India, being a multicultural and multireligious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. There are three national holidays in India: Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti. In addition, many states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra , the Islamic festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr, Muharram, Ramadan which are celebrated throughout the country. In addition, the Sikh festivals such as Guru Nanak Jayanti and the Christian festival of Christmas are celebrated in certain areas where these religions have a significant following. The following is a List of Festivals in India:
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Hinduism
Hindus celebrate a number of Festivals all through the year. From celebrating the advent of spring to celebrating the win of good over evil, Hindu religion and culture provide its followers endless reasons to celebrate. Given below is the list of just a few of these festivals that are celebrated with great zest and fervour.
- Diwali or Deepawali
- Dussehra or Daserra
- Holi
- Buddha Purnima (Buddha Jayanti or Vesak)
- Ayya Vaikunda Avataram
- Raksha Bandhan
- Krishna Janmastami
- Durga Puja
- Maha Shivaratri
- Bhai Dooj
- Ramanavami
- Guru Purnima
- Baisakhi
- Laxmi puja
- Saraswati Puja
- Sankranthi
Islamic
- Chand Raat
- Eid-ul-Azha (or Eid-ul-Adha or in slang Bakra-Eid)
- Eid-ul-Fitr
- Muharram (day of mourning observed by Shiites only)
- Ramzan
- Milad-un-nabi
Christian
Sikhism
- Diwali
- Guru Nanak's Birthday Jayanti
- Guru Govind Singh's Birthday Jayanti
- Guru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom Day
- Baisakhi
Zoroastrian
The Parsis account for less than 0.007% of the Indian population, but as Mahatma Gandhi said, they are "in number beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare." The same could be said of their festivals. Unfortunately, like the Parsis themselves, these are private and celebrated primarily within the community. The Parsis use the Shahenshahi ("Imperial") version of the Zoroastrian calendar, which differs significantly from the Qadimi ("Ancient") version that their Iranian co-religionists use. For example, New Year is celebrated in the spring by Iranians but falls in late summer for Parsis. In addition to seasonal festivals, called Gahambars, the most eminent celebratory occasions are listed below.
- Maidyozarem Gahambar - Mid-Spring Festival. Early October.
- Maidyoshahem Gahambar - Mid-Summer Festival. Early December
- Paitishahem Gahambar - Festival of bringing in the harvest. Mid February.
- Ayathrem Gahambar - Festival if bringing home the herds. Mid March.
- Maidyarem Gahambar - Mid-Winter Festival. Lit. 'Mid-Year'. Early June.
- Hamaspathmaidyem or Muktad - All Souls Festival. Cf. Día de los Meurtos
- Pateti - New Year's Day Eve. August-September.
- Jamshed-e Navroz - New Year's Day, (Norouz). August-September.
- Jashan-e Sadeh - Festival of Fire. Lit. the 100th day (before Navroz).
- Jashan-e Mehragan - Festival of Mihr. A day of thanksgiving dedicated to the highest Angel, Mithra (c.f. Metatron).
- Jashan-e Tirigan - Festival of Tir. A day dedicated to Tishtrya, Angel of the star Sirius and rain.
- Farvardigan - Festival of the Farohars ('guardian angels').
- Khordad Sal - Birthday of the Prophet Zarathushtra.
- Zartosht No-Diso - Anniversary commemorating the death of the Prophet Zarathushtra.
See also: Zoroastrian calendar
