| S.No |
Festival Name |
Festival celebration Purpose
|
| 1 |
Bhogi
|
It is celebrated in honour of Lord Indra as a god
of rain.
|
| 2 |
Makar Sankranti / Pongal and Lohri
|
It marks beginning of new harvest season and end of Winter season.
|
| 3 |
Vasant Panchami / Basant Panchami / Saraswati Puja
|
It marks the preparation for the arrival of spring.
|
| 4 |
Thaipusam / Kavadi
|
It is celebrated to say thank you Lord Murugan, a son of Shiva.
|
| 5 |
Maha Shivaratri
|
It celebrated yearly in honour of the god Shiva. On this day people chants of
'Om Namah Shivaya' and 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Stories Surrounding Maha Shivaratri
1. Lord Shiva married Parvati on this day
2. To honor the savior Lord Shiva consumed poison for saving both the Gods and
mankind and Lord’s throat turned him blue.
3. God Sadashiv appeared in the form of a Lingodhbhav Moorthi at midnight.
|
| 6 |
Holi / festival of spring
|
It is celebrated as a victory of good over evil.
|
| 7 |
Shigmo / Shishirotsava
|
It is celebrated is a part of Holi in goa.
|
| 8 |
Rang Panchami
|
It is celebrated as a part to worship of the clear form of Gods which activates
5 elements of radiant manifest colours and to touch and feel the Deities who are
attracted to the respective colours.
|
| 9 |
Gangaur
|
It is celebrated by married a woman who worships God Parvati for longevity and
good health of their husbands and unmarried women worship the goddess to get a
good husband.
|
| 10 |
Vasant Navratri
|
It is celebrated for the victory of Durga over demon Mahishasura.
i.e celebrated for the victory of Good over Evil.
|
| 11 |
Rama Navami
|
It is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Rama
|
| 12 |
Gudi Padwa, Chetichand / Samvatsar Padvo
|
It is celebrated to recall and show respect for ceremony of crowning a king as
Rama post his return to Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile.
|
| 13 |
Ugadi
|
It is celebrated as for marking the beginning of a new era and a new Hindu lunar
calendar
|
| 14 |
Mesha Sankranti / Sankramana / Hindu New Year
|
It marks the starting of the New Year in the traditional Solar calendar
|
| 15 |
Vishu
|
It is celebration specifies sun's transit into the Meda Raasi (marks beginning
of spring) in in the Malayali tradition. Lord Vishnu and his incarnation Lord
Krishna are worshipped on this day.
|
| 16 |
Tamil New Year / Puthandu
|
It is the first day of the Chithirai month and
marks the beginning of the Tamil calendar.
|
| 17 |
Bihu
|
It is celebrated for “to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods" during
harvesting season.
|
| 18 |
Hanuman Jayanti
|
It is celebrated to exist the birth of Lord Hanuman who is also considered to be
one of the incarnations of Lord Shiva.
|
| 19 |
Sitalsasthi
|
It is to celebrate the marriage of Gouri and Shankar.
|
| 20 |
Vat Savitri / Vat Amavasya
|
It is celebrated by married women who pray banana tree for the long life and
good health of their husband.
|
| 21 |
Bonalu
|
It is celebrated to consider a thanks giving to the Goddess (Mahakali) for
fulfillment of vows.
|
| 22 |
Bathukamma |
It celebrated to thank Goddess Parvati for her blessings for the crop harvest
and income she helped generate this (current) year and again ask her blessing
for the next year.
|
| 23 |
Rath Jatra / Rath Yatra / Chariot festival
|
It is celebrated at the temple of Jagannath for the purpose to pray God Jagannath/ Krishna/Vishnu/ Rama.
|
| 24 |
Raja Parba
|
recall and show respect for |
| 25 |
Guru Purnima
|
It is celebrated to honour our teacher who clears the darkness from our minds.
|
| 26 |
Mahalakshmi Vrata / Varalakshmi Vratham
|
It is celebrated by women for their own well being and that of all their family
members.
|
| 27 |
Onam
|
It is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit visits Kerala at the
time of Onam.
|
| 28 |
Raksha Bandhan
|
It is celebrated the love of a brother for his sister.
|
| 29 |
Teejdi
|
It is celebrated to remember the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, the day when
Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife.
|
| 30 |
Shitla Satam
|
It is celebrated in honor of Goddess Shitala / Goddess of measles and pox to
receive protection against smallpox or similar diseases and is done by
Gujaratis.
|
| 31 |
Krishna Janmaashtami / Janmashtami / Gokulashtami
|
It is celebrated as the birth of the god Krishna.
|
| 32 |
Radhastami
|
It is commemorating the birth anniversary of the goddess Radha, consort of the
god Krishna. She is the incarnation or avatar of Goddess Lakshmi As per Hindu
beliefs.
|
| 33 |
Gowri Habba
|
It celebrates the goddess Gowri / Gauri / Parvati who is respected as the mother
of Ganesha.
|
| 34 |
Ganesh Chaturthi
|
It is celebrated annually to mark the birth of Lord Ganesha, the God of new
beginnings and a fresh start.
|
| 35 |
Nuakhai
|
It is celebrated newly harvested food by the farmers in in the Western part of
Odisha.
|
| 36 |
Navaratri
|
It is celebrated as a victory of Durga over demon Mahishasura and celebrates the
victory of Good over Evil.
|
| 37 |
Durga Puja
|
It is celebrated as a victory of the goddess Durga over the demon king
Mahishasura.
|
| 38 |
Vijayadashami / Dussehra / Dasara
|
It is celebrated as a victory of Rama over the demon king Ravana, who abducted
Rama's wife, Sita.
|
| 39 |
Govatsa Dwadashi / Vasu Baras
|
Its celebration is dedicated to worshipping the cow and marks the 1st day of
Diwali.s
|
| 40 |
Diwali or Deepavali
|
It is a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya with
his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana after defeating Ravana in Lanka.
|
| 41 |
Bhai dooj
|
It is celebrating the unconditional love bond between a brother and a sister.
|
| 42 |
Karva Chauth / Atla Tadde
|
It is celebrated by married women for longevity and good health of their
husbands.
|
| 43 |
Kartik Poornima
|
It is celebrated for the victory of Lord Shiva over Devil Tripurasur along with
birthday of Lord Kartikeya.
|
| 44 |
Chhath
|
It is celebrated in honour of the solar deity, Surya and his sister Shashti Devi
(Chhathi Maiya), in order to get their blessing and to thank them.
|
| 45 |
Kanda Shashti /Skanda Sashti Kavasam
|
It corresponds to the birth day of Lord Kartikeya / Skanda Sashti Kumar /
Muruga, Subramanya.
|
| 46 |
Champa Sashti
|
It is celebrated as the victory of Khandoba against the demons Mani Malla.
|
| 47 |
Yatra
|
Uncle Kansa of Lord Krishna and Balram invited them to Mathura to kill them.
|
| 48 |
Karthikai Deepam
|
It is believed to avoid being hit by evil forces and it brings in prosperity and
joy.
|
| 49 |
Pancha Ganapati
|
It celebration to Hindu families a way to participate in the holiday season
without compromising their Hindu values
|
| 50 |
Kumbh Mela
|
It is celebrated to bring Hindu holy men together to discuss their faith and
disseminate information about their religion.
|
| 51 |
Godavari Pushkaram / Purna Kumbha Mela
|
It is celebrated every 3 years by going on a pilgrimage in the hope of washing
away their past sins.
|
| 52 |
Sama Chakeva
|
It is a festival that marks the affectionate brother sister relationship in
Maithili religion.
|
| 53 |
Tulsi Pujan Diwas
|
It is celebrated planted plant tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) and worshiped it.
|
| 54 |
Naga Panchami
|
It is celebrated at temples to worship snake deities.
|