Hindu Religious Festivals
See also: List of Hindu festivalsHindus observe sacred occasions by festive observances. All festivals in Hinduism are predominantly religious in character and significance. Many festivals are seasonal. Some celebrate harvest and birth of God or heroes. Some are dedicated to important events in Hindu mythology. Many are dedicated to Shiva and Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi and Brahma and Saraswati
A festival may be observed with acts of worship, offerings to deities, fasting, feasting, vigil, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, Homa, aarti etc. They celebrate individual and community life of Hindus without distinction of caste, gender or class.
'Utsava' is the Sanskrit word for Hindu festivals, meaning 'to cause to grow 'upward'.
In the Hindu calendar dates are usually prescribed according to the lunar calendar. In vedic timekeeping, a tithi is a lunar day.
Hindu festivals include:
- Diwali
- Gudi padwa
- Pongal
- Holi
- Navratri
- Ganesh Chaturthi
- Raksha Bhandan
- Krishna Janmashtami
- Dussehra
- Dasara
- Onam
- Vijayadashami
- Shivaratri
- Ugadi
Read more about this topic: Religious Festival
Famous quotes containing the words religious and/or festivals:
“The short lesson that comes out of long experience in political agitation is something like this: all the motive power in all of these movements is the instinct of religious feeling. All the obstruction comes from attempting to rely on anything else. Conciliation is the enemy.”
—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)