Ganesh Chaturathi

Ganesha Chaturthi, the great Ganesha festival, also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayak Chavithi' is celebrated by Hindus around the world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and the grandest and most elaborate of them, especially in the western India state of Maharashtra, lasts for 10 days, ending on the day of 'Ananta Chaturdashi'.A life-like clay model of Lord Ganesha is made 2-3 months prior to the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The size of this idol may vary from 3/4th of an inch to over 25 feet.

On the day of the festival, it is placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents for people to view and pay their homage. The priest, usually clad in red silk dhoti and shawl, then invokes life into the idol amidst the chanting of mantras. This ritual is called 'pranapratishtha'. After this the 'shhodashopachara' (16 ways of paying tribute) follows. Coconut, jaggery, 21 'modakas' (rice flour preparation), 21 'durva' (trefoil) blades and red flowers are offered. The idol is anointed with red unguent or sandal paste (rakta chandan). Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda and Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.For 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Ganesha is worshipped. On the 11th day, the image is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of all man. All join in this final procession shouting "Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya" (O father Ganesha, come again early next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the idol to the river to immerse it.
Pitchengine

The whole community comes to worship Ganesha in beautifully done tents. These also serve as the venue for free medical checkup, blood donation camps, charity for the poor, dramatic performances, films, devotional songs, etc. during the days of the festival.

Diwali

India is pre-dominantly a Hindu country and a large number of Hindu festivals are celebrated across the nation. The largest Hindu festival is Diwali - the festival of lights.Diwali festival, India is celebrated throughout the nation in different ways and patterns. However, there are certain rituals and traditions associated with Diwali that are commonly followed throughout the country. The festival is celebrated in the months of October or November and marks the defeat of evil Ravana at the hands of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The festival is celebrated for five consecutive days and also marks the end of Narkasura at the hands Lord Krishna. The festival is mainly celebrated to mark the end of the evil and disperse darkness and spread the light of peace, goodwill and knowledge.

Diwali also consists of Lakshmi Puja, wherein Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of power, prosperity and wealth is worshiped.Diwali festival, India is more than just a Hindu festival and has cut religious boundaries to be celebrated at a national level. For Diwali, people clean their homes and adorn them with bright and colorful lanterns of various shapes and sizes. The homes are also adorned with numerous oil lamps and other colorful electric lights, which illuminate the homes and make them, look very pretty. One of the major attractions of Diwali is the firecrackers and aerial fireworks, which are especially popular among children and youngsters. It is the time when families indulge in shopping for new clothes, appliances and other home decor. The magnitude of the festival has grown in size and the festival is now celebrated even in different countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and several other countries.
Dussehra
Janmashtami
Makar sankaranti/ Basant panchami
Independence day

Dussehra

Dussehra is one of such festivals that commands immense popularity all over the country and thus earns a public holiday. Dussehra is a Hindu festival celebrated during the month of September and October.
Dussehra Festival, India is celebrated to mark the victory of good over the evil. The celebration is based on the mythology that Goddess Durga won over the demon Mahishasura somewhere in the southern parts of India. Another mythology attached to the Dussehra is the victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana because he abducted his wife Sita. Thus from ages the festival is celebrated with equal zeal as it was there with the victorious. The festival is also called as "Vijayadashami" because this word signifies victory in the Sanskrit language.

Dussehra festival, India follows the ten-day Navratri festival. The Navratri festival is marked in different style in different parts of India. Generally in many parts of India this festival see worshipping of various forms of Goddess Durga. The culmination of the ten-day festival results in the Dussehra. On this day the idol of the goddess is drowned in the local water body. The other important part of the celebration is the burning of the effigy of the demon Ravana. In the interiors of the country the countrymen stage a show called Ram Leela. Generally the actors of this show enact the story of Ram fighting against Ravana and emerging victorious.Dussehra Festival, India is one of the biggest festivals celebrated all over the country with almost all the regions participating. It brings along joy and happiness for all and sundry.



Makarsakranti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Janmashtami!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Makar Sankaranti/Basant Panchami

Kites

Makar Sankranti is a festival of India that comes on January 14 every year. Sankranti is spelled and pronounced as Sankranthi in South India. Hence it is called Makar Sankranthi in South India. The Hub pages also spell it as Makar Sankranthi.Makar is a rashi (Zodiac) and Sankranti means transition. Hence, Makar Sankranti means transition of the Sun from the zodiac Makar. People go to Ganga sagar near Kolkata, West Bengal, to take a bath on Makar Sankranti. Kumbh Mela also starts on the day of Makar Sankranti and people go for bath in holy Ganga. Large numbers of people are expected to assemble in Haridwar this year for Kumbh bath on January 14, 2010, the day of Makar Sankranti. Kumbh Mela will start from Makar Sankranti at Haridwar.

Makar Sankranti is also a kite flying festival or kite festival in many parts of India. Gujarat and Jaipur in Rajasthan is famous for their kite festivals. Jaipur organizes international kite festival every year. Makar Sankranti is a popular word in Rajasthan where as Utran (derived from Uttarayan in Sanskrit language) is in Gujarat. Basant Panchami is also popular for kite festival in some places of India. Kolkata celebrates kite festival on Vishwakarma puja but not on Makar Sankranti.Kite is called Patang in Hindi language. Hence the festival is also referred as Patang utsav in India. Patang is also called guddi in many places in northern India. Special type of thread is used to fly kites and that is called Manjha.

Janmashtami

Janmashtami is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Krishna. It is a sacred, holy and important day for the Hindu. Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashthmi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishnapaksh of the month of Shravan in the Hindu calendar. Janmashtami usually falls in the mid of August or the early September. One of the biggest religious festivals in the world, Janmashtami is celebrated by nine hundred and thirty million people around the world--and two million in the US alone.

The devotees visit to temple at the night and offer devotions to lord Krishna. The celebrations are spiced up with the Krishna Raslila. It is represented as dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna in regions of Mathura and Varindhavan. Some places even practice the Dahihandi tradition. Lord Krishna was a mischievous child and he loved to eat butter even if he can steal it in his childhood so people in some areas hung up a matki filled with butter on a rope and a human group/ pyramid is formed to break that matki. This celebration is really a fun to watch.

 Temples look impressive with full of lights and decoration. In the temple everybody do Kirtan and sing songs of lord Krishna like prayer. In some areas, devotees cook meal of over one hundred dishes, while others perform drama and dance. Some clothe and decorate the deity of Krishna while others string enormous flower garlands and other decorations for the temple. Incense burns, scriptures are read. In most of the roads or in temple, children can play with dramatic drama and people come out from home and see them.

SHRI KRISHNA

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Independence Day

India is a nation with a very rich historic background. The Independence Day, India (Swatantrata Divas) is celebrated on the 15th August to commemorate its independence from the 150 years British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. It is one of the 3 national holidays in the country. Flag hoisting and distribution of sweets is done all over the country. This is a proud day for the Indians. The prime minister raises the national flag at the Red Fort in New Delhi, and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts, which is viewed by millions of nationals. He highlights achievements of the government, important issues and gives a call for further development through his speech. On third June, Lord Mountbatten announced the partitioning of the British Empire into an India and Pakistan under the Independence Day, India act 1947. At the stroke of midnight 1947, India became an independent nation, which was preceded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's spine chiller speech titled Tryst with destiny.


Celebrations: In the capital New Delhi most of the Government Offices are lit up. Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs take place in all the state capitals. In the cities around the country the Flag Hoisting Ceremony is done by politicians belonging to that constituency. Schools and colleges around the country organize flag hoisting ceremony and various cultural activities within their respective premises. Housing colonies, cultural centers, clubs and societies hold entertainment programmers and competitions, usually based on the freedom theme. Most of all is that the people flu colorful kites in the sky. It is a long traditional thing, and the skies look very beautiful and colorful.Hence, Independence day in India is a very important and cheerful occasion.

Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi

The festival of Rakshabandhan or Rakhi is a very popularly festival celebrated in India. People all over the world also celebrate this festival. There are many legends related to this festival so also there are many significances related to this festival. This festival of Rakhi is known by various names in all the states of India but is for surely celebrated. The significance of celebration of this festival varies from region to region. All the people belonging to various communities celebrate this festival. People all over India celebrate the Rakshabandhan is basically a North and West Indian festival. On the day of Shravan Purnima, people celebrate the festival of Rakhi. The significance of this festival is different in the southern and coastal regions.

Rakhshabandhan, India is one of the most festivals. The festival of Rakhi celebrates the beautiful relation that a brother and a sister share. In India the family and family relationships are of prior importance to everybody. This is related to as Indian culture and is unlike the Western culture. Thus, Rakhi festival is a very much important festival in India. This festival helps a brother and a sister to strengthen their beautiful relation with a bond of love and care. This bond between the brother and sisters helps getting the family relations get better. On this day the sister adorn the wrist of their brothers with a frail a thread of Rakhi. This Rakhi is not just a thread but is the symbol of love and trust that a sister expresses to her brother. A sister applies a tilak on the forehead of the brother and performs traditional aarti and then ties the Rakhi. With this the sister prays for a good and a long life of her brother. The brother in turn promises for the safety and shower of love to her sister. When the sister ties a Rakhi on the wrist on brother, the brother in turn gifts his sister something. The sisters who are unable to meet their brothers also post the Rakhi's t their brothers staying abroad. Everybody will celebrate this festival with their siblings and will fancy the thread, Rakhi.

Eid-El-Fitr

India is one of the greatest examples of secularism and is home to almost all the religions of the world. The nation is the birthplace of religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism while it has a strong presence of religions like Islam, Christianity and Jews. The Hindus mainly dominate the country with almost 80% of the population being Hindus. The second largest religion in the country is Islam and hence Islamic culture and traditions are practiced greatly all over the country. The Islamic festivals are celebrated with equal zest and enthusiasm with Eid-El-Fitr, India is the most important festival for the Muslims.

Eid-El-Fitr, India marks the end of the fasting month of Ramazan. During the month of Ramazan a Muslim must fast from sunrise to sunset and must not indulge in acts like consuming alcohol or smoking during that time for an entire month. This month of fasting ends with Eid-El-Fitr, which mainly celebrates forgiveness, brotherhood and unity. On the day of Eid, every Muslim is expected to wake up early and attend the regular dawn prayers. After the prayers, the followers must eat in small quantities, which is a symbolic gesture of ending of the Ramzan fast. After breaking the fast, the Muslims again attend special ceremonial prayers that are held in the vast open courtyards of the mosques. After these prayers, the worshippers greet and wish their loved ones by embracing each other. Eid-El-Fitr, India celebrates the true Islamic spirit of self-control, devoutness and brotherhood and is one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in the country

.Eid-EL-Fitr video

Merry Christmas

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. It is celebrated on the 25th of December each year. The celebrations for Christmas start from December 24th to January 1st, the New Year Day. Prayers, plays, parties, carols and fun filled get together are the items of Christmas Festival, India. Also other issues like cakes, Christmas trees, gifts and Santa Claus are also included. The festival is celebrated with lot of happiness and fanfare all over the world. Christians and non-Christian community took part in great enthusiasm in the different festivities linked with it. Balls, Christmas trees, delicious cakes and Santa Claus distributing goods to the children are the main attractions of the festival. This pic shows the church of Goa.

Christianity was brought to India in 52 A.D. Twenty years after the crucifixion of Christ, one of his apostles, St. Thomas, is thought of to have landed on Malabar Coast. He established a few churches and converted many local people in Kerala. This was the initial Christian settlement in the subcontinent. In Christmas Festival, India, the towns and villages get ready to do brisk business and offer discounts and sales on articles. Markets are packed with huge crowds. People buy gifts for their loved ones with great thought and affection, decorations and number of items to cook. The ambience of the houses is made festive by decorating their homes to the hilt with Christmas trees, wreathes with bright red decorative baubles, festoons, bells and small trinkets. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, people hang stunning star-shaped paper lamps of different colors and sizes outside their homes. Such star lamps in Kerala are more beautiful with some patterns or cutwork designs on them. About a week before Christmas, the church, club and school choirs are greeted by people with cakes and other eatables. Christmas carols are sung in different local languages all over the country.

Republic Day

India is a country that has a great historic background especially when it came to the freedom struggle. The country won her independence on the 15th August 1947. It was two and half years later that the Indian constitution came into existence on the 26th of January 1950. It is celebrated as a national holiday to mark the transition of India from a British Dominion to a republic on the 26th of January. This is one of the 3 national holidays in India.

This occasion being a very important one, a grand parade is held at the capital, New Delhi annually. It takes place from the Raisiana Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the place of the president), along the Rajpath (path of the leaders), past India gate and on to the historic red fort. The commander in chief of the Indian armed forces that is none other but the president of India, takes the solute. The different regiments of the army, navy and the air force march past in all their finery and official decorations. The parade includes amusement displays on horses by the military men, other vibrant displays that include missiles, tanks, etc; the ceremony is traditionally ended with a flypast by the Indian air force jets. This is the largest scale celebration-taking place in India for the republic day.
Celebrations on a smaller scale are held in state capitals, where mostly the governer of the state unfurls the national flag. If he is absent for some reason, the Chief Minster takes the initiative. It is a big deal in school where children march past the hoisted tricolor flag, and have a small ceremony of their own. Sweets are distributed amongst the children. Many other places perform the flag hoisting ceremony and pay their respect the Republic day, and their nation, India.

HOLI - The Festival of India

Holi festival is celebrated as a festival of colors, which falls in the month of March.. Prominently celebrated in the northern India, it is one day when youths cuts loose. Youths color each other’s faces with dry color. Holi is full of colors and fun and sweets.

Mythology behind Holi –
Holi festival is originally celebrated to celebrate the good harvest and fertility of land. However, every festival in India is based on a mythological story. Similarly, an interesting story is associated with Holi as well. The story is centered on an arrogant King who resents his son Prahalad who is was a follower of Hindu god Vishnu. He tries to kill his son but fails in spite after several attempts. Thus the king's sister Holika converts herself into fire and sits on Prahalad. But Prahalad emerges out of the fire unscented, while Holika burns to death. Thus to commemorate the victory of Prahalad, which also signifies the victory of good over evil a huge bon fire is burnt on the eve of Holi. Holi


Similarly the festival is also celebrated to remember the eternal love of Lord Krishna and Radhika. Thus, Holi is a big celebration in Mathura and Vrindavan. The festival is celebrated over 16 days in both the cities. Along with the usual fun with colored powder and water, Holi at Mathura and Vrindavan is accompanied by folk songs, and dances.

It is one day when everyone forgets all castes and creed and enjoys together. Holi thus is also a symbol of colorful Indian culture, which integrates secularly on this day.
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VALENTINES DAY

Valentines Day is celebrated throughout the world as a day of love and bonding. St. Valentine stands as a mascot of unified love for the people who believe in celebrating this day. India being a country of different religions and castes, has also accepted this day as one of its own. A country that celebrates almost all the festivals of the world is not alien to this day of love. As the world remembers St. Valentines, India has its reasons to remember the Hindu lord of love, Kamdev. Lord Kamdev is a part of the Hindu myths and possesses a flowery bow. A belief in India says that the arrow that leaves his bow often strikes the lovers. The importance of Valentines Day in India grows every year. India being the land where the treatise of love took birth is now a part, as the world celebrates Valentines.

Ancient scriptures and sculptures have shown that India has been a land of love for many years before this day actually started being celebrated. It took a while for India to welcome the Valentines Day. This is a day of romance and love for many Indians. The youth especially take keen interest in the same. Collegians have their own innovative and stylish ways of impressing their loved ones. Exchanging gifts like teddy bears and chocolates or personalized gifts have taken a rage in India. In the metros mainly, disco's and party places have their parties and various shows organized for the people wanting to have a good time with their near and dear ones. This day gives a reason for those married to express their affection to their spouse. Jewelry is one of the main gifts exchanged and which is available in different designs in India. Flowers are the most commonly given mementos.

There are different sites available on internet by which you can send gifts or special valentines gifts to India like 

Send valentines gifts to India 

The most popular song play on valentines day

Indian song on Valentines day