Festivals in India celebrate various occasions, including harvest seasons, religious ceremonies, and annual days of remembrance. These celebrations include major religious holidays such as Diwali and Eid al-Fitr and state-specific festivities like Haryana’s Lohri festival. Below, we have a list of these festivals of India.
List of 27 Festivals of India
India’s vast diversity is apparent in the country’s festivals, and each region holds vivid celebrations that contribute to the long history of India’s cultural heritage. Read on to know more about the national festivals of India.
1.Republic Day – Celebration of an Independent India
Republic Day,the national festival of India, commemorates the date when the constitution of India came into force.
During its freedom struggle, our Founding Fathers had to fight many battles for our independence, but they also knew that with freedom comes responsibility and democracy. The National flag was hoisted for the first time on the same day after it was adopted.
2.Mahashivratri – Festival of Shiva
Mahashivratri, or the great night of Lord Shiva, is observed by Hindus across India and around the world. As one of the festivals of India, people worship Lord Shiva in temples and chant prayers.
3.Sankranti – Indian New Year
For the festival of Sankranti, people engage in rituals such as fasting and bathing. The traditional South Indian harvest festivals of India fall when the sun enters the vernal equinox (known as Uttarayana) or, according to Hindu tradition, when the sun moves into Pisces. This festival celebrates the end of the harvesting season and the beginning of spring. It is celebrated with traditional rituals involving cleaning and decorating a wooden boat, then dragged around village streets.
4.Pongal – New Rice Crop Festivals
The important harvest festivals of India are celebrated in South India. A four-day harvest festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and other southern states of India in January or February. This festival is dedicated to the Sun God, and it is believed that he returns to his home during this time. The term “Pongal” means ‘boiled rice.’ The festival involves cooking new rice in milk, warming it with jaggery and sugarcane juice.
5. Holi – Festival for the End of Winter
The most favourite festivals of India, also called the Festival of Colors or the Festival of Spring. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil and commemorates life. Holi marks the transition from winter to spring and marks the victory of interest over evil. People throw colored powder at each other, which relates back to their ancient roots in Hindu mythology when Maa Durga people of color on Earth with ash, thus transforming them into divine beings.
6. Diwali- Festivals of Lights
Diwali, festivals of India and lights, celebrated across the country with fireworks, decorations, and serpentine lines of earthenware oil lamps. It is believed that the Hindu deities return to Earth to celebrate and bring light and life back into the world on this day. Deepavali means “row of lamps” or “spreading light.”
Since ancient times, Hindus have decorated houses and temples with earthenware oil lamps. They pray for prosperity. The lamps give not only light but also warmth and cheer to people on a cool evening.
7. Thaipusam – Day Dedicated to Murugan, God of War
The day is celebrated and marked with the cleaning of the Thaipusam temple and Thaipusam festival as other religious festivals of India.
On this day, devotees will seek blessings from the Lord by performing penance in different forms, apart from fasting for the entire month. The people fast not only to have divine sight but also to get rid of their sins. They pray for better health, good fortune, peace, etc.
8. Karva Chauth- Fast for Longevity
A Hindu ritual in which a married woman fasts from sunrise to moonrise for her husband’s long life and well-being. The fasting, observed by married women only, begins on the first day of Karthik (Nights of Kartika). And the Lord is worshiped with all the pomp and grandeur.
9. Ganesh Chaturthi- Lord Ganesh’s Birthday
It is celebrated in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bangalore, and Tamil Nadu. The religious festivals of India typically start with the god’s birthday on September 19. The festival is usually celebrated with Modak as the main sweets and where people go to the homes of family members and friends and leave small statues of Ganesha.
10. Onam- Harvest Festival of Kerala
Every year, in the State of Kerala, on the tenth day of the month of Chingam (August or September), a grand festival called “Onam” is celebrated. People offer respect and adoration after wearing new clothes and taking a bath. The women decorate their houses with plantain leaves and flowers as any other festivals of India.
11. Dussehra – Rama’s Victory Over the Demon King Ravana
Dussehra is the five-day religious festival of India in honor of the Hindu god Dussehra Rama. Each year, it is observed on the tenth day of Navratri.
Rama’s victory over the demon king Ravana on the battlefield and his triumph over evil has been celebrated since ancient times. During Dussehra, devotees commemorate Rama by lighting many beautiful earthen lamps in their homes and houses. People also offer special prayers to Lakshmi-Ram (the goddess of wealth), Bhairon (the god of strength), Ganesh (the elephant god), and Durga (the goddess of victory) for the protection and prosperity of their lives.
The word Dussehra is derived from Sanskrit words “Dussa” and “Hara,” which mean “removal of bad luck.”
12. Durga Puja – Worship of Goddess Durga
One of the Biggest Hindu Festivals in India, observed on an auspicious day in the month of Ashwin (October-November) every year. Durga Puja signifies the victory of goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura who represents darkness. The most awaited festivals of India, Pujo celebrations continue with much fervor and fanfare for ten days. Hindus believe that goddess Durga kills the demon Mahishasura on the tenth day of Navratri, i.e., Vijayadashami.
13. Pushkar Fair – Biggest Fairs
It takes place at one place in Ajmer, Rajasthan, for ten days during the months of Bhadarva Shukla from mid-July to early August every year.
Pushkar Fair has its historical origins in Pushkar Lake, which is considered sacred by Hindus, and the Brahmins do not live anywhere close to it. Every year thousands of pilgrims, tourists, and traders from different parts of India gather at Pushkar Lake to take a ritual dip in it.
14. Raksha Bandhan- Bond Between a Sister and Brother
Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of a sibling’s love for their sister. It is one of the most popular festivals in India. Raksha Bandhan celebrates the emotions and feelings that a brother feels for his sister, who looks after him when he was a child. One thread is given a symbol of this relationship, which the sister will wear around her brother’s wrist.
15. Kumbh Mela- The Biggest Gathering for a Spiritual Purpose in the World
Kumbha Mela is a significant religious gathering in India at one of the four places by rotation. These are Allahabad, Ujjain, Nashik, and Haridwar. This is one of the most popular festivals of India, with the significant spiritual and the largest congregation of pilgrims on Earth.
If you are in Allahabad for Kumbh Mela, don’t miss these tasty foods.
Millions of devout Hindus gather to perform ritual ablutions at the confluence of holy rivers. It is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as Kumbh Melas.
Kumbha Mela was a place of Hindu sages and sadhus (ascetics) and prayers every 12 years with a fair.
16. Buddha Jayanti- Birth of Lord Buddha
India’s most celebrated festival, also known as Buddha Purnima, is a Buddhist festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Buddha. The festival is celebrated worldwide with great enthusiasm and throughout India. This Buddhist festival falls in April on or before the 15th day of the lunar calendar month.
As the festivals of India, it is marked by reciting specific verses relating to the teachings and virtues of Gautam Buddha’s life. In addition to this, there are various traditional customs such as exchanging clothes, exchanging New Year Greeting Cards, etc.
17. Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti- Birth of Guru Gobind Singh
It is one of the celebrations for the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. It is a day on which devotees celebrate his birth. Sikhs across the world will assemble to pay their respects to him.
The day Jayanti is an annual celebration that marks the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. It is a holy day for the Sikhs all over the world. The day also commemorated his accession to the gaddi (throne) of Guru Nanak at age nine on March 29, 1675.
18. Basant Panchami- The Spring Festival
The word ‘Basant’ means spring season, and the festival is celebrated to sow seeds in the field in preparation for a bountiful harvest. It also signifies that farmers can sustain themselves with their work during this season. In some parts of India, people worship their cattle on Basant Panchami.
19. Gudi Padwa- Celebrating the New Year
The Festival of Gudi Padwa marks the beginning of the Hindu new year. For this reason, the day is also known as the Festival of Festivals. People perform puja, the act of worship and homage to a deity or spiritual force.
20. Muharram – Remembrance of Muharram
Occurs on the first of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and is known as the Remembrance of Muharram, Tasu’a (the ninth day), or Ashura (the tenth day). It contains an essential religious ritual by Shi’ah Muslims to commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of Muhammad and a son of Ali.
21. Krishna Janmashtami – Krishana’s Birthday
Janmashtami is a festival celebrated to remember when Lord Krishna was born. The festivals of India, known as Dasara host dance and Handi-fodh event. .
22. Magh Bhumi Mela – The Harvest Festival
The Harvest festivals of India celebrate the principle of reaping what you sow and changing your ways for a better future. It is observed on Magh Budh, which falls on the first day of Magh month, in the Indian solar calendar.
23. Eid ul Fitr (Ramzan)- Muslim Religious Celebration
“Ramzan” means “to be burning hot, dry, and parched, with a certain kind of thirst that can be slaked only in the cool water of the fountain.” This is the Muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan. On this day, Muslims around the world will celebrate by exchanging greetings with friends and family.
24. Rath Yatra- Jagannath Puri Yatra
Rath Yatra is a Hindu festival celebrated in India. It is a momentous day devoted to Lord Jagannath and Goddess Subhadra of the Gundicha Temple at Puri. For centuries, Mahadashami has been honored as Vijaya Dashami when Hindus believe the world was created. Traditionally, tazias are burned on this day to mark the triumph of light over darkness.
25. Independence Day- Freedom’s Day
India’s Independence Day is celebrated on August 15. As one of prime festivals of India, it marks the day India got its independence from British rule.
26. Gandhi Jayanti- Bapu’s Birthday
It is celebrated on October 2, and it marks the anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s birth.
As a refined leader, MK Gandhi, popularly known as the Mahatma (“great soul”), led India to independence from British rule during the nonviolent struggle for Indian independence.
27. Rann Utsav- Kutch Festival
The people of Kutch love their land and take great care of it. The land is known as Rann or Sarna in Kutchi, which means “desert.” The region is characterized by a saltwater marshland which makes for a beautiful landscape. The Rann Utsav is celebrated from late December to early January.
The festivals of India involve locals, who bring the monumental tall arch-shaped effigies of “Dhanush” (doll), made from wood and clay mixed with cow dung and mud. The dolls are decorated with silver ornaments, bells, etc., to sound the tune of drums and kettles. They are raised from the Rann into the skyline almost every night.
Conclusion
The festivals of India are so diverse that each region has its unique way of celebration. Each festival has a meaning, a reason, and a purpose behind them, and each one of them is marked by the people who live in the area. Festivals of India are something that unites all groups from all over India in different ways.
