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Deccan Herald » Festivals
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January
11:
Bakrid
The feast of sacrifice, Idul-Adha, in India
pronounced Idul Azha and popularly known as Baqri Id, is celebrated on the
tenth day of the month Dhu'l Hijja. It is the sacrifice made by the pilgrims
and performed as part of the ceremonies of the great pilgrimage. While the
pilgrims are making their sacrifices at Mina, the ceremony is observed
simultaneously by Muslims everywhere. It is prescribed in the Quran... |
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January
14:
Makara
Sankranthi
Certain Hindu festivals are associated with the annual cycle of seasons. Pongal
or Sankranthi in the South, is celebrated to mark the withdrawal of the southeast monsoons as well as the reaping of the harvest. It is the biggest harvest festival, spread over
3 days. Pongal denotes a sweet preparation made from rice. Each of the three days are marked by different festivities.... |
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March
14:
Holi
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 Holi is held in early spring at the full moon of Phalgun.
The festival is fun-filled and a popular occasion in the northern part of India.
It is an occasion when people smear each other with bright colored powders,
known as Gulal, and colored water. The festival is called a bright festival as a
wide range of bright colors is used during it. The people believe that the
bright colors represent energy, life, and joy.
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March
30:
Ugadi
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Ugadi heralds the beginning of the New Year, new month and new day. It also
marks a beginning of new life with plants acquiring new life, shoots and leaves.
People consume Bevu (neem) and Bella (jaggery). The inner significance of this
is to indicate that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow, success
and disappointment, and all of them have to be treated alike. Ugadi marks the
beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. This
festival is celebrated with fervour in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh. Known as Ugadi in AP and Karnataka, it is known as Gudipadava in
Maharashtra.
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April
7 : Ramnavami
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Ramnavami, the nine-day Hindu festival, celebrated in the month of April (Chaitra), is when Lord Vishnu took the seventh avtar and Lord Ram was born to destroy the demon King Ravana
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April
16: Easter
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On Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as it is told in the Bible. This holy day celebrates the triumph of life
over death.
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September
21- October 2:
NAVARATRI:
When the last showers of the monsoon are beginning to fall sparsely between spells of bright sunshine , comes the month of Ashwin. In this month, the festive season in India reaches a crescendo with the beginning of the nine-day Navaratri festival.
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 October 24:
RAMADAN:
For more than a billion Muslims around the world,Ramadan is a
"month of blessing" marked by prayer, fasting, and charity. This year
Ramadan began on Oct 4, with the sighting of the new moon.
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October 20:
KARWA CHAUTH:
Karwa Chauth is a fast undertaken by married Hindu women who offer prayers seeking the welfare, prosperity, well-being, and longevity of their husbands. It is said to have an extraordinary observance rate among married Hindu women. After a bath well before dawn, the woman adorns new clothes and partakes of a meal of very select grains and fruit. For the rest of the day, she abstains from food and even water. The fast is not to be broken until the moon is sighted. The woman then sees the face of her husband and breaks the fast.
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Deepavali
- A five day fiesta
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October 19:
DHANTERAS
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DhanTeras falls on the thirteenth day of the month of Ashwin and marks the beginning of Diwali.
Dhanteras is celebrated to seek blessings of Goddess Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. The day is considered auspicious and people purchase gold or silver or at least one or two new utensils. This day is of particular significance to the mercantile community.
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October
20:
NARAKA CHATURDASI:
The
word 'Diwali' means an array of lights. The people of Dwaraka greeted Lord
Krishna with illumination and rejoicing in honour of his victory over Narakasura
on this day. The darkness of the Chaturdasi night compelled them to use many
lamps on the occasion, and subsequently the illumination became a part of this
celebration.
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October
22:
LAKSHMI POOJA:
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The THIRD day of the festival of Diwali is the most important day of Lakshmi
pooja which is entirely devoted to the propitiation of Goddess Lakshmi. This day is also known by the name of "CHOPADA-PUJA".
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October
23: BALIPADYAMI:
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The Fourth day is Padya or Varshapratipada which marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya and Vikaram-Samvat.
Another legend is about King Bali of the nether world mighty power had become a threat to the gods. In order to curb his powers Lord Vishnu in the guise of a Batu Waman- a small boy- visited him and begged him to give him only that much land which he could cover with his three steps.
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October
24: BHAYYA-DHUJ:
The fifth and final day of Diwali Festival is known by the name of "Bhayya-Duj" in the Hindi-speaking belt
"Bhau-Bij" in the Marathi-speaking communities and in Nepal by the name of
"Bhai-Tika".
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November
13: TULSI VIVAH:
Normally celebrated a fortnight after Deepavali,
it signifies the day Tulsi married Lord Vishnu.
On this day, Tulsi `katte' or vrindavan is decorated like a bride. Sugarcane and branches of tamarind and amla trees are planted along with the tulsi plant. Various dishes are offered to Lord Vishnu.
In Karnataka, the day is called Tulsi Habba (festival) while others call is Tulsi Vivah, or the wedding day of Tulsi with the Lord.
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November
5 : GURU
NANAK JAYANTHI :
Sikhs celebrate Gurupurab festival with religious fervour, marking the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikh
religion. Devotees queue up in holy Gurdwaras and light candles to mark the occasion. They visit shrines, chant hymns and eat a `langar' or community meal in the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. They take out processions amidst chanting of hymns.
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Christmas
is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which
celebrates the birth of Jesus. According to the Christian gospels, Jesus was
born to Mary in Bethlehem, where she and her husband Joseph had traveled to
register in the Roman census. Christ's birth, or nativity, was to fulfill the
prophecies of Judaism that a messiah would come, from the house of David, to
redeem the world from sin. 
