India is the land of many cultures, all intertwined together to form an organic whole. Owing to this, the country displays many colors through its different festivals, customs, and traditions.
Sucheta Pradhan
The best part is that people from all communities and religions come together and happily participate in these celebrations, making them really special! Keep going for some of the biggest festivals celebrated in India!
#1: Diwali
Also known as Deepavali, literally meaning ‘the festival of lights’, this is undoubtedly the most important and internationally renowned Indian festival.
This holiday season falls between October-November each year and commemorates the event when Lord Rama returned home from exile.
It is the celebration of the victory of light over darkness, wherein people light small oil lamps or ‘diyas’ ...
... offer various prayers or ‘pujas’, draw colorful art or ‘rangoli’ in front of their houses, and make delicious, Diwali-special snacks.
People not only decorate their homes during Diwali, but they also invite and visit their near and dear ones, exchanging gifts and having fun. The most remarkable highlight of Diwali is the firing of crackers, which is looked forward to by kids and grown-ups alike.
#2: Holi
Another very well-known Indian festival is Holi, the ‘festival of colors’. Falling sometime in the middle and end of March each year, it symbolizes the triumph of purity over wickedness.
It is a two-day celebration. ‘Holika Dahan’ happens on the first night, wherein wooden logs are set in the form of a pyre and are burnt to symbolize the burning of evil.
On the second day, people play with colors by applying colored powder and water on one another. This day symbolizes the arrival of good after evil was burnt the previous night.
There is a lot of singing and dancing on the second day; people also consume ‘thandai’, a cold drink, sometimes with a blend of cannabis leaves.
#3: Navaratri
Literally meaning ‘nine nights’, this is a nine-night ten-day celebration in honor of the divine feminine, Goddess Durga. Known as Navaratri in northern and western India, Durga Puja in eastern and northeastern India, and Golu in southern India, it celebrated between September and October.
Full of rituals and prayers offered to the nine incarnations of the divine feminine on all nine days and the celebration of Goddess Durga killing the buffalo demon – Mahishasura – on the tenth day of Dussehra or Vijayadashami, this festival also marks the triumph of good over evil.
Major celebrations during this festival include the ‘dandiya raas’ in northern and western India; beautiful pandals, Durga idols, and traditional music and dance in eastern and northeastern India, and a majestic display of Durga figurines in southern India.
Huge Ravana effigies are also burned in many parts of India to commemorate the day of Lord Rama’s victory over the demon king Ravana.
#4: Ganesha Festival
This is, by far, the most spectacular of celebrations in entire India. Celebrated in the honor of Lord Ganesha, the most-worshiped deity of the Hindu pantheon.
This festival was first started as a public event in the 19th century by the freedom fighter, Lokmanya Tilak, as a tool to bypass the British government’s ban on Hindu gatherings.
This is an 11-day festival, wherein people not only bring Ganesha idols and worship them at their homes, but there are also huge public celebrations out in the open. Huge pandals are erected for the public worship of larger-than-life idols of the Lord.
On the last day, the Lord is bid goodbye by immersing the idols in water. Humungous amounts of people of each and every religion, cast, creed, and community gather on the streets to bid adieu to Ganesha with great pomp and show.
#5: Raksha Bandhan
This is a very cute, one-day celebration of the loving bond between brothers and sisters.
On Raksha Bandhan, brothers promise their sisters to protect and take care of them for the rest of their lives. In turn, sisters pray to God to save their brothers from all evils.
The sisters tie a ‘rakhi’, a colorful, decorated thread, on their brothers’ wrists, wherein the knot signifies their bond. In turn, gifts are also often exchanged, just to add some fun.
#6: Makar Sankranti
This is another popular Indian festival that marks the end of the winter solstice and the start of longer days. As per the Gregorian calendar, Makar Sankranti usually falls in mid-March.
It is called Makar Sankranti in eastern and western India, and in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
It is known as Bihu in Assam, Lohri in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, Sukarat in central India, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Celebrations involve social festivities with colorful decorations, singing and dancing, fairs, feasts, and bonfires. The kite-flying festival held in Gujarat during Makar Sankranti is particularly of international repute.
#7: Krishna Janmashtami
Falling sometime between August and September, this annual Hindu festival is the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna.
Fasting is observed in some parts of India on Janmashtami, wherein only fruits and milk-based sweets are consumed. Prayers are offered to Lord Krishna, both at home and in temples all across the country.
One of the best-known traditions of this festival, especially from western India, is the Dahi Handi. Clay pots filled with curd, butter, and other goodies are hung high above the ground, and soaring human towers are formed to break those pots.
#8: Maha Shivaratri
This is another annual Hindu festival celebrated in late winter (February-March) every year.
Maha Shivaratri signifies the night when Lord Shiva performs his cosmic dance for the destruction of ignorance and darkness.
People worship Lord Shiva by chanting prayers, fasting, meditating, keeping awake all night, and visiting Shiva temples. Some also go on a pilgrimage of the twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva in India.
A lot of singing and dancing happens during this festival to enable people to stay awake all night. At many places, cannabis is also consumed as part of the festivities.
#9: Eid-ul-fitr
Celebrated on the last day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that roughly falls between April and May of the Gregorian calendar, Eid-ul-fitr is the most auspicious of Muslim festivals, not just in India, but worldwide.
The entire month of Ramadan is marked by rigorous fasting on a daily basis, which is observed by every Muslim, including adults and children, from dawn to sunset.
On the last day of the month, marks the breaking of the fast. ‘Eid’ means ‘celebration’ and Fitr means ‘breaking the fast’. On this day, the Muslims meet and greet their loved ones, wear new clothes, spray perfumes, offer prayers, and have lavish feasts.
#10: Christmas
Christmas that marks the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated every December with great spirit and enthusiasm in India.
People decorate their homes and streets with fairy lights, heavily adorned Christmas trees are erected, and churches come alive with Christmas carols and fascinating feasts.
People visit each other, exchange gifts, eat delicious cakes, and even host parties. Christmas is immediately followed by New Year celebrations, a time for some of the biggest and greatest parties.