Celebrations in India

Each day is a celebration in India. Indians love celebrations and the year is filled with innumerable fairs and festivals. Almost every day marks a religious or local community, where ritual fasting and feasting go hand in hand.

Some festivals are linked to the pantheon of gods and goddesses, others follow the changing seasons and mark pastoral occasions. Some commemorate anniversaries and events of national importance such as the Republic Day.

Hindu festivals usually follow the lunar calendar and both the full moon and the new moon are considered auspicious. Muslim festivals, too, are determined by the new moon. This means that the dates of most religious festivals vary from year to year.

One of the main Festivals and Celebrations in India:

Shivratri (Feb/Mar): Celebration of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati for the devotees of Shiva.

Id-ul-Zuha: (Feb) Muslim festival which commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail.

Holi (Mar): This colorful festival which heralds the end of winter, takes place on a full moon night. The day before Holi, you could see bonfires in the streets as well as the burning of the effigy of the demon Holika, which represents the victory of good. During this celebration for Lord Krishna, the tradition is to sprinkle everybody with colored powder.

Baisakhi. Taking place the 13th of April, this festival marks the harvest season in the North.

Ramnavami (Apr): This festival is mainly followed by the devotees of Lord Rama. Nine days before, the Hindu respect a strict vegetarian diet, usually without garlic and onions.

Mahavari Jayanti: (April/May). More visible in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, this festival commemorates the birth of Mahavira, founder of Jainism. On this day, people visit shrines and offer prayers.

Buddha Jayanti (May): Buddhists meet for praying on this day celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.

Milad-ul-Nabi (May): This festival celebrates the birth of the prophet Mohammed.

Janmashtami:(July/August) This important festival in July and August marks the birth of Lord Krishna; the devotees have to fast during all the day.

Dusshera (Sep/Oct): During 9 days, the episodes from the Ramayana are enacted all over India. On this day the effigies of Ravana (an evil) are burnt all over the country to celebrate the victory of "Good over Evil"

Diwali (Oct/Nov): This festival which could be compared with the Christian Christmas is celebrated with a lot of lights and offers of sweets all over India. It marks the return of Rama to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Guru Parab (Nov): Celebration of the founder of Sikhism. The first full moon night after
Diwali.

The National Holidays:

The Republic Day: Every 26th of January, you could attend the military parade in Delhi which commemorates the Independent Republic of India.

Independence Day (15 August): Celebration of the freedom of India from the British rule in 1947.

Gandhi Jayanti (2 Oct): This is the Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.