Q for Queer Facts - Festivals of India

Bhagoriya Festival (MP)

Queer Facts:

Writing on Festivals of India has led to some astonishing revelations. No doubt we know that India is a land of diversity and so does appear in all its aspects. I was astonished with the number of festivals that I came across.

If I say there is more number of festivals than the number of days in the year – I would not be wrong.  To summarise I have tried to put it as following 10 points.

There are - 

Festivals to celebrate all relationship:

Husband – wife relationship: Teej (Hariyali Teej, Hartalika teej &Kajri teej), Karva Chauth, Vat Savitri Puja.

Son’s longevity – Jivitya ot Jitiya

Brother – Sister Relationship – Bhai Dooj, Raksha Bandhan

Entire Family - Chhatha

Festival to celebrate Harvest Season : 

Makar Sankranti (North), Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Zagor(Goa), Wangal (Meghalaya), Lohri (Punjab), Satuani( Bihar), Baisakhi (Punjab), Min Kut (Mizoram), Sekrenyi (Nagaland), Tsukhenyi (Chakesang Nagas), Pongtu Kuh Festival, (Arunachal Pradesh),

Festivals to worship Flora & Fauna: Nag Panchmi (Snake), Govardhan Puja, Chhath (Sun), Karva Chauth (Moon), Thai Pusam (related to Pusam star ), Ganga Snan (Bath in River Ganga), Animal Weddings normally frogs in different parts of India for appeasing Rain God, Ambubachi Mela, Assam, Fertility of Mother nature and tantrik means festival, Mattu Pongal

Ambubachi Mela

Vat SDavitri Puja ( worship of Banyan tree)

Birth Celebrations :Ram Navmi, Krishna Janmashtmi, Shiv Ratri, Chitragupta Puja, Mahaveer Jayanti, Budh Poornima, Hanuman Jayanti, Saraswati Puja, Christmas, Guru Poornima etc. Valmiki Jayanti, Lakshmi Puja, Guru Gobind Jayanti, Guru Nanak jayanti, Guru Parv, Hemis Festival (Buddhism)

Hemis Festival- laddakh

National & Regional Fairs : Kumbh Mela, Simhastha, Rath Yatra, Ram Barat, Shrawan Mela, Kanwar Mela, Sonepur Mela (largest Animal Fair), Pushkar Mela (Camel Fair), Vautha Mela, Gujarat (trading of donkeys), Minjar Festival, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, Gauchar Mela, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Dhinga Gavar festival,  Rajasthan, Karni Mata - Mice feeding festival (Bikaner)

Minjar - Chamba (HP)

Festivals with Day wise importance: Akshay Tritiya, Dhanteras, Narak Chaudas, Ekadashi, Poornima (Full Moon Night), Amavasya (No Moon Night); Eid, Bakra – id, Easter, Brihaspati devta Vrat (Thursday), Santoshi Mata Vrat (Friday), Santan Ashtmi, Vaibhav Lakshmi (Friday), Hanuman Ji Vrat , (Tuesday), Shani Vrat ( Saturday), Ganesh Chaturthi, Anant Chaturdashi, Mauni Amavasya, Dev Uthan Ekadashi, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Kartik Poornima, Losar (Laddakh’s New Year Festival)

Santoshi Maa Vrat

National Festivals : Independence Day, Republic Day, Bapu’s birthday, Quit India Day, Ambedkar Jayanti.

International Festivals: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, New Year, Children’s Day, Labour Day, Teacher’s day, Women’s Day etc.

Festival to remember Dead Souls: Ulambana (Buddhism), Shabe Barat (Muslims), Pitrapaksha (Hinduism), Shraadh (Hinduism)

Shab - e - barat

Festivals as per season: Shravan (Monsoon), Vasant Panchmi (Autumn), Kajri Teej (Rainy), Bohaggiyo Bishu Festival, Assam (spring)

Thematic and Mythological Reference:  Holi, Diwali, Dussehra, Navratra, Durga Puja, Dawat Puja, Vishwakarma Puja, Holika Dahan, Kshamavani (Jainism); Muharram, 

Vishwakarma - The God of Engineering

Tribal Festivals: Madai Festival (Bastar), Wangal (Garo tribe), Bhagoria festival – Bhils of MP with tradition of eloping with would be wife, Karma (Bihar, MP, Orissa), Sume Gelirak festival (Orissa – sacrificing birds & animals), Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, Telangana, fight of a mother and daughter against unjust law, Bija Pandu festival, Odisha, Made Made Snana, Karnataka (Rolling over left over food) Agni Keli, Karnataka, Aadi festival, Tamil Nadu breaking coconut on head, Tossing infants from the roof for good luck – Maharashtra and Karnataka ( Baba Umer Daragah, Sholapur) , Behdienkhlam, Meghalaya, Bani Festival, Andhra Pradesh, beating on head with lathi.

Karma - Chhotanagpur - Bihar

Fun Festival: Jallikattu (Taming of Bull), Holi (Festival of Colours); Thimithi (Fire walking), Kila Raipur Rural Olympics, (Punjab), Pulli Kali (Lion Dance festival), Dree Festival, Arunachal Pradesh sacrifice of animal & birds, Lath Mar Holi - Braj

Dree Festival

These are just some and can go on unending as we research more and more .

Aditya Sinha

20.04.2016

That’s for today with Q. Tomorrow it would be another festival with “R”
List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi,  Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal ,  Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor

For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour

For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016