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    Festivals of India : Hindu Festivals & Fairs Part 2 (Illustrated)
    Festivals of India : Hindu Festivals & Fairs Part 2 (Illustrated)
    Festivals of India : Hindu Festivals & Fairs Part 2 (Illustrated)
    Ebook159 pages1 hour

    Festivals of India : Hindu Festivals & Fairs Part 2 (Illustrated)

    By Vyanst

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    About this ebook

    India is known as the land of Festivals. The "Festivals of India" series makes an effort to present the history and information about these festivals.
    Man of every religion resides in India, therefore, every festival from Christmas to Id to GuruPurab to Diwali is celebrated here. There are festivals celebrated throughout the year.
    This book is the first part in the series and peeps into the importance of various Hindu religion festivals celebrated in each part of India. One can know the reason behind the celebration of Holi, Navratri, Ugadi, Onam or even the special melas (fairs) such as Kumbh Mela or Pushkar Camel Fair. These festivals are an integral part of Indian Culture.
    This book is hence an appropriate guide for inquisitive people who wish to know the festivals that are celebrated throughout India.
    The book has lot of high quality images for the real time celebrations of most of the festivals. Due to size restrictions the book is divided into two parts and this is the second part. The part 1 has 25 festivals and this part - 2 contains remaining Hindu festivals and fairs arranged in the alphabetical order of their English names, from 26 through 51, as below:-
    #26 Lohri
    #27 Mahamaham Festival
    #28 Maha Shivaratri
    #29 Makar Sankranti / Pongal
    #30 Mauni Amavasya
    #31 Naga Panchami
    #32 Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra
    #33 Navaratri / Durga Puja
    #34 Navreh
    #35 Nirjala Ekadashi
    #36 Onam
    #37 Pitru Paksha
    #38 Pola
    #39 Raksha Bandhan / Rakhi festival / Narali Purnima
    #40 Ram Navami
    #41 Rath Yatra
    #42 Skanda Shasthi
    #43 Teej
    #44 Thaipusam
    #45 Tulasi Vivah
    #46 Ugadi / Gudi Padwa
    #47 Vaikuntha Ekadashi / Mokshada Ekadasi
    #48 Varalakshmi Vratam
    #49 Vadsavitri / Vat Purnima
    #50 Vishwakarma Day
    #51 Special Melas & Fairs: 51.1 - Gangasagar Mela
    #51.2 Pushkar Fair
    #51.3 Sonepur Mela
    #51.4 Tarnetar Fair

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherVyanst
    Release dateDec 23, 2014
    ISBN9781311778727
    Festivals of India : Hindu Festivals & Fairs Part 2 (Illustrated)

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      Book preview

      Festivals of India - Vyanst

      FESTIVALS OF INDIA

      HINDU FESTIVALS & FAIRS – PART 2

      (ILLUSTRATED)

      BY VYANST

      ILLUSTRATED & EDITED BY PRAFUL B, GURIVI G FROM VYANST

      Festivals of India: Hindu Festivals & Fairs – Part 2 (Illustrated)

      By Vyanst

      Illustrated by Praful B, Gurivi G from Vyanst

      Copyright © 2014 Vyanst

      All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Note

      This is the part 2 of our series Festivals of India: Hindu Festivals & Fairs. The book has been divided into two parts due to size restrictions. The first part had 25 Hindu festivals, and each festival was presented as a separate chapter arranged in the alphabetical order of the English name of the festival . This second part starts with Chapter 26 – Lohri Festivals and continues till Chapter 51 – Special Melas and Fairs.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      CHAPTER 26

      LOHRI

      CHAPTER 27

      MAHAMAHAM FESTIVAL

      CHAPTER 28

      MAHA SHIVARATRI

      CHAPTER 29

      MAKAR SANKRANTI / PONGAL

      CHAPTER 30

      MAUNI AMAVASYA

      CHAPTER 31

      NAG PANCHAMI

      CHAPTER 32

      NANDA DEVI RAJ JAT YATRA

      CHAPTER 33

      NAVARATRI & DURGA PUJA

      CHAPTER 34

      NAVREH

      CHAPTER 35

      NIRJALA EKADASHI

      CHAPTER 36

      ONAM

      CHAPTER 37

      PITRU PAKSHA

      CHAPTER 38

      POLA

      CHAPTER 39

      RAKSHA BANDHAN / RAKHI BANDHAN

      CHAPTER 40

      RAM NAVAMI

      CHAPTER 41

      RATH YATRA

      CHAPTER 42

      SKANDA SHASTHI

      CHAPTER 43

      TEEJ

      CHAPTER 44

      THAIPUSAM

      CHAPTER 45

      TULASI VIVAH

      CHAPTER 46

      UGADI / GUDI PADWA

      CHAPTER 47

      VAIKUNTHA EKADASHI

      CHAPTER 48

      VARALAKSHMI VRATAM

      CHAPTER 49

      VADSAVITRI / VAT PURNIMA

      CHAPTER 50

      VISHWAKARMA DAY

      CHAPTER 51

      OTHER MELAS & FAIRS

      GANGASAGAR MELA

      PUSHKAR MELA

      SONEPUR MELA

      TARNETAR FAIR

      CHAPTER 26

      LOHRI

      When : January 13

      In honor of : Harvest festival

      About :

      Lohri is a festival of harvest. This seasonal celebration falls on the thirteenth day of January in North India. The states of Punjab and Haryana generally observe the festival. Almost all communities of these states hold festivities with much fun and feasting. It is an evening festival. After the sunset a huge bonfire is collected and lit.

      People of all ages gather around the bonfire in colorful clothes and begin to dance joyfully. In the bonfire, sugarcane stalks and patched rice goods are thrown. The menfolk perform their foot-taping`'Bhangra' dance. They move to the beat of the dholaks but the women enact the more gentle 'Gidda' dance.

      People offer rewards such as peanuts, popcorn, podded rice and odder sweets to one another. Lohri is considered as a good-luck day for farmers. The farmers celebrate a better harvest and get ready for the next sowing season. On this day children are free to engage in flying kites. Lohri is a fun-filled festival for everyone.

      Lohri celebrations :

      Lohri is not just a festival for the people of Punjab, but a symbol of life. This harvesting festival is associated with hopes of farmers, as they believe that the fields promise a golden yield to them. The festival is extremely special for newly wed couples as they would be celebrating their first Lohri together. Apart from the newly wed couples, Lohri is also special for couples who have been blessed with new born baby. However, the traditional approach has today changed and paved way for the festival which is today seen more as an occasion of get-together for families.

      Children visit every house in their neighborhood asking for their contributions for bonfires to be lit in the evening and also inviting them. They sing songs of Lohri in the praise of Dulha Bhatti, the Punjabi version of Robin Hood, creating a festive mood all over the place. They start collecting fire woods and wooden twigs one week before the festival actually arrives. These fire woods are arranged in a circular manner to form a huge bonfire. Traditional food is prepared on this occasion for dinner that includes sarson ka saag, makki ki roti and for desserts; there are numerous sweets like rau di kheer, ganne ki kheer, pinnie, atta ladoos, coconut chikki, dry fruit chikki, kurmura ladoos and shengdana chikki.

      People dress in new clothes and gather around the bonfire in the evening. They lit and offer prasad to the sacred fire. This prasad comprises of five main things, namely, til, gur, moongfali, phuliya and popcorn. The people then offer prayers to the fire for abundant crops and prosperity. Thereafter, they greet each other by wishing Happy Lohri and spreading the feeling of love and happiness all around. Traditional Lohri songs and dances like bhangra and gidda simply add to the celebration of Lohri. Children and women get an extra attention on this occasion. The entire atmosphere creates a perfect ambience of Lohri.

      Legend :

      There are some interesting socio-cultural and folk-legends connected with Lohri. One such is the tale of Dulla Bhatti, a Muslim highway robber who stayed in Punjab during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Besides robbery, he also rescued Hindu girls being forcibly taken to be sold in slave market of the Middle East. He helped them in getting married to Hindu boys by performing the ceremony following all Hindu rituals and even provided them with dowries. Thereby, though a bandit, he became a hero of all Punjabis. So Lohri song are recited to express gratitude to Dulla Bhatti.

      By the end of the first week of January, small groups of boys ring the doorbell of houses and start chanting the Lohri songs related to Dulla Bhatti. In turn, the people give them popcorn, peanuts, crystal sugar, sesame seeds (til) or jaggery (gur) as well as money. Turning them back empty-handed is regarded inauspicious.

      Some believe that Lohri has derived its name from Loi, the wife of Sant Kabir, for in rural Punjab Lohri is pronounced as Lohi. Others believe that Lohri comes from the word 'loh', a thick iron sheet tawa used for

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