Popular Festivals of India

India is a land of joy, a land of amalgamations and a land of different cultures and that is why every day in India is celebrated and every day has significance and every day people of different faith join hands together, praying for their happiness and prosperity. Being a highly spiritual country with a number of religions and faiths, India is not new to celebrating festivals. In fact, the country celebrates a number of festivals with zeal, zest and vigour, giving each festival a new meaning.

Every festival celebrated in the country has its own mythological significance. Whether you are a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist or Christian, every festival is marked with an occasion and a celebration that binds people of different faiths together. Here is a list of the top ten festivals in India.

1. Diwali

One of the most popular Indian festivals, Diwali, also known as Deepavali is the festival of lights. Diwali means a row of lights that were lit up when Lord Rama, a major deity in Hinduism returned with Goddess Sita after defeating Ravana. The day is celebrated on a no-moon night, therefore, diyas or candles are stacked together and lights light homes and societies. Before the festival, families clean their homes vigorously and invite Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha. After several rituals and customs, fireworks are lit and people exchange gifts and sweets.

2. Durga Puja

This is a period of five days that no one in West Bengal wants to miss. In fact, the whole state seems to be covered in hues of red, yellow and orange as people dress up themselves and create beautiful statues of Goddess Durga. During this period, homes are decorated, gifts are purchased and people stay on the street all night, dancing and celebrating Durga Puja with each other. The last day of Durga Puja is conducted on the evening of Dashami.

3. Eid

Arabic word of festivity, Eid is one of the most popular festivals in India. Celebrated majorly by Muslims, Eid is followed twice a year- Eid ul-Fitr and Eid-ul Zuha. While Eid ul- Fitr is the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, it is celebrated for three days with great enthusiasm. Eid ul-Zuha or Bakra Eid is celebrated on 10th of Zil Hajj month in Islamic calendar. This is a festival of generosity where people share fortune with lesser fortunate people.

4. Holi

The festival of colours, holi is celebrated in the spring harvest season wherein people throw coloured powder and water on each other. Celebrated in the morning, the festival has received a modern twist with dances under sprinklers and drinking of Bhang, which is prepared from a paste of cannabis plant leaves. This is one day where no one minds being dirty.

5. Ganesh Chaturthi

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is spectacular, regularly shown in television serials and movies to depict its magnificence. The festival is followed by Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed God and honours his birth. This eleven day festival witnesses a number of huge, elaborately decorated and crafted statues of Lord Ganesha. People dance and colour each other in vermillion and podiums are made for celebration. After a lot of joy and singing, Lord Ganesha is submerged in the ocean.

6. National Kite

Festival Although it isn’t a mythological festival, the National Kite Festival is one of the most popular festivals in the country that is held in the state of Gujarat. People from all over the world visit the state to celebrate this festival during Makar Sankranti in January. This is one of those days when you can see kites soaring high in the sky. The kites are elaborately crafted and decorated in a variety of styles including different sizes, shapes, patterns and colours. The sky itself looks like an amalgamation of a million hues of different colours. Expert kite makers and flyers come from the USA, Indonesia, Italy and China to celebrate the festival.

7. Kumbh Mela

Celebrated once in every three years, Kumbh Mela sees thousands and lakhs of devotees from all over the world! A huge gathering of devotees come to bathe in the holy river of Ganges. While Ardh Kumbh Mela is carried once in every six years in Haridwar and Prayag, the festival is renowned for dutiful and religious customs along with long parades by naga sadhus.

8. Baisakhi

India is a land of farmers with agriculture being one of the prime occupations in the country. Therefore, the festival of Baisakhi is widespread and is followed by different names in the south. The festival is a celebration held for the harvest of Rabi crop and takes place in the month of April-May. People offer prayers and Amritsar’s Golden Temple. Dances and cultural treats are offered throughout North India with colourful fairs organized for farmers and their families. In South India, it is celebrated as Onam, a ten day harvest festival that has a rich cultural significance. On this day people welcome the homecoming of mythical king Mahabali.

9. Christmas

Over the years, Christmas is one of the festivals that have gained prime importance in the country. The festival, which is celebrated as the birth of Lord Christ is celebrated all over India, particularly by children who wait for 25th December and Santa Claus. This is a modern festival which has gained immense popularity over the years. During winters, places of interest, especially malls are filled with workers clad in Santa Claus outfits tempting kids!

10. Pushkar Camel Fair

Again, this isn’t exactly a festival that has a mythological significance, yet it is celebrated with great fanfare. More than 50000 camels converge in Rajasthan’s land of Pushkar, where several contests are held for these camels. Some of these contests include races, trades, parades and beauty contests. This is one of the festivals that is celebrated as an old tradition in the country and garners a lot of tourists from country and abroad.

Apart from this, every state, every culture celebrates a variety of other festivals along with different national festivals like Independence day and Republic day. Diwali, Durga Puja, Eid, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, National Kite Festival, Kumbh Mela, Baisakhi Christmas, Pushkar Camel Fair.

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