Festivals in India and Important Religious Holiday

Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva. Shivaratri literally means the great night of Shivaor the night of Shiva. It is celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day of the Maagha month of the Hindu calendar Easter[ Easter is a Christian festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament. Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar A gurpurb in Sikh tradition is a celebration of an anniversary related to the lives of he Sikh gurus.

Observance of these anniversaries is an important feature of the Sikh way of life. Gurpurab is celebrated over different dates across the year. ld-ul-flter ,also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, theSugar Feast, the Sweet Festival[2] and the Lesser Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day and Muslims are not permitted to fast that day. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to- unset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.

In Jainism, Mahavir Jayantl, also known as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara. On the Gregorian calendar, the holiday occurs either In March or Aprll. He was born on the thirteenth day of the rising moon of Chaitra. The chronology accepted by all Jains places Mahavlr’s birth In 599 BCE. Pongal Pongal Is a harvest festival celebrated In South India at the end of the harvest season. [l] It Is one of the most Important festivals celebrated by the Tamils In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry and Sri Lanka.

Makar sakranti Makar Sankranti Is one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus, and Is celebrated In almost all parts of India In a myriad of cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour, and gaiety. It Is a harvest festival. Makar Sankranti Is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year: 14 January, with some exceptions, when the festival Is celebrated on 13 January or 15 January. Makar Sankranti Is also believed to mark the arrival of spring In India. Bihu Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world.

Though they owe their orlglns to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals In urban and commercialized mllleus In the recent decades. One Includes the Assamese new year celebrated In Aprll. Blhu Is also used to Imply Bihu dance and Bihu folk songs. The Rongall Blhu or the Bohag Bihu Is the national festival of Assam Basant panchml the Festival of Kites is aSikh and Hindu festival held on the fifth day of Magha (in arly February) marking the start of spring and the Holi season. On this day Hindus worship Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, art and culture.

Baisakhi Baisakhi is a festival celebrated across the northern Indian subcontinent, especially in the Punjab region by the Sikh community. More recently, this festival is also celebrated around the world bySikh diaspora. For the Sikh community this festival commemorates the establishment of the Khalsa. It is also celebrated by Hindusand Buddhists for different reasons including the start of a new year. Republic day In India, Republic Day honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into force-on 26 January 1950-replacing theGovernment of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India. ]

It is one of three national holidays in India. The new constitution, as drafted and approved by the Constituent Assembly of India, was mandated to take effect on 26 January 1950-and India became a republic. Indpendence day Independence Day, observed annually on 15 August, is a national holiday in India commemorating the nation’s independence fromBritish rule on 15 August 1947. India ttained freedom following an independence movement noted for largely nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience led by the Indian National Congress.

Holi Holi is a spring festival celebrated as a festival of colours. It is a Hindu religious festival which has also become popular with people of other communities. There is holika dahan and next day people used to play with colours. Diwali Diwali starts on Dhanteras, celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna paksha (dark fortnight) of the Hindu calendar month Ashwin and ends on BhaubeeJ, celebrated on second lunar day of Shukla paksha (bright fortnight) of the Hindu alendar month Kartik.

Dhanteras usually falls eighteen days after dussehra. 4] In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali falls between mid-october and mid- November.. Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities Navratri Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. [2] During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped.