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 chief assertion of religious morality is that white is a colour. Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)