Religious Festivals in India You Should Know About

Religious Festivals in India

 

Religion has historically influenced Indian society on a political, cultural, and economic level. There is a sense of pride associated with the country’s rich religious history as the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism all emerged out of India.

Religious Festival of India

The 2011 Indian census indicated that 79.8% of Indians identified as Hindu, 14.2% identified as Muslim, and 2.3% identified as Christian. A further 1.7% of the population identified as Sikh, 0.7% identified as Buddhist and 0.37% identified as Jain. Due to the massive population size of India, religious minorities still represent a significant number of people.

Here, we are going to talk about-

• Hindu Festivals in India

• Muslim Festivals in India

• Sikh Festivals in India

• Buddhist Festivals in India

• Jain Festivals in India

• Christian Festivals in India

Most religious festivals and dates of significance are based on the lunar, solar or lunisolar calendar.

 

Hindu Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

In the Hindu religion 3.6 million different gods in which tree, dog, bull included because of Hindu religion respect all of them and every day a new festival in Hindus and its depend on where you are living.

 

India has Gods for everything, like Goddess of knowledge, God of machinery, Goddess of Forests, etc., similarly we call our country Mother India or Bharat Mata. We do puja of that deity.

There are also many festivals celebrated throughout the country dedicated to the many Hindu narratives and deities.

Hindu Festivals of India List:-

 

HINDU FESTIVALS IN INDIA
S.N.	NAME	STATE	MONTH
1	Makar Sankranti	Bihar, Uttar Pradesh	January
2	Vasant Panchami	North India	January or February
3	Maha Shivaratri	North India	February
4	Holi	All Over India	February or March
5	Ram Navami	North India	March or April
6	Guru Purnima	North India	July-August
7	Nag Panchami	North India	August
8	Krishna Janmashtami	All Over India	August-September
9	Ganesh Chaturthi	Maharashtra	August-September
10	Vishwakarma Pooja	North India	September
11	Navratri/ Durga Pooja	All Over India	September-October
12	Dussehra	Maharashtra	September-October
13	Diwali	All Over India	October-November
14	Bhai Dooj	All Over India	October-November
15	Govardhan Pooja	All Over India	October-November
16	Chhath Puja	North India, Maharashtra	October-November

 

Hindu festivals include our mother nature in their celebrations. Our mother nature is considered as god and goddess and we pray our nature by considering as god. This means the Hindu or Sanatan religion is encircled around nature. We have an elephant-headed god-like Ganesha. We pray to Cow and perform various rituals during the festival with a cow. Some festivals are dedicated to these animals like Nag Panchami. We consider the Navratri as spiritual festivals. The Vishwakarma Jayanti is the festival dedicated to the god of construction. We have sun festivals.

 

During the Navratri festival, a large crowd can be seen in the Vaishno Devi temple. During Shravan month pilgrims can be seen in Shiv temples. During the Janmashtami celebration, devotees can be seen in the Iskon temple. During Durga puja, a large pandal is set up in public places in India. Some religious festivals are celebrated at the bank of river Ganga such as Kumbh Mela, Chhath puja.

 

It is common to find images of gods and goddesses in public and private spaces at all times of the year. The elephant-headed god, known as Ganesh, is particularly popular due to his believed ability to remove obstacles.

 

Muslim Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

Islam is the second most followed religion in India, influencing the country's society, culture, architecture and artistry.

 

Muslim Festivals of India List:-

MUSLIM FESTIVALS IN INDIA
S.N.	NAME	STATE	MONTH
1	Hazarat Ali’s	All Over India	February or March
2	Ramazan	All Over India	April-May
3	Jamat-ul-Vida	All Over India	May-June
4	Idul Fitr	All Over India	May-June
5	Id-ul-Zuha	All Over India	August
6	Muharram	All Over India	September
7	Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday	All Over India	November

 

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Sikh Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

Sikh festivals mainly encompass the birthdays of their ten gurus. The birthday of gurus is celebrated with an unmatched vigour and Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the scripture is taken out from gurudwaras on a decorated palanquin and public processions follow it.

Some of the most important Sikh festivals include the birthday celebration of their first Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, his successors' birthdays, Hola Mohalla, Baisakhi, and Deepawali.

 

Sikh Festivals of India List:-

SIKH FESTIVALS IN INDIA
S.N.	NAME	STATE	MONTH
1	Lohri	Punjab	January
2	Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday	All Over India	January
3	Vaisakhi	Punjab	April
4	Guru Nanak’s Birthday	All Over India	November
5	Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day	Punjab	November

Fireworks, distribution of sweets as Prasad, and feasts at the gurudwara are all an inseparable part of these festivities. Music is considered to be the strongest medium to connect with the Supreme in Sikhism hence the playing of Gurbani (musical reading of the scripture); hearty dances and their martial arts display treat the eyes of viewers during the festivals.

 

Buddhist Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

Buddhist Festivals have an important element of serenity and formal celebration such as visiting monasteries, making symbolic offerings, reflecting on Buddha's teachings and committing to the moral precepts as propounded in the Dhamma.

 

The Buddhist festivals are auspicious days to involve oneself in offering food for the poor, supplies for the temple (Giving), reinforcing moral precepts (Virtue), sitting in meditation and listening to sermons.

 

The most significant celebration which is held on the full moon night in May is the Buddha Day also called 'Vesak'. This day commemorates the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha. Buddhist followers offer food to monks, listen to sermons and circumambulate a stupa three times symbolically to pay respect to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.

 

 

Buddha’s Birthday [Buddhist] (April or May)

 

Jain Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

Jainism also originated as a countermovement that opposed some of the teachings and doctrines of early Hinduism. In modern-day India, layperson Jains usually uphold the ethical principle of ‘ahimsa’ (‘non-harm or ‘non-violence’). As such, Jains tend to promote vegetarianism and animal welfare. Another common practice in the Jain lay community is samayika, a meditative ritual intended to strengthen one's spiritual discipline. Samayika is often practiced in a religious setting, such as a temple, before a monk, or in one's home. Most Jains reside in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

 

Mahavir’s Birthday (March or April)

Paryushana (August or September)

 

Christian Festivals in India | Religious Festivals

Christianity is the third most followed religion in India mostly concentrated in the far south and Mumbai. The most prominent denomination of Christianity in India is Roman Catholicism, but there are also localized Christian churches (such as the Church of North India and the Church of South India). Converts to Christianity have come mainly from traditionally disadvantaged minorities such as lower castes and tribal groups.

Christian Festivals of India List:-

  

CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS IN INDIA
S.N.	NAME	STATE	MONTH
1	Easter	South India	March-April
2	Good Friday	South India	March-April
3	Christmas	All Over India	December

A large no of Indian festivals is celebrated every year. Each festival has its own identity and uniqueness. If you have been a part of any Indian festival and enjoy it the most, please share your wonderful moments in the comment box. We love to listen to you and your memorable part.

If you think something is missing in this article related to the festival please let us know in the comment box. We would be happy to listen to you and update your experience in our description.