Hindu

Hindu life is replete with celebrations of all kinds. There are holidays and other religious festivals and birthday anniversaries of gods and mythological heroes. Which, as a rule, are observed every year. But there are other occasional ceremonies evoking special forms of worship and sacrificial offerings. They include ceremonies to obtain or to avert rain. Hail-storms or floods and to prevent epidemics or cattle disease etc. so also many ceremonies and good works by which punya (spiritual merit) may be acquired, such as the performance of Yatra, Homa, Ramlila, Rasas, the construction of temples, the digging of wells or tanks, the planting of mango groves and so forth, while there are many propitiatory ceremonies in which the aid of spirits is solicited for the successful performance of rites of marriage, birth and death.

Every year a Hindu generally goes through the following cycle of feasts and festivals:

Gudhi Padva

The first of caitra is called Gudhi-padva it being the New Year of Hindus observing the Salivahana Saka (era). with this day begins the new season, the spring. It is ushered in by house-holders by setting up in front of the house a Gudhi, i.e., a bamboo pole capped with a small silver or brass pot and a new piece of cloth hanging to it as a flag, and offering it a routine worship. Eating a mixture of nim leaves, gul and cumin seeds is a special observance for the day. The day is considered auspicious for building or entering a new house, putting a child to school, or starting a business.

Ram Navami

On the bright ninth of the same month is celebrated the anniversary of the birthday of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Visnu and the hero of Ramayana. People flock in holiday dress to Sri Rama's temple where a silk doll is made to represent Rama and all the ceremonials connected with child birth are gone through. Exactly at 12 noon the Haridas announces the birth by tossing gulal (red powder) and the Babe is then cradled. Arati, distribution of sunthavada (mixture of ginger and sugar), tirthaprasad, and kirtana and bhajana in praise of Rama are the usual functions held at the festival.

Hanuman Jayanti

On the full-moon day of caitra exactly at sunrise a festival is arranged in the temple of Hanuman to celebrate his birth.

Maha Ekadasi

The Ekadasi (eleventh day) occurring in the bright halves of Asadha ano Kartika are considered very sacted. They mark the beginnig and the end of Caturmas (four holy months) and are observed as fast and prayer days by a very large section of Hindus. Followers of Varkari sect make it a point to visit the temple of vithoba of pandharpur on those days.

Gokulastami

On dark eighth of sravana falls the Gokulastami festival in honour of Sri Krishna's birthday. Exact midnight of this day was the time of birth of Lord Krsna and the next day the Babe was taken to Gokul. The way the occasion is celebrated varies from place to place. Usually people fast on the astami day, worship a clay-image of the Babe at midnight and celebrate the birth with the distribution of sunthavada. They break their fast that night with feasting or the strict may postpone it to the next day of dahikala or Gokul-day when a boisterous play-ritual of breaking the handi is celebrated in temple.

Pola

The principal festival of the Kunbis and other agricultural castes is the Pola, falling at about the middle of rainy season (sravan Vad 30) when they have procession of plough-bullocks. An old bullock goes first, and on his horns is tied the makhar, a wooden frame with pegs to which torches are affixed. They make a rope of mango-leaves stretched between two posts, and the makhar bullock is made to break this and stampede back to the village followed by all the other cattle. It is said the makhar bullock will die within three years. Behind him come the bullocks of proprietors and then those of the tenants in the order no so much of their wealth, but of their standing in the village and of the traditional position held by their families. A Kunbi feels very bitterly if he is not given what he considers to be his proper rank in this procession. Bullock and cart races are also held on the day, the winners receiving salutary prizes.

Ganes Caturthi

On the bright fourth of Bhadrapada falls the birthday of Ganes, the god of learning. A painted clay figure of the Elephant-headed God is specially purchased for the day from image-vendors and worshipped with offerings of modak (sweet balls). A special feature of the festival is that in towns, apart from the function in t he family, the worship is celebrated on a community scale by public contribution and with the added attraction of religious and semi-social programmes held each day during each day during the festival. Out of a superstition still current, a person avoids looking at the moon on the Caturthi-day lest he might get involved in a baseless theft charge.

Gauri-Pujan

Conjoined to the Ganapati festival women hold a celebration in honour of Parvati or Gauri the mother of Ganes. The first day is Gauryavahan, the ivitation to Gauri, second one is Gauri-pujan, the wrship of the goddess and the last day is Gaurivisarjan, the immersion day.

Dasara

In the month of Asvina falls the great festival of Navaratra (nine nights) culminating in Dasara, so called form dasa (ten) and ahar (days0 if being a ten-day festival in honour of the goddess, Durga. It is also called by Hindus as Vajaya Dasami, the day of victory gained by Rama over his enemy Ravan, the demon king of Lanka (Celyon). It is also the day on which the goddess Kali vanquished the buffalo-demon Mahisasur, and in some places it was once customary to sacrifice a buffalo on the day. The offering of goats is usual, and those who cannot or will not make any animal sacrifice adopt a substitute in the shape of a white pumpkin supported on four sticks resembling the legs of a goat. The first nine days are known as Narvaratra (nine nights ) on the first day being performed Ghatasthapana or the invocation of the goddess to be present in ghata (jar). On the tenth day every householder worships his caste insignia represented by tools and implements, a Teli will worship his oil-machine, a Kayastha his inkstand, a blacksmith his anvil and hammer, a Brahman his holy books and so on. They have sumptuous meals at noon and towards evening they don holiday attire and gather together to worship sami (presenpis specigara) or in its absence the Apta (Bauhima racemosa ) tree. On this day the leaves of Apta are supposed to symbolise gold and are exchanged while greeting one another. The Dasara day is considered highly auspicious for the undertaking of any new work or business.

Divali

Twenty days after the Disara comes Divali, when Laksmi, the Goddess of wealth is worshipped, she is supposed to pass ove rthe land distributing her gifts of riches; all therefore illuminate their houses and shops in order that they may not be ovelooked. The lights are often tastefully and beautifully arranged and the festival is one of the prettiest of the whole year. Two days after Diwali comes yama Dvitiya when yama the God of Death was entertained by his sister at the river yamuna(jamna) in the Uttar Prades. On this day brothers visit their sister and are entertained by them; in the evening the sisters return the visit, perform the ceremony of Arati and receive a gift.

Holi

The year closes with Holi, the spring Saturnalia, when the demoness Holika is propitiated. This very popular and gay festival is the occasion for a great deal of mirth, innocent revelry including the splashing of colour. The Holi Puja is accompanied by bonfires, symbolism of the destruction of evil, amid joyous shouts. At some places the fire is first kindled by a Mahar. A coconut is hung from a pile in the middle of the fire and when it falls the people secure the burnt core and eat it and smear themselves with ashes of the fire. Next day follows a period of licence and enjoyment in which people throw mud and coloured water at one another and indulge in obscene songs. There is a brisk buying of "Battasa" garlands, a favourite sweet of the day folk songs and group dances in the street express the peoples joy. Male dancing in female attire is common.

Vratas

A number of ceremonies of the nature of Vratas (vows) and propitiatory worships mostly restricted to Brahman woman occur throughout the year.

In the month of Caitra starting from the bright third and on a convenient day suvasinis hold in their homes the ceremony of haladi-kunku. The full-moon day of Jyestha known as vatapaurnima is observed by married women as a day of prayer so that their husband's lives may be prolonged; a banyan tree or its boughs are worshipped, and vayan(special offering) are distributed to Brahmans and suvasinis. Some observe a vrata (vow) for three days during whch they live on fruits, tubers and milk only. During caturmas (four months of rainy season) some women observe the Sola somavar vrata (vow observed on sixteen successive Mondays)at the end of which they hold a grand worship of siva and Parvati and feast seventeen dampatyas (handful of corn) to God siva on every Monday of sravana : for the first five years of their married life girls worship mangala gauri on every Tuesday of sravan: the Friday of the same month which go by the name of Sampad sukravars (prosperous Fridays ) are observed by women with a worship of goddess Laksmi drawn on a small carthen pot. On the third and the fifth of bright Bhadrapada come Haritalika and Rsi-pancami which are observed as days of fast by Brahman woman. The first is kept by married women and young girls in honour of Haratalika (goddess Parvati) who is said to have successfully resisted her father's wish to marry her to god Visnu and married god siva whom she loved. The second is observed by elderly women in honour of Rsis (seers) to make amends for sins committed without knowledge. That days they do not eat any thng that is grown with the labour of cattle or any other animal, but eat only hand-grown fruits and vegetables. Vasubara which falls on the 12^th of dark Asvina are observed by some women who have children; they fast for the day, and at night after worshipping a cow, give in charity a calf. The day previous to sankrant in the month of Paus is called Bhogi on which a special dish known as khicadi is offered to gods and eaten. On the sankrant day sugads (auspicious jars) are presented to Brahmans, and the following day known as kinkrant is is celebrated by newly married girls, with lutane, a free distribution to suvasinis of auspicious articles.