Festivals In India

There is a history attached with each and every festivals that people celebrate in india. Diwali is celebrated when Lord Ram came back from the long time spent in jungle and people of Ayodhaya ignited diyas in the happiness of his return from the jungle after 14 years. There is different history with different festivals celebrated the people in different states. What is your main festival and what is the history behind that. Let us discuss it here.

India is a Multi-Religious country with various cultures and their special rituals adds glow to Indian heritage. With overall population of more than 1.18 billion, festival starts from welcoming the New Year, the rains and the full moon day. Behind each festival, there is different history present.

It is true that in india 1.18 billion festival celebrated.
In india every festival may belongs to different group of people,
but some peoples of other community too take part in them,
my favourate festival is 15 - Aug, 26 - Jan, because it is that festival 
which is equally distributed among indians, no religion,no cast...
Jay Hind...

India is a Multi-Religious country with various cultures and their special rituals adds glow to indian heritage. With overall population of more than 1.18 billion, Festivals starts from welcoming the New Year, the rains and the full moon. The festivals are very common on most parts of India. But the festivals are known by different names in various regions of India and sometimes they are even celebrated in different fashion and style.

The festivals are celebrated from great historical events and figure. While the other fairs express devotion of their religions.

On these special occasions people wear new clothes, do prayers, seek blessings, feasting, Wishes through e-mail & exchanging goodwill.

Our portal helps you know different Indian festivals & the history of Indian festivals to provide guidance and knowledge of our viewers.

Diwali

The Diwali is a popular festival of India. It is a Hindufestival. 

Ravana.The people of Ayodhya welcomed him by lighting the lamps 

at night.

Diwali is celebrated all over India. On this day people clean and whitewash their houses. Bazars are decorated and they look very beautiful. People buy sweets. They send gifts to their friends and relatives.

At night people light earthen-lamps and candles. They worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. The children let off crackers. They also let off fireworks.

The Diwali is a very sacred day for the Hindus. So on this day, businessmen open their new account books. Some people believe that Lakshmi visits all houses at night. So they keep the lights on the whole night. Some people even keep their doors open to welcome Lakshmi.
All the people look very happy on this day. They put on new clothes. They send Diwali greeting cards to their friends and relatives. In South India some call it as Deepavali.

Easter

Easter Sunday is one of the important festivals of Christians and it is the oldest festival of Christianity. It is celebrated with great joy from people all over the world. It is the first day of spring season. The festival memorizes the resurrection of Jesus.

On Good Friday Jesus was executed by crucifixion just outside Jerusalem, Jesus Christ’s body was removed from the cross and buried in mount cavalry cave. On Sunday his body was missing and was not found ever by both friends and enemies of Jesus Christ.


This festival marks the transition of death to life and night to day.



The resurrection came to reality; Jesus Christ was sighted in different places several times. People accepted him as Son of God and believed in Resurrection. 
On this special occasion Christians wear new dress, go to church, light candles and do prayers. Easter Eggs are gifted to friends and relatives. They celebrate the festival by cutting cakes and distributing.

Guru Nanak Jayanthi

Guru Nanak Jayanthi is the most important festival of Sikhism, it is the birthday of the great Guru Nanak, he was the person who was responsible for shaping the religion of Sikh and founder of Sikhism.

The festival celebrated in the month of November but the date differs as the festival is chosen per Indian calendar. He was born on 14-apr-1469 in Rai boi di Talwandi presently in Shekhupur, Pakistan.

The festival is celebrated as 3day event, commonly 2days before the birthday, Akhand Path (holy book of Sikhs) is read 48hours non-stop, Gatka (martial art) is performed, followed by singing chorus. The Guru Nanak Jayanthi is celebrated by all Sikhs all over the world and the festival is more colourful in Haryana and Punjab.

Holi 

Holi is a festival of colours. It is celebrated in the month of March. There is a story behind it. There was a cruel king named Hiranya Kashyapa.

He did not believe in God. He ordered his people to worship him as God. But his young son Prahalad was most devoted to God. He refused to obey the orders of his father. So his father ordered him to be burnt alive.

Hiranya Kashyapa had a sister named Holika. She had a special boon that the fire could never burn her. So she took the Child prahalad in her lap and sat in the fire. The king thought that the child would be burnt and his sister would remain alive. But strange thing happened. It was Holika who was burnt. The child remained unharmed.

Holie is celebrated in honour of child Bhakt Prahlad. On the night before the Holi, fires are lit here, there and everywhere. These fires show the burning of Holika.

The next day is the Holi day. It is a day of great fun and frolic. People play with colours. Young boys and girls sprinkle coloured water on one another.People move in groups in the streets. They sing and dance to the beating of the drums.

They carry gulal in their hands. They visit their friends, apply gulal on their faces and say Holi Mubarak to them. People forget their old enmity and become friends again. Thus Holi is a great festival

Durga Pooja

Durga Pooja also known as Navratri is one of the important festivals of Hindus. 
      

It is believed that mahishasur a demon received great power and blessings from god Shiva by doing Tapas, He became uncontrollable and undefeatable by any god and very soon he conquered Indralog, with no other choice gods gathered and requested mother Durga to defeat Mahishasur, equipped with lethal weapons and riding ferocious lion.

The battle began between Lord Durga and demon Mahishasur and after severe battle Lord Durga won the smell of victory and this day is celebrated as Navratri.

As per Mahabharat, greatest epic of India reveals that Durga Pooja was celebrated even by Pandavas. In North India the festival is celebrated for 9days, the first day is called as Mahalaya, The celebration begins with Fasting, special dishes, devotional songs and decorations are some of the main aspects of this festival.

On Durga Pooja 9 forms of Durga is celebrated and hence it is known as Durga Navratri (nine nights). The festival is celebrated with status of mother Durga attacking Buffalo headed Mahishasur. 

Christmas

Christmas is the famous festival of the Christians. It falls on the 25th day of December. Jesus Christ was born on this day.

This festival is celebrated all over the world. It is a festival of great rejoicing. It stands for love and kindness to all. So the people do good deeds and give alms to the poor on this day.

The Christians decorate their houses on this day. They hang up shining paper stars. They send greeting cards to their friends and relatives. They also exchange beautiful gifts with one another. A Christmas Tree is decorated with lights and toys. People gather around the Christmas Tree. They dance and make merry.

At night people go to church. They offer their prayers. They sing devotional songs call Christmas Carols. A grand service is held at midnight in most churches.

Children put on new clothes on this day. They look very happy. They receive gifts from their elders. They hang up their stockings the night before Christmas for the gifts from Santa Claus.

Bakrid

Bakrid is the known as the Festival of Sacrifice. The festival is celebrated on every tenth day of Islamic month Dhul Hijja . The festival is celebrated for Abraham’s commemoration and his willingness for offering his one and only son as sacrifice at God’s command. 

      

Bakrid is always celebrated on the same day always as per the Islam calendar and as per Gregorian calendar the date is different every year because they follow lunar calendar while the Gregorian calendar follows solar calendar.

The festival is known in different names in different countries, In Turkey it is known as ‘Eyd-e Qorban’and ‘ Kurban Bayrami ’ . In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan it is known as ‘Bakr-id’. In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia it is known as ‘Hari Raya Haji’ and it is also known as Tabaski and Edul adha.

Below are the example dates of Bakrid celebration as per Gregorian calendar, 

20-Dec-2007

08-Dec-2008

28-Nov-2009

17-Nov-2010

07-Nov-2011

The festival starts with prayer as the people gather filled with resonance of 'Allahu Akbar' . After the id prayer the gathering ex-pression of affectionate the brotherhood, hug each other and exchange greetings.

Then it is followed with Goat/sheep sacrifice, eating with friends and family. The meat is distributed among friends, relatives and neighbours. Regular charitable practices of muslim community are demonstrated in this EId ul-adha. 

Dussehra

The Dussehra is a Hindu festival. It falls in the month of September or October. Long way back, Lord Rama won a victory over Ravana, the king of Lanka on this day. Thus the Dussehra is celebrated to mark the victory of Rama over Ravana. It marks the victory of good over evil.

Rama was the king Dasharatha's son. Dasharatha wanted to make Ram the king of Ayodhya. But Rama's step-mother Kaikeyi compelled Dasharatha to send Rama into the forest for fourteen years. Rama obeyed his father. He went to the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana also went with him.

Rama, Lakshmana and Sita wandered in the forest for 13 years. During this period they fought a number of demons and killed them. In the fourteenth year of his exile, Rama had a fight with Ravana, the king of Lanka. Ravana had carried away Sita to his palace in Rama’s absence.

Rama collected an army of jungle-men. One of them, Hanuman, was a great devotee of Rama. So he helped Rama in his fight against Ravana.

The battle between Rama and Ravana lasted for ten days. On the tenth day Rama killed Ravana. Ravana’s brother Kumbha Karna and son Megh Natha were also killed.

The Hindus celebrate Dussehra with great pomp and show. A fair is held on this day. The effigies of Ravana, Kumbh Karna and Megh Natha are burnt.

Makara Sankranti

Makara Sankranti is one of the important festival of Hindus, It is celebrated on 14-Jan of every year. The Sun is considered not only as the main source of energy but also the God of Hindu people. The 24hour time is designed as per sunrise and sunset and this used by almost everybody in the world.

Our Sun travels in 12 Zodiac signs in one year, So when the Sun travels from zodiac sign to another zodiac sign it is called as “Sankramanam”. Sun travels six months into the southern hemisphere.

In Andhra Pradesh, India it is called as Uttara Sankramanam and Dakshina Sankramanam.

So when the Sun travels from Cancer to Leo it is called as Southern hemisphere and the time when Sun travels from Capricorn to Gemini it is called as Northern hemisphere.

As per the Puranas the Northern hemisphere in the day and southern hemisphere in the night is considered to be one year to us and it is considered to be one day for Gods. 

Maha Shivaratri

Maha shivaratri is one of the important festivals of Hindus. It is said to be that Lord Shiva created Lord Narayana (also called Lord Vishnu) and when he had a look he not see nothing but water and darkness. So with no idea what to do, Akashavani ordered him to engage in Omkara Japam, So Lord Vishnu saw a Banyan leaf and laid down himself onto the leaf started doing the Japam of Omkara.

He went to a deep japam that he even forgot what is happening around him. While he was in Japam a lotus comes out from the nava of Lord Narayana and a new God Lord Brahma with five head comes out of that Lotus.

After Lord Brahma’s birth he started wondering where did he come from and who am I? so he started travelling a lot to know the answers but he did not find anything. While Lord Narayana finished his Japam he started travelling and after years Lord Narayana and Lord Brahma met each other and confrontation began within themselves questioning who is the first god and between their quarrel great Tejolinga took birth, So they stopped their confrontation and started discussing to find the start and ends of Tejo linga so whomever finds first will be decided as the greatest between them, therefore Lord Brahma started travelling up and Lord Narayana took bottom.

Lord Narayana travelled long distance but he was unable to find the bottom of the Tejolinga so he returned to the same place where both of them left, On the other hand even Lord Brahma was unable to find the very top of Tejolinga so even he started coming back to the start point but suddenly he saw a Moghra flower falling off from the top of the Tejolinga, He stopped the flower and asked where are you coming from? And the flower replied that he was on top of the Tejolinga but slipped and dropping all the way to the bottom from very long time. So Lord Brahma thought of a plan to trick Lord Narayana and he came back to the starting point carrying the flower and met Lord Narayana. He said lie to Lord Narayana that he went to the top of the Tejolinga and the flower is the witness for that, even flower replied that he was on top of the linga and Lord Brahma took it from the top to show it to you.

While they were having the conversation Lord Shiva suddenly appears from Tejolinga in front of them with lot of anger and he cut down Lord Brahma’s one part of the face from his last finger hand nail and cursed Mogra flower not to be used for any pooja, In return they requested to forgive them. So Lord Shiva calmed down and said Lord Brahma to create a new world and Lord Vishnu to take care of the new world and always save the truth. So the day when Tejolinga took birth is called Maha Shivaratri.

On this day people sacrifice their night sleep, Bajan and pooja is done for lord Shiva on this occasion. Now the Tejolinga is located at Arunachalam, Tamilnadu in India.

Onam

Onam is the most famous festival of Kerala. It is celebrated in the month of August or September. There is a story behind Onam. People believe that the king mahabali visits his country every year on the Onam day. They celebrate Onam in honour of his return.


      

Onam is celebrated with great pomp and show. People light their houses at night. They take out elephant processions. There are kathakali dances all over the State in which life stories of ancient heroes are staged.

Boat races are the special feature of Onam. Boats are decorated with flags. These boats are rowed to the beating of drums. People sing and dance on this occasion.

Young girls and women decorate the compound of their houses with flowers. It is called “Pookalam”. The women sing and dance around the Pookalam.

People exchange gifts on this festival. They present new clothes to their friends and relatives. Children are very happy. They play with bamboo bows. Onam is really a festival of great importance

Pongal

The history dates back more than thousand years, where chola empires celebrated the festival as puthiyeedu (first harvest of the year). It is a tredition which intend to thank the god surya (sun god) which helped create abundance in material. Pongal is the harvest festival of Tamilnadu. It is celebrated in the month of January. The farmers reap the rice harvest. They are free and happy. They express their joy by celebrating Pongal.

Pongal is celebrated for three days. The first day of the festival is called ‘Bhogi Pongal ’. It is a thanks-giving day. People offer thanks to the rain-god Indra for the timely rain.

The second day of the festival is called ‘Surya Pongal ‘. This day belongs to the sun god. The people cook newly harvested rice in the open. Meanwhile, they keep shouting, ‘Pongalo..Pongal ‘.Then the boiled rice is offered to the sun-god.

      

History of Mattu Pongal

The third day of this festival is known as ‘Mattu Pongal ‘. It is the day of cow and bull worship. As per history, On the 3rd day of pongal, god shiva sent a message to Nandi lord to inform all the people to eat once and take oil bath daily in a month. But, Nandi lord got confused and informed all people to take bath once a month and eat daily. God shiva became very angry and punished lord Nandi for this reason, he sent Nandi to guide the people for harvesting food and thus became Mattu Pongal.

On this special day, People wash their cattle. They garland them. They decorate them with various colours. Then the cattle are fed with fried cakes. At night a great feast is held. People of all classes sit together and enjoy the feast.

The pongal is a very special festival for the tamil speaking people and various tamil cinemas from very previous times have been made to describe pongal and its speciality. Here is the website which helps you download old tamil songs for free. In this way the great festival of Pongal comes to an end. It gives us the message of love and brotherhood.

Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi festival which is also known as Raksha Bandhan is celebrated all over India on the day of shravana Poornima, on this auspicious day sister ties rakhi thread to her brother’s right wrist with her blessings in return brother gives her a gift.

Indra tied rakhi on his hand at the time of battle between the gods and the demons and Indra eventually won that battle, following there are other stories which tells us about the celebration of this great festival of Rakhi.

      

The story of Lord Krishna and Draupadi in Mahabharat, Once when Lord Krishna was in a battle his wrist was suddenly wounded, Draupadi saw his cut in Lord Krishna’s wrist, she cut a piece of her saree and tied to Krishna to stop the bleeding, Lord Krishna was impressed by this act and declared her as his sister, years passed and when Yudhisthira lost Draupadi in gambling to Kauravas and at the time of “Vastra Harari” means cloth theft,

Lord Krishna protected her by extending her saree which cannot be removed and thus Draupadi’s honour was saved. It is celebrated by all castes from Hindus , Muslims and Sikhs. The word Rakha Bandhan refers to Raksha means protection and Bandhan means Tie.

Ugadi

Ugadi is celebrated as the year festival in south India namely in the states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, It is considered to be the first day of new year and this very same day is the beginning of the spring season.

It is believed that the lord Brahma created the world on this day and Lord Vishnu incarnated as “Matsya”, the fish.

It is the day of Chitra Shudda Padyami which is celebrated as new year by Telugu people In Andhra Pradesh.Some of the people in Andhra Pradesh follow both Solar and Lunar calendar and as per this calendar the first month is considered to be Chitra Masam. The first day of this month is Padyami the crescent day.

India is largely dependent on agriculture so they are linked with changing seasons, the reaping and sowing of crops. This New Year day is marked as the end of one harvest and beginning of new harvest.

People start new business and buy new vehicles on this auspicious day.