग पंचमी
Five days after Holi’s colorful festival, Ranga Panchami is celebrated. It is observed on the’ Panchami,’ i.e. Krishna Paksha’s fifth day, the waning phase of the moon during the Hindu month of’ Phalgun.’ Ranga Panchami is also celebrated colorfully and is marked by throwing’ Gulal’ and splashing of colored water.
Ugadi – Karnataka ! उगादि
Ugadi is New Year’s Day for Hindus, by the Hindu calendar. The Ugadi festival is celebrated primarily in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, South Indian states.
Also, bevu Bella–a mixture of neem (bevu) and jaggery (Bella)–is a mandatory consumption. Neem is bitter in taste and jaggery is sweet; in equal parts, they represent embracing the bitterness and joy of life.
Pongal – Tamil Nadu ! पोंगल
Pongal is a four-day harvest festival held in Tamil Nadu, which falls during the Thai month (i.e. the January-February season) when crops such as rice, sugar cane, turmeric, etc. are harvested.
The term ‘ Pongal’ in Tamil means to “boil” and this festival is celebrated as a ceremony of thanksgiving for the harvest of the year. Pongal, one of the major Hindu festivals, falls each year at about the same time as Lohri, which is around mid-January.
Krishna Janmashtami ! कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी
In Hindu folklore, Lord Krishna has a prominent place. Krishna Janmashtami is the joyful festival celebrating Krishna’s birth, with much merriment, music, and singing. Krishna Janmashtami’s gaiety is often accompanied by contests, especially breaking a yogurt-filled pot that is suspended high in the air.
Ganesh Chaturthi ! गणेश चतुर्थी
The reputation of Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the country’s most popular festivals is partly due to its eccentricity, something the festival shares with its corresponding deity, Lord Ganesh. Ganesh is the son of the destroyer Lord Shiva.
Ganesh Chaturthi commemorates Ganesh’s birth with a formal offering of prayers to the deity’s clay idol. The idol is subsequently immersed in a body of water amid additional festivities.
Vishu – Kerala/Karnataka ! विषु
The Sanskrit “Vishu” means “equal.” And this is not just a Malayalees festival. In various parts of India, this day is celebrated with different names. People in Assam celebrate it as Bihu and this day is known as Baisakhi in Punjab. Likewise, it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu by the name of Puthendu, and in Orissa as VishuaSankranti.
The traditions and practices in each state are different and unique. The importance of the Vishu festival and all the other festivals that fall on the same day is very much for the people celebrating it.
Bihu – Assam ! बिहु
Assamese Bihu is one of Assam’s most important cultural festivals, which celebrates the seasonal change. It mainly caters to the state’s agrarian culture and society and marks the start of the Assamese New Year and harvest season. These three types of Bihu are all celebrated in different periods. Rongali or Bohag Bihu is to be observed in April, Kongali or Kati Bihu in October, while Bhogali or Magh Bihu is to be celebrated in January.
Navratri ! नवरात्रि
Navratri, meaning nine days, is a time to praise the deities and ask for their goodwill and blessings. The vigorous festival centers in East India around the goddess Durga and is named after Durga Puja. Mysore’s world-famous Dussehra also falls on Navratri’s final day and the entire festival serves essentially as the precursor to the coming Diwali.
Dussehra ! दशहरा
The legend behind the Navratri festival, akin to the recurring theme in Hindu mythology of the victory of good over evil, has to do with the triumph of Lord Rama over Ravana, a demonic entity. An alternate myth revolves around the goddess Durga’s victories over the diabolical powers which once walked the face of the Earth.
Diwali ! दीपावली
The lights festival-Diwali or Deepavali-is the Indian subcontinent’s most famous festival. Diwali’s underlying essence revolves around light which overcomes darkness, or the triumph of good over evil. In the evening, glimmering diyas (lamps) adorn every nook and cranny of every house, as well as fireworks and a delicious traditional banquet.
Gudi Padwa – Maharashtra ! गुढी पाडवा
Gudi Padwa is an Indian festival for the Maharashtra people which marks the beginning of the New Year and the harvest season. Gudi is the word used to refer to the flag of Brahma (which is hoisted on this day) while Padva is derived from the Sanskrit word Paddava or Paddavo which refers to the first day of the moon’s bright phase.
According to the Hindu calendar, which usually falls according to the Gregorian calendar during March-April, this festival is observed on the first day of the month of Chaitra. Even this day is representative of the Vasant or Spring season in India.
Onam – Kerala ! ओणम
Onam is Kerala’s official state festival and is celebrated with the utmost fervor and festivities which include traditional sports such as boat races and war tug. The story behind Onam’s celebration involves the homecoming of a demigod named Mahabali and is close to Holika’s myth and the Holi festival.
The victory of hope over despair is celebrated in both instances, though Mahabali is treated with the utmost respect and Holika is not. Onam is rising beyond religious boundaries and as a religiously diverse festival in Kerala, it is establishing itself.
