Festivals
When each festival falls, the stories behind it, and the puja vidhi step by step.
Chhath Puja
Four days of purity and fasting, and an offering to the setting and the rising sun
Chhath Puja is a four-day festival of the Sun God, Surya, and Chhathi Maiya, held from Kartik Shukla Chaturthi to Saptami, six days after Diwali, usually in October or November. Devotees, mostly women but also men, keep a demanding fast, including about 36 hours without water, and stand in rivers and ponds to offer arghya to the setting sun and then to the rising sun.
Diwali (Deepavali)
Five nights of lamps, when Lakshmi is welcomed into every home
Diwali, or Deepavali ("a row of lamps"), is the five-day festival of lights whose main night is the Amavasya (new moon) of Kartik in the North Indian calendar, usually in October or November. Families clean and light their homes, worship Lakshmi and Ganesha at dusk, and remember Rama's return to Ayodhya, Krishna's victory over Narakasura and the generosity of King Bali.
Dussehra (Vijayadashami)
The tenth day of victory: Rama over Ravana, Durga over Mahishasura
Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, is celebrated on Ashvin Shukla Dashami, the day after the nine nights of Sharad Navratri, usually in September or October. In North India it marks Rama's victory over Ravana, with Ramlila plays and the burning of Ravana's effigy; in the east and south it marks the Goddess's triumph over Mahishasura, with Durga's farewell, Shami puja, Ayudha Puja and the start of new learning.
Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganapati comes home: ten days of modak, aarti and farewell
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, usually in August or September. Families and communities install a clay image of Ganapati at midday, worship him for one and a half to ten days, and immerse him with the cry 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' on or before Anant Chaturdashi.
Holi
The full-moon bonfire and the morning of colours that welcome spring
Holi is the spring festival held on the Purnima (full moon) of Phalguna, usually in March. On the full-moon evening a bonfire, Holika Dahan, recalls how the devotee Prahlada was saved while the demoness Holika burned; the next morning people play with colours in memory of Krishna and Radha's joyful play in Braj.
Karwa Chauth
A day-long fast that ends at moonrise, kept for a spouse's long life
Karwa Chauth is a fast kept mainly by married women in North and North-West India on the Krishna Chaturthi (fourth day of the waning moon) of Kartik, about nine to eleven days before Diwali. Women fast from sunrise, usually without water, worship Parvati, Shiva and Ganesha in the evening with a clay pot (karwa), and break the fast after seeing the moon and offering it water.
Krishna Janmashtami
The midnight birth of Krishna, awaited with fasting, song and a swinging cradle
Krishna Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, on the Krishna Ashtami (eighth day of the waning moon) of Bhadrapada in the North Indian calendar, usually in August or September. Devotees fast through the day and worship the infant Krishna at midnight, the hour of his birth in Kamsa's prison in Mathura.
Maha Shivaratri
The great night of Shiva, kept awake in fasting, prayer and abhishek
Maha Shivaratri is the great night of Lord Shiva, observed on the Krishna Chaturdashi (14th day of the waning moon) of Phalguna in the North Indian calendar, called Magha in the South, usually in February or March. Devotees fast, stay awake through the night, and bathe the Shivalinga with water, milk and bilva leaves in four watches, chanting Om Namah Shivaya.
Makar Sankranti
The sun turns north: a harvest festival of til, kites and new rice across India
Makar Sankranti marks the sun's entry into Makara (Capricorn) in the sidereal zodiac, which now falls on 14 or 15 January. Unlike most Hindu festivals it follows the solar calendar, so its date barely changes. It is celebrated across India as a harvest thanksgiving, with holy dips, sesame-and-jaggery sweets and kites, and appears in regional forms such as Pongal, Lohri and Magh Bihu.
Navratri (Sharad and Chaitra)
Nine nights of the Goddess, twice a year, at the turning of the seasons
Navratri, "nine nights", is the festival of the Goddess Durga celebrated twice a year: Sharad Navratri from Ashvin Shukla Pratipada to Navami (September–October), followed by Vijayadashami, and Chaitra Navratri from Chaitra Shukla Pratipada to Ram Navami (March–April). Devotees install a kalash, fast, read the Devi Mahatmya and worship the nine forms of Durga, one each day.
Raksha Bandhan
A thread of protection, tied with love on the full moon of Shravan
Raksha Bandhan, "the bond of protection", is celebrated on Shravana Purnima, the full moon of the monsoon month of Shravan, usually in August. Sisters tie a rakhi on their brothers' wrists and pray for their well-being, and brothers promise to protect them; the ritual itself goes back to the Puranic custom of tying a protective raksha sutra with a mantra.
Ram Navami
The noon birth of Shri Rama, on the ninth day of spring's bright fortnight
Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, on Chaitra Shukla Navami, the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, usually in March or April. It closes the nine days of Chaitra Navratri. Devotees fast, read the Ramayana, and worship the infant Rama at midday, the hour of his birth in Ayodhya according to the Valmiki Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas.