Indian Festivals At A Glance – Details, episodes & analysis

Eid-ul-Fitr is  the biggest festival of Muslims. It is celebrated across the world with a lot of fervor, more so because it is celebrated after the holy month of Ramadan, where followers of Islam fast for 30 days where they do not eat or drink during the day, but only eat twice during Sehri, which is right before sunrise, and Iftaar which is right after sunset. During the month of Ramadhan, Muslims also do charity and follow a lot of discipline. 

After 30 days, according to the sighting of the moon, known as Chand Raat, Eid is celebrated the next day. On the day of Eid, people go to Eidgaah to pray, make sweets like Sevaiyaan, (giving the name "Meethi Eid" to this festival") and give Eidi to little ones. At several places Eid Fairs are held where people especially children do a lot of stall hopping. 

Eid-ul-Fitr is a festival of happiness, joy and good will. To know more about it, listen to the Podcast.

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Easter is a festival celebrated by Christians all across the world. Even in India, the followers of Christianity celebrated this festival. 

This day marks the resurrection of Lord Jesus after three days of his crucifixion. 

According to history, Jesus Christ had a huge followership among people. Fearing this, the royals arrested him on various charges and gave him an execution sentence. Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday known as Good Friday or Black Friday. The Following Sunday, he appeared in front of his followers, which is why this day is celebrated as Easter. On Good Friday people wear black clothes and go to churches to pay their respect and prayers, and on Easter Sunday they decorate eggs and Easter Bunnies and celebrate Jesus's resurrection.

Listen in to know more about this famous festival. 

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Lohri is a very famous Indian Festival, which is a traditional winter festival, celebrated in North India, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Delhi.

The origin of the festival can be traced back to the legend of Dulla Bhatti, a famous  hero of Punjab, who led a rebellion against Mughal emperor Akbar.

Lohri also marks the end of the winter solstice, when the days start to become longer than the nights. It is also a time when harvest of the rabi crops is celebrated.

One the day of Lohri, little children run between houses singing "Sundar Mundariye"  the tale of Dulla Bhatti, and ask for money which elders gladly pay as token of respect towards this legendary Hero

In the night, Lohri, is celebrated by lighting a bonfire, which is considered to be a symbol of fertility. People wear radiant clothes, socialize, sing and dance around the fire on various folksongs.

The highlight of Lohri is the products made from the January harvest, especially sugarcane. Things like Jaggery, gajjak, rewaries, chikki and popcorns.   

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New Year is the biggest festival of the world. It is considered as one of the the global events. New Year is celebrated on 1st January every year.

It is the day when at the stroke of 12 am, the calendar changes to a brand new year. 

Normally the new year festivities are continued from the Christmas Day, the holiday season culminates with this day and new year is welcomes with opened arms. 

In ancient times, New Year was celebrated in March, but around 45 BC, 1st January was decided as the New Day of the year. 

In many parts of the world new year is celebrated with friends and family amid lot of pomp and show. Each country has their own count down to 12 midnight to wish each other a Happy New Year.

Alternatively, in many parts of the world there are other significant days when people celebrate new year. 

Listen in to know more about the New Year celebrations.

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December is the favorite time of the year as the holiday season begins this time. It is the time to deck the halls up with stockings, lights, stars, bells, candles, and not to forget traditional Christmas songs.

For kids, Christmas is all about presents, chocolates, lights, holidays, family, and dinner. Children decorate Christmas trees and wait for Santa Claus to get them gifts.

But does your child know about the story of Jesus Christ? Christmas is celebrated every year on December 25th, the date of birth of Jesus Christ. This festival is the biggest festivals of Christians and in some countries it marks the holiday season too. It is celebrated across the world with different customs and rituals with Christmas carols, and stars on Christmas tree. 

The true spirit of Christmas lies in the birth story of Jesus Christ which is explained in our Christmas podcast.

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Gurpurab commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Sikh Guru. Gurpurab, one of the most holy holidays, falls on the Guru Purniama of the Kartik month. Guru Nanak Jayanti otherwise called Gurpurab, is the main celebration for the devotees of the religion of Sikhism. The celebration is celebrated on arrival of Kartik Poornima, which is the fifteenth lunar day in the long stretch of Kartik as depicted by the Hindu schedule, and typically falls in the period of November by the Gregorian schedule.

The celebrations in Gurudwaras begin two days before Guru Nanak Jayanti. Akhand Path is a 48-hour continuous recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib. A parade named Nagarkirtan is organised a day before Guru Nanak's birthday. The march is led by five men known as the Panj Pyare, who carry the Nishan Sahib, a Sikh three-sided flag. On the day of Gurpurab, a unique Langar is served. The concept of Langar was first started by Guru Nanak Ji himself. Night prayer sessions are also held at several Gurdwaras on this special day.

The list of nine other Sikh Gurus who preached the teachings of Guru Nanak Ji are:

• Guru Angad Ji
• Guru Amar Das Ji
• Guru Ram Das Ji
• Guru Arjan Ji
• Guru Hargobind Ji
• Guru Har Rai Ji
• Guru Har Krishan Ji
• Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
• Guru Gobind Singh Ji

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Bhai dooj is one of the most loved and cherished Indian Festivals which celebrates the love between a brother and a sister. This Festival is celebrated after two days of Diwali. On this day brothers visit their married sisters with gifts and sisters put a tilak on their brothers' foreheads and accept gifts from them, celebrating the festival of Bhai Dooj

Among the many Indian festivals, the significance of Bhai dooj is that, the sisters pray for the long lives of their brothers. According to the legend, Yamuna, Yamraj's sister requests him to lend long life to those brothers, whose sister's put a tilak on their foreheads. This gave way to the festival of Bhai Dooj.

Bhai Dooj, like many other Indian festivals, is celebrated in various parts of the country with different rituals and names, like Bhaubeej in Maharashtra, Bhai Tika in Nepal, and Bhai Phonta in West Bengal, but one thing in common is the love between a brother and sister.

For more Indian Festivals, listen to more episodes.

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Diwali festival is the festival of lights. It is one of the main Indian Festivals, which falls at a time when people are preparing the starting of Winters. 

Diwali Festival is also called Deepavali, which means a row of lights. It falls on the New Moon Night of Kartik month according to Hindu calender. 

Significance of Diwali is that it is celebrated to commemorate Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya after defeating demon king Ravana with the help of his brother Lakshman, Lord Hanuman and his Vaanar Sena and rescuing Sitaji from him. It is believed that this return was celebrated by the people of Ayodhya by lighting diyas and illuminating the entire city, thus it is called Festival of Lights.

How people celebrate Diwali in India: People in the entire country start preparing for this one of the greatest Indian Festivals by starting to clean their houses, color them etc. They also celebrate this festival for at least five days. Day 1 is DhanTeras, Day 2 is Narak Chaudas, Day 3 is Main Diwali, Day 4 is Govardhan Pooja, and day % is Bhai Dooj. On the main day they wear new traditional clothes, pray to Goddess Lakshmi, illuminate their houses with candles, diyas and lights, and burst crackers to express their happiness.

There are various other reasons why Diwali is celebrated as one of the popular Indian Festivals in the country, to know them, listen in to the entire podcast.

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Indian festivals are well-known throughout the world. Among all the Indian festivals, one stands out in the Hindu lunar calendar month of Kartik, It is Karwa Chauth. On this day, Hindu ladies anxiously wait for the moon to appear in the sky. It is an annual one-day holiday observed by married Hindu women during which they fast from dawn to moonrise and pray for their husbands.

Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are among the states that commemorate Karwa Chauth. Women dress up in new outfits and 'solah shringar' and offer prayers in order to ensure a happy and beautiful marriage.

During the festival, ladies observe a 'Nirjala' fast, during which they do not eat or drink water for the entire day and give prayers to numerous Gods. Karva Chauth is linked to a number of mythological stories. One of the most well-known is the story of Savitri and Satyavan, in which the woman used her prayer and devotion to bring her husband back from Yamraj. 

Veeravati, the only sister of seven loving brothers, has a similar story. The brothers couldn't stand seeing her fast for the entire day, so they tricked her into thinking the moon had appeared. Veervati broke her fast only to learn of her husband's death shortly after. She pleaded for a year, and the Gods were so happy with her devotion that they returned her husband back.

The Karva Chauth celebrations begin before 4 a.m., when married women get up before the sun rises and get ready. The daughter-in-law is then expected to eat the Sargi (a dish eaten before sunrise on Karva Chauth) that her mother-in-law has prepared for her.

Roli, rice, diya, Chalni, sweets, and a glass of water make up the puja plate. Women sit in a circle and pass their plates back and forth. They perform songs on this day and tell the story of Savitri and Satyvaan, as well as Veervati. When the moon is fully visible, women chant prayers while gazing at the moon and their husband through the chalni. The husband then feed their wife and offer water. Thus, this is how the Karwa Chauth fast is broken.

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Dussehra, also known as Vijayadashami, is a Hindu festival that commemorates the triumph of good over evil.  Dusshera is celebrated on the tenth day of Ashvin, the seventh month of the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar, which occurs between September and October in the Gregorian calendar.

In different parts of the India, Vijayadashami or Dusshera is commemorated and celebrated for different reasons. Vijayadashami is the end of Durga Puja in India's southern, eastern, northeastern, and some northern states. The event is known as Dussehra in the northern, central, and western states, and it commemorates lord Rama's victory over Ravan at the end of Ramlila.

In the famous Hindu epic Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Rama's wife Sita in the Ramayana to take revenge on Rama and Lakshmana for cutting off Surpanakha's nose. In the end, Rama triumphs over Ravana and saves Sita. The triumph is then commemorated by the burning of the effigies of Ravana. The tenth day, Dussehra, is the end of Navratri's nine-day celebrations.

According to another legend, Goddess Durga battled and killed Mahishasura on this day. The day is known as Vijayadashmi. The nine days leading up to Vijayadashami are dedicated to a different powerful manifestation of Goddess Durga.

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