FESTIVALS & FIESTAS
January:
New Year (1 January).
Pongal (Sankranti): Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh. Four-day harvest festival.
Republic Day (26 January, public holiday): all India. Spectacular parade in New Delhi.
Basant Panchami: west Bengal, Madhya Pradesh. Hindu festival of learning; kite flying.
February/March:
Sivaratri: all India. Celebrates Siva's dance of creation and marriage to Parvati.
Holi: Northern India. Coloured powder and water are thrown in this boisterous spring celebration.
March/April:
Festival of Parvati: women dress in a blaze of colour.
Ugadi (New Year): Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. Hindu solar New Year.
April/May:
Vaisakhi: North India, Amritsar. Foundation of Sikh brotherhood; New Year celebration in West Bengal.
Puram: Trichur. Elephant procession; fireworks.
Minakshi Kalyanam: Madurai. Procession of temple chariots celebrates the marriage of the goddess.
Buddha Purnima: Sarnath, Bodhgaya. Marks the birth, enlightenment and the death of the Buddha.
June/July:
Rath Yatra: Puri. Honours Lord Jagannath. Parade of huge temple chariots.
July/August:
Tij: Rajasthan. Women welcome the monsoon. Amarnath Yatra: Amarnath. Pilgrimage to an icicle.
Nag Panchami: west India. Fair and festival honouring a cobra deity.
August/September:
Raksha Bandhan: Northern India. Brothers, sisters and platonic friends pledge kinship by the girls tying threads around the boys' wrists.
Janmashtami: all India. Birthday of Lord Krishna; dance dramas.
Ganesh Chaturthi: all India, particularly Maharashtra. Festival of Lord Ganesh; fairs, cultural events. Mumbai parades take the image of the god for immersion in the sea.
Onam: Kerala. Harvest festival; four days of feasting, dancing and snake-boat races.
September/October:
Dussera: Delhi, Kullu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Mysore, South India. Dance dramas, exhibitions.
Gandhi Jayanti (2 October, public holiday): Raj Ghat in Delhi. Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
October/November:
Divali (Dipavali).
All India. Festival of lights; fireworks; considered New Year for many people.
Pushkar Fair: Spectacular crowds of pilgrims at Pushkar's lake; camel fair.
Guru Purab: Amritsar, Punjab. The birthday of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak.
December:
Christmas Day (25 December). Goa, Kerala. A Western tradition celebrated in Indian fashion.
Moveable dates
Id-ul-Fitur: all India. End of month-long Ramzan fast.
Muharram: Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow. Commemorates martyrdom of Muhammad's grandson.
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