FESTIVALS OF INDIA

AND THEIR
SIGNIFICANCE.
 CREATED BY

JOYOSON MATHAI -30

SM SHETTY COLLEGE
POWAI
TYBMS
 Introduction and Nature of
Indians to Enjoy Festivals.

Indian Festivals, celebrated by varied cultures and through

their special rituals, add to the colours of the Indian
Heritage. Some festivals welcome the seasons of the
year, the harvest, the rains, or the full moon. Others
celebrate religious occasions, the birthdays of divine
beings, saints, and gurus (revered teachers), or the advent
of the New Year.

Many festivals celebrate the various harvests;

commemorate great historical figures and events, while
many express devotion to the deities of different religions.
The emphasis laid on the different festivals differs in different
parts of the country. For instance, Navaratri is celebrated with
maximum fervour in West Bengal as compared to that in other
parts of the country.
There are also a few regional festivals like Pongal in Tamil
Nadu; Onam in Kerala and the various other temple festivals
devoted to the specific patron Gods and Goddesses of the
temples, which are celebrated exclusively in those
areas, which may be limited to one or a few villages.
Different Kinds of Festivals
in India.
 DURGA PUJA
Celebrated in autumn, mainly in
BengaL The Divine Mother (good) is
represented as trampling underfoot
the demon Mahishasur (evil) who
terrorized the earth until he was
slain by her. Her image everywhere
is surrounded by the images of her
children
Ganesha ( god of wisdom and the
bestower of success),
Kartikeya (god of war),
SaraSwati(goddess of learning
and the arts) and Lakshmi
(goddess of wealth and beauty).
People wear new clothes and
exchange gifts of new clothes.
 DASEHRA

Celebrated in tandem.(at the same

time) with Durga Puja, throughout
northern India. It is devoted to the
memory of the great hero Rama, who
lived a million and three hundred
thousand years ago, from one of India's
greatest epics the Ramayana.

The festival lasts ten days and tales are

told with great pomp and drama about
the triumph of Rama (good) over
Ravana(evil) who was a wicked king
whom Rama vanquished.
 DIWALI

Celebrated mainly by merchants in

autumn, after Dasehra, chiefly in
northern India. The word diwali comes
ftom the Hindi word deepavali which
means "row of lights."
It lasts fur two days. On the first day
families light "diye" in the hope that
Lakshmi the goddess of prosperity will
visit their homes. They also pray to
Ganesha, god of wisdom and good
luck.
On the second night, families
pray, feast and set off fireworks to
ward off eviL.
 KALIPUJA

Celebrated in Bengal at the

same time as Diwali. Durga's
incarnation Kali is
worshiped, and the form of
festivities is much the same as
that of Diwali.
Lakshmi and Ganesh are not
worshiped at this festival
however.
 RAKSHA BANDHAN

A brother-sister custom which is

celebrated during a full moon toward
the end of July. Sisters bind their
brother's wrists with 'rakhi‘, or
amulets consisting of silk threads, or
silver or gold wires corals, strings of
pearls or even precious jewels!

This tradition dates back more than

500 years, when sisters tied rakhis on
their brother’s wrists to protect them
on the battlefield.
 BHAIPHOTA

Celebrated in Bengal. few days

after Kali Puja.This is also a
brother-sister festival in which
the sister applies a spot or
"phota”on her brother's
forehead and recites a prayer
for his strength and
immortality (well-being).
Gifts are exchanged between
brothers and sisters ,sisters
cook good food for their
brothers.
 JANMASHTAMI
Krishna"s birth is celebrated during summer
throughout India by Hindus.In the homes a
space is cleared to represent the birth-
room, where the image of the baby Krishna
(eight incarnation of Vishnu, the
Preserver, came to earth to save mankind cast
in Gold, brass or plaster, is surrounded by all
the other people in his infancy.

Krishna as a child was very fond of milk, many

varieties of dairy dishes are prepared on this
holiday. Children are given sweets, especially
since the child Krishna is worshipped.
 HOLI
Celebrated in February or March on
the day after the full-moon. In
Bengal, this festival is called
“DoL”.Everyone robs colored
powder on each other and also
drench each other with colored
liquid.

There are two ancient legends that

explain the origin of HoIi. One is
about Krishna and Radha and the
other is about Prahlad and HoIika
the demon ogress. The name Holi is
derived fom Holika.
 EID UL-FITR

Celebrated after the ninth

lunar month, called
Ramadan, by the Muslims.
They avoid food and drink
between sunrise and sunset
during Ramadan. Then they
celebrate the end of this
period of fasting with Eid
ul-Fitr, a joyous festivaI of
feasting that lasts for three
days.
 BAISHAKHI
The Bengali New Year, called
Baishakhi, is celebrated in April. It is a
harvest festival.
The highlight of the celebration is the
Baisbakhi 'mela' or fair, with
amusement-park rides and rows of
stalls selling everything imaginable At
one minute past midnight on New
Years Day, Bengalis set off string after
string of firecrackers.

On New Year's Day, people line the

streets to watch the long procession
of musicians and dancers perform.
 INDEPENDENCE DAY
Celebrated on August 15, which
is the anniversary of the day in
1947 when independence was
formally granted at midnight to
India. Prior to this the British had
ruled India for over 200 years.
There is a flag hoisting
ceremony in schools, institutions
and homes where the national
anthem (written by
Rabindranath Tagore) is sung.
 REPUBLIC DAY
Celebrated on January 26, which is the
anniversary of the day in 1950 when
India stood on its own feet, separate at
last from the British, with its own newly
written constitution and government of
the people's own forming elections.

India was before a land of many princely

states that was first unified by the
British, and then came together as a
Republic after its independence from
the British with a common constitution
and system of government.
 GANESH CHATURTHI:
Celebrated mainly in Maharashtra, Goa,
Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh as the birth of Lord Ganesh
who is worshiped bythe Hindus for his
ability to remove obstacles and bring
good fortune.

The exact time of the festival is

determined by the lunar cycle and it is
celebrated for ten days, sometime in
August or September.

The deity is worshiped both in

privateand in community sites. At the
end of the ten days, the idols are
immersed to the sound of drumbeats
and devotional songs.
 CHRISTMAS
Celebrates and honors the birth of
Jesus Christ on the 25th of December.
This date is not thought to coincide
with the actual date of birth of Jesus
of Nazareth and may have been
chosen because of the fact that
ancient Roman solar festivals were
celebrated on that day.
Santa Claus is a popular mythological
figure and he is associated with the
giving of gifts. Christmas gifts are
also exchanged between family
members and donations are given to
charity.
Christmas is celebrated by the
Christians of India but is also
celebrated by many non-Christians as
a secular, cultural festival.
 PONGAL
Celebrated in Tamil Nadu sometime
in January or February, at the end of
the harvesting season for four
days."Ponga" literally
translated, means "overflowing", and
the festival is named thus due to the
tradition of cooking the new rice in
pots until they boil and overflow the
pot. This is symbolic of abundance
and prosperity. During Pongal people
give their thanksgiving to nature.
Pongal people give thanks to the
cows and buffaloes and on the last
day people go for a picnic.
 ONAM
Celebrated in Kerala either in the end
of August or at the beginning of
September. It is a harvest festival.
Also according to popular belief the
spirit of Kerala's beloved and
legendary King Mahabali is said to
visit his beloved State(Kerala) at this
time and all preparations are made to
give him a royal reception.
The Onam carnival lasts ten days and
is secular in nature.Folk
songs, elaborate dances, energetic
games, elephants and boats are a
part of Onam.

The Government of India has

recognized Onam as a dynamic and
spectacular festival.
 MAHAVIR JAYANTI
Celebrated by the Jains in late
March or early April to
commemorate the birth
anniversary of Lord Mahavira
who taught that complete non-
violence and the practice of
austerity was the path to
spirituality and salvation.
Jains visit sacred sites such as
ancient sites in
Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.
 GURU NANAK JAYANTI
Celebrated by the Sikhs
sometime in November as the
birthday of the founder of
Sikhism. The celebrations are
especially colorful in Punjab and
Haryana. Sikhs do not worship
idols and their festivities
revolve around the ten Sikh
Gurus.
These Gurus were responsible
for shaping the beliefs of the
Sikhs and their
birthdays, known as Guruparabs
are occasions for celebration
and prayer among the Sikhs.
 BUDDHA PURNIMA
Celebrated by Buddhists to
commemorate the birth anniversary of
Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha was born on a
full moon night in Vaishakh which usually
falls in April or May, he attained "nirvana"
or enlightenment on this day and he died
on this same day at the age of eighty.
Thus Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Purnima
celebrates the three most important
events in Gautam Buddha's life.
Siddhartha, who later became Gautam
Buddha was born a prince, and lived in
the lap of luxury.

Pilgrims from all over the world

congregate there to participate in the
Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti.
 IMPORTANCE OF FESTIVALS.

Festivals celebration is the the culture we got from our past generations.According to the history
these festivals are celebrated when they achieve something (symbol of victory),or on the occasions
where they are benefited (crop gain,happy with some gatherings etc).
These festival celebrattions have got following advantages:
1. Increase the relations among the people
2. Create an opportunity to the people of community to share their feeling and exchange their ideas
and thoughts.Additional help to discuss their problems also.
3.If we consider the families , they gather together and have some fun with all the relatives which is
a great mental relaxation and enrich family relations.
4.Will help to be happy at least on those festival days (One forgets individual problems )
5.Build social relations and social communication which leads to unity among the people.
6.It also help us in preserving our culture and heritage .
7.The present generation know about our customs and practices during these celebrations.
Today,every one is busy and unable to celebrate festivals which is not good with respect to human
relation building.
Due to work and busy schedules people are not in a position to celebrate .
These festivals definitely help in building relations among the people.
 CONCLUSION

The festivals are very important to human being irrespective of their geographical arena.

* It relieves mental stress

* Make people to assemble in a place, renew their relation and friendships.
* Also it conveys many message according to the location and habitat of the people.
* If we notice the festival celeberating day we can come out of many messages from it.
* For example we celeberate Goddess Mariyamman festival during summer season with lot
of liquid based foods. These items enables a human being to withstand the hot temperature
by creating chillness in our body. The cool drinks will generate only the temperature
whereas these things generate cooling within our body.
* During the month of october/november most of the hindus will not consume non-veg,
because in these months the weather wil be chill and if we consume non-veg it will take
more time to digest, so only our ancestors created different festival for different climates.

All these festivals are based upon the careness of our body only
THANK YOU.