Upcoming Festive Seasons

We all know that India is a country with diverse religions and where people celebrate and enjoy a lot of festivals. That is the unique aspect of our country where each festival is celebrated with equal zeal and fervour. Every year people eagerly await the advent of the festive season. It is in this festive season that  they do all kinds of shopping; whether it’s clothes, jewellery, interior décor items or renovating their houses, as it’s believed to be auspicious. Another unique aspect is the Indian calendar, which is based on the Lunar and Solar cycles with a bit of variation.

Here the calendar follows 12 months and 365 days rule but the names of the months are different from the English calendar. The first month of the calendar is known as Chaitra while the last one is called the Phalguna.  Let’s see how we can help our clients with this important piece of information.

Let’s now see what the famous upcoming festivals in India are:

Durga Ashtami:

This is considered to be the most important and auspicious day during Navratri. Durga Ashtami is observed on the eighth day of Navratri of Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashwina. This day is also celebrated as Maha Ashtami. Durga Ashtami has special significance for Hindus; as it is believed in Hindu mythology that eight avatars of Goddess Durga emerged during these days and each of these avatars is a form of Shakti. The eight Shakti avatars of Goddess Durga are Brahmani, Maheshwari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Narsinghi, Indrani and Chamunda. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga is believed to be the mother of all universes and is considered to be the power behind the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. This day is also celebrated as the day when Goddess Durga killed all the demons, especially, Lord of Demons, Mahishasura. People on this day pray to the goddess with a pure heart and with all reverence and are blessed with prosperity, happiness, health and wealth.

Maha Navmi:

Maha Navami is the ninth and last day of Navratri celebrations and it falls on the Navami Tithi of Shukla Paksha in Ashwina Month. According to ancient Hindu scriptures, this was the day when Goddess Durga appeared in the form of Siddhidatri. It is also believed that she appeared when all the deities were praying to her. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Durga, in the avatar of Siddhidatri, was very pleased with their prayers and blessed all the deities with a boon that whenever they will be in trouble and prayed to her, Goddess Durga will always come to rescue them from the onslaught of demons. Maha Navami has great significance as Goddess Durga, in the avatar of Siddhidatri, blesses all with happiness, and prosperity and it is also believed that everyone’s wishes and desires are fulfilled on this day.

Dussehra:

Among all the festivals celebrated in the country, this is the most important festival that is celebrated by Hindus all over the country. Dussehra is also celebrated as Vijay Dashami and is celebrated with great pomp and show. It is celebrated on the 10th day after nine days of Navratri celebrations.  Dussehra is also known as Dasahara or Dasara. This day has great significance in Hindu mythology and among all Hindus. It is believed that it is on this day Goddess Durga defeated and killed the demon king, Mahishasura. Also, according to the great Indian epic, Ramayana, Lord Ram rescued goddess Sita from the clutches of the demon king Ravana, by defeating and killing him. This day is celebrated as the day when good wins over evil. That’s why it is also celebrated as ‘Vijaya Dashami; which is the day of victory. People celebrate this day with great pomp and show. This is also considered very auspicious for starting something new venture or for buying purposes. 

Karva Chauth:

This is another grand and very important festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world. This festival is especially celebrated by all married Hindu women across the country. On this day, a married woman observes a strict day of fasting from morning till night, until moonrise. Furthermore, according to Drik Panchang, Karva Chauth is observed on the Chaturti Tithi, which is the fourth day of Krishna Paksha in the month of Kartik. This festival has great significance among married Hindu women, as on this day; they have to undergo a strict fast throughout the entire course of the day for the well-being and prosperity of their husbands. Married women worship Chauth Mata, or Gauri Mata and offer prayers to the goddess. There is also a tradition of applying Henna, or Mehandi on their hands and feet by women as it is considered an important part of the festival.

Dhanteras:

This is another important festival celebrated by Hindus just before Diwali. This festival is celebrated to worship Goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and health. It is believed in Hindu mythology, that Goddess Lakshmi blesses all those who worship and pray to her with a pure heart on this day.

Diwali/Deepawali:

This is the most important festival among all festivals celebrated by Hindus all across the country and the world. This festival is also celebrated as the festival of lights. This is a festival that commences on Dhanteras and ends on Bhaiya Duj, another important Hindu festival. It is believed in ancient Hindu scriptures, that on this day, Lord Ram returned to his kingdom Ayodhya, with Goddess Sita, after defeating and killing the demon king Ravana. The people of Ayodhya were so overjoyed with happiness that they lit all the doors and windows with lights and oil lamps. Even the pathways from where the victorious procession of Lord Rama went were also lit. Since that day, Diwali has a great significance for all Hindus.

On this day, it is believed that if you do anything new, it will be auspicious. The grand spectacle starts during the night when all the houses, buildings, offices etc are illuminated and dazzle with blinding brightness. Children and youngsters celebrate this day with exploding fire-crackers and all the adults dress up beautifully in new clothes and wish family, friends, relatives and neighbours with sweets and gifts. There is a very important tradition of keeping all the doors and windows of the houses open so that the blessings of the deities can be allowed freely to enter the premise and bless the family with happiness, prosperity and good health.

Bhai Dooj:

This is another important festival for Hindus. In this, all the sisters pray for the well-being and prosperity of their brothers. While the brothers vow to protect their sisters for all their lives. This festival is also important as all the sisters dress up beautifully in new clothes and wait for their brothers to arrive. This festival has special importance as it symbolizes the close-knit love and trust ties of a brother and sister. It also signifies an important promise made by brothers to their sisters that they will always shield them from all kinds of danger throughout their lives.