FESTIVAL

S
Closely associated with pujas are
festivals that Hindus celebrate during
certain times of the year. These
celebrations are usually held in honor of
major deities,and given much
preparation and care by Hindu
worshipers. There are countless
festivals devoted to the deities in
different parts of India every year. A few
festivas however stand out as the most
popular because of their connection
with important gods and goddess.
1.Divali (Deepavali or Diwali). The
festival of lights. Some regions
consider the Divali as the
beginning of the New Year. The
whole festival lasts five days and
in preparation, Hindus clean their
house and prepare new clothes.
The festival honors the return of
Rama and Sita to their home
kingdom Ayodhya after the epic
battle with the demon Ravana.
2.Holi. The festival of spring
and colors. In mythology,
festival celebrates the slaying
of the demoness Holika by
Prahlad, Vishnu's devotee.
During this festival, devotees
would drench themselves and
others with water and would
spray colorful powder to
celebrate the end of winter and
3. Dussehra. Closely associated
with Divali, the festival of
Dussehra celebrates the actual
victory of Rama over the demon
Ravana. In some areas in India,
this celebration continues to the
festival of Navaratri, the festival
of dance, in honor of the
goddess Durga.
4. Makara Sankranti. Festival
of the harvest. Celebrated
every January 14, this is the
only festival in Hinduism that
follows the solar calendar.
This festival is offered as a
thanksgiving to the Sun-god
for providing life to the fields
and making harvest possible.
5. Lohari. A midwinter
festival, the festival of Lohari
celebrates the symbolic
shunning of evil. During this
festival, devotees would light
bonfires and would throw
nuts, sesame , sweets , and
popcorn on them to
symbolize rejection of evil.
6. Krishna
JANMAASHTAMI. A
celebration of the
birth of Krishna, a
popular god among
Hindus.
7. Maha Shivarata. The
great night of Shiva.
Devotees fast overnight
in order to earn the
God's favor and them
celebrate by merriment
and partaking of food.
8. Ganesh Chaturthi.
A celebration of the
birth of Ganesh, a
god who is
represented as an
elephant.
9. Guru Purnima. The festival
of one's teacher. A devotee
honors his/her Guru(teacher)
yearly by offering puja. In some
areas, this is also celebrated by
Buddhists to honors Buddha.
Hindus honor the birth of the
sage Vsya, who authored the
Mahabharata.
10. Kumbha Mela. The largest Hindu
festival in the world, the Kumbha Mela
celebrates the Saraswati river of
enlightenment , an invisible river that is
believed to be at the joining together of
Ganges and Jumna rivers. Devoteees
do ritual bathing and religious ascetics
to purity themselves before discussing
religious matters with other ascetics.
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