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Apartamentos La Morana Lanzarote
There's
always a festival on somewhere. The harvest festivals of
the south, the immersion of Ganesh in Bombay, the car Festival
of Puri, snake-boat races in Kerala, Republic Day in Delhi...
every region, every religion has something to celebrate.
Below
is a selection of the major ones.
January
/ Feburary
- Sankranti
/ Pongal:14 Jan,2011(Friday)
Mainly Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. 3 days
and colourful
- Republic
Day:26 Jan,2011(Wednesday)
National: establishment of Republic 1950. 26th January.
Grand Military Parade and Procession of dancers etc. Delhi.
- Vasant
Panchami:08 Feb, 2011(Tuesday)
National (Mainly in the Eastern region): Hindu festival,
dedicated to Saraswati. the beautiful Goddess of Learning.
Women wear yellow saris.
Feburary
/ March:
- Shivaratri:03 Mar.,2011(Thursday)
National: Solemn worship of Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. Fasting
and chanting. Special celebrations at Chidambarum, Kalahasti,
Khajuraho, Varanasi and Bombay.
- Holi: 20mar., 2011(Sunday)
Mainly northern, popularly called the festival of colors.
Advent of Spring. Lively and much throwing of coloured
water and powders. Public Holiday.
- Mardi
Gras: 5 - 8 Mar., 2011
Goa: Mainly three days during lent. Unique celebrations
at this carnival.
March/
April:
- Ramnavami: 12 Apr., 2011(Tuesday)
National: Birth of Rama, incarnation of Vishnu. No processions.
Plays and folk theaters.
- Mahavir
Jayanti:17 Apr. 2011(Sunday)
National: Jain festival; birth of Mahavira, the 24th and
last Tirthankara.
- Easter:22 Apr. 2011(Friday)
Good Friday / Easter Sunday; National.
April
/ May
- Baisakhi:14 Apr. 2011(Thursday)
Northern India, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu; Hindu Solar
New Year. Bhangra dancing. Women wear yellow saris.
June
/ July:
- Rath
Yatra: 03 July,2011(Sunday)
Mainly Orissa. Greatest temple festival in honour of Lord
Jagannath (Lord of the Universe). Three colossal chariots
drawn from Puri temple by thousands of pilgrims. Similar
festivals, on a smaller scale, take place at Ramnagar
(near Varanasi), Serampore (near Calcutta) and Jagannathpur
(near Ranchi).
July
/ August:
- Teej:03 Aug., 2011(Wednesday)
Rajasthan- Particularly Jaipur: Procession of the Goddess
Parvati to welcome monsoon; elephants, camels, dancers
etc. Women wear green saris. Colourful.
- Raksha
Bandhan:13 Aug., 2011(Saturday)
Northern and Western India. Legendary reenactment, girls
tie rakhis or talismen to men’s wrists. Colourful build
up.
- Naag
Panchami:04 Aug., 2011(Thursday)
Mainly Jodphur, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Dedicated to
the green thousand-headed mythical serpent called Sesha.
The day is also observed in many other parts of Western
and Eastern India.
- Id-Ul-Fitr
(Ramzan Id):30 Aug., 2011(Tuesday)
Muslim, National: Celebration to mark the end of the month
of Ramadan.
August
/ September:
- Independence
Day :15th Aug., 2011(Monday)
National: Independence Day. Prime Minister delivers address
from Delhi’s Red Fort.
- Janmashtami:22 Aug., 2011(Monday)
National, particularly Agra, Bombay and Mathura; Lord
Krishna’s birthday.
- Onam: 01 Sept., 2011(Thursday)
Kerala’s Harvest Festival; spectacular snake boat races
in many parts of Kerala.
- Ganesh
Chaturthi: 01 Sept., 2011(Thursday)
Mainly Pune, Orissa, Bombay, Madras, dedicated to elephant-headed
God Ganesh. Giant models of the deity processed and immersed
in water. Colourful, and a particularly worth visiting
on the Day of immersion at Bombay.
September
/ October:
- Dussehra:06 Oct. 2011(Thursday)
National: The most popular festival in the country, celebrated
in different ways in different parts of the country. In
the north and particularly in Delhi (where it is known
as Ram Lila), plays and music recall the life of Rama;
in Kulu, the festival is also very colourful celebrated.
In Bengal and many parts of Eastern India it is known
as Durga Puja, and in the South as Navaratri.
- Fair:27 Oct., 2011(Thursday)
Himachal Pradesh: Kulu Valley to coincide with Dussehra
(10 days).
- Gandhi
Jayanti: 02 Oct., 2011(Sunday)
National: Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. No processions.
- Diwali:26 Oct.,2011(Wenesday)
National: One of the most lively and colourful festivals
in India. In some parts, it marks the start of the Hindu
New Year. In Eastern India, the goddess Kali is particularly
worshipped; elsewhere, it is Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity,
who is venerated. Everywhere there are magnificent illuminations
and fireworks.
- Gurpurab:
10 Nov. 2011(Thursday)
Mainly in northern India. Anniversaries of ten gurus,
spiritual teachers or preceptors of Sikhism. No procession.
November:
- Id-Ul-Zuha
(Bakrid):06 Nov., 2011(Sunday)
Muslim, National: The most celebrated Islamic festival
in India, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.
- Muharram:26 Nov. 2011(Saturday)
Muslim. Commemoration of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom. Tiger
dancers lead processions of colourful replicas of martyr’s
tomb. Colourful, particularly at Lucknow.
- Pushkar
Mela:2 - 10 Nov. 2011
Pushkar, near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Important and colourful.
Camel and cattle fair, attended by Rajputs from miles
around. Camel races and acrobatics etc.
December:
- Christmas
Day: 25 Dec. 2011(Sunday)
National: Most exuberantly celebrated in Goa, Bombay and
Tamil Nadu.
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