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SANKRANTHI(in January)
 Sankranthi, is a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of India.
Also called 'Makara Sankranthi', it is celebrated primarily in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Maharashtra. From this day onwards the sun with respect to the earth starts moving towards north signaling the oncoming of summer. The grand peer of Mahabharatha, Bheeshmacharya, waited for this day to die and ascend to Brahmaloka. The auspicious day of Sankranthi is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Typically in Andhra Pradesh, the festival is celebrated for three days. The day before Makara Sankranthi is known as Bhogi. On this day, early in the morning, old items in the house such unusable clothes, broken furniture are set on fire. Also while the old items are burnt, people start drumming on a small hand-held drum which is also thrown into the fire, in the end. A small twig, with dambar on the end is prepared as the stick used for drumming. On Sankranthi, people wear new cloths and visit temples to celebrate the harvest. The third day is known as Kanuma. As cinema is a highly popular medium in the state of Andhra Pradesh, a bounty of films, featuring the biggest of stars release on this day. The winner of this battle, is generally crowned the "King of the Box Office" for the year.
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Ugadi(March/April)
 The New year festival or Ugadi comes close on the heels of Holi. While the strong colors of Holi start fading away, the freshness of spring lingers on with sprightliness all around. The flame of the forest (trees with bright red flowers that blossom during holi) are in full bloom signifying an affluent season.
It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon Lord Brahma started creation on this day - Chaitra suddha padhyami or the Ugadi day. Also the great Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya's calculations proclaimed the Ugadi day from the sunrise on as the beginning of the new year, new month and new day. The onset of spring also marks a beginning of new life with plants (barren until now) acquiring new life, shoots and leaves. Spring is considered the first season of the year hence also heralding a new year and a new beginning. The vibrancy of life and verdent fields, meadows full of colorful blossoms signifies growth, prosperity and well-being.
With the coming of Ugadi, the naturally perfumed jasmines (mallepulu) spread a sweet fragrance which is perhaps unmatched by any other in nature's own creation! While large garlands of jasmine are offered to Gods in homes and temples, jasmine flowers woven in clusters adorn the braids of women.
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GANESH CHATURDHI (August/September)
 Ganesh Chaturdhi, also known as Vinayaka Chavithi, is a Hindu festival that falls on the fourth day of the sixth month (Bhadrapadam) of the Indian Lunar Calendar. On this day, Hindu families gather to pray to Lord Ganesha or Vinayaka, who is believed to be the remover of obstacles. A statue of the deity is installed in each household as well as a very large statue in every street. The deity is venerated for nine days, at the end of which the Ganesh/Vinayaka statues are immersed in a lake or other water body nearby.
It is prohibited to look at the moon on the night of Vinayaka Chaviti. Included in the customary rituals of this festival are offerings to Ganesh/Vinayaka of a wide variety of leaves, fruits and delicacies called "Kudumu" and "Undrallu."
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Dasara(October)
 Vijayadasami is a festival celebrated across India. It is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright half of the Hindu month of Ashwayuja or Ashwina, and is the grand culmination of the 10-day annual festival of Dasara or Navaratri. The legend underlying the celebration, as also its mode of conduct, vary vastly by region; however, all festivities celebrate the victory of the forces of Good over Evil.
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DIWALI(Oct/Nov)
 Diwali, the most Pan-Indian of all Hindu festivals, it is a festival of lights symbolising the victory of rightuousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. The word `Deepawali' literally means rows of diyas (clay lamps). A family festival, it is celebrated 20 days after Dasara, on the 13th day of the dark fortnight of the month of Asvin (October-November)
Continuing the story of Rama, this festival commemorates Lord Rama's return to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing his 14-year exile. Twinkling oil lamps or diyas light up every home and firework displays are common all across the country. The godess Lakshmi (consort of Vishnu), who is the symbol of wealth and prosperity, is also worshipped on this day.
This festive ocassion also marks the beginning of the Hindu new year and Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day.
Another view is that Deepawali is meant to celebrate the destruction of the arrogant tyrant Bali at the hands of Vishnu when the later appeared in his Vamana (dwarf) avatar.
The occasion of Deepawali sees the spring-cleaning and white-washing of houses; decorative designs or rangolis are painted on floors and walls. New clothes are bought and family members and relatives gather together to offer prayers, distribute sweets and to light up their homes.
In West Bengal, the Deepawali festival is celebrated as Kali Puja and Kali, Siva's consort, is worshipped on this day.
Diwali is the Hindu festival welcoming Ram and Sita out
of the forest and celebrating the Hindu new year. Deepvali
is the sanskrit word meaning rows of lights. Some people
light decorated candles, some decorated clay diva lamps
and other decorative lights and put them in their windows
for the festival. Deepvali is now shortened to the more
well known diwali.
We made our own diva lamps and wrote haiku to celebrate Diwali. A diva lamp has a single wick and is usually brightly coloured. Many festivals are celebrated in India, and some of them are celebrated in some parts of the country only. But Diwali is one of the greatest Indian festivals that is celebrated all over India.
Diwali is a huge family festival starting with worship followed by a celebration breakfast. Families dress in new clothes and jewels and go visiting others. They exchange gifts and sweets. It is a time to forget quarrels and make up with people that are no longer friends. At night every building is lit with little lamps in hopes that Lakshmi, the Godess of wealth will bless them. The celebration of Diwali lasts for five days.
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BONALU(in Sravanam)
Bonalu a short form for Bhojanalu which means "MEALS", is a ritual offering of meals to the mother Godess. This is a festival of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh. The Festival is celebrated during the month of ASHADA (July to August) in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and surrounding villages.
This festival is believed to have begun in 1869 when a huge epidemic of plague broke in the twin cities. The people wanted to appease Mother Godess whose ire was considered to be the cause for the epidemic. Meal offering is a typical Mother Godess worshipping ritual of South India. This meal consists of taking cooked rice, water, sometimes pickles and onion in different pots kept as a pattern of smaller over the bigger ones with a lamp at the top. Usually this vertical Battery of pots decorated in sacred colours (White, Yellow and Red). This colours are called as PASUPU, KUNKUM, and KADI.
The pots, ritually dedicated to the godess before they are lifted on to the heads of the women carrying them, are considered to have got charged with the spirit of Godess. So as soon as the woman who puts the pots on her head, she gets possessed immediately by the spirit of the Godess. This is why the women offers water at the feet of the Godess as a pacification while carrying the pots in a precession starting from her house to the shrine. This woman walks with a intense feeling of being possessed by the spirit of the Godess. Because of this mood in her, she easily gets into a trance and begins to dance rhythmically in tune with the drum beat. POTHURAJU is considered to be the brother of mother godess, who always dances before the Palaharam Bandi taken on to the streets of Ashadam.
Bonalu - This is a festival of offering to Godess Mahankali. This folk festival of Bonalu is famous in the Telangana region brings an offering to the Godess Mahankali. The Mahankali temple is located in the busy streets of Secunderabad area. The festival period starts in this region and continues for every week in different places.
The Dance of balancing pots with the colourfully dressed female dancers balancing pots (Bonalu), step to the rythemic beats and tunes in praise of the village diety Mahankali. Male dancers called the Pothuraju's follow the female dancers to the temple lashing whips and emerald margosa leaves tied around their waists adding colour to the roaring trumpets and pulsating percussion.
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Christmas
 Christians in India celebrate their festivals broadly on the pattern adopted worldwide. However some influence of local Indian tradition is evident among Syrian Christians who use elephants, umbrellas and traditional music as accessories to their festivities and celebrations. Christmas is a major event in all Indian Christian households and one can see Catholic Goa come to life at this time of the year.
The Carnival, preceding the Lenten period of penance is the most important event at Goa. Similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it is an extravagantly colourful occasion. A carnival parade, full of colour and zest, it is virtually a celebration of life itself.
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Holi
 It is spring time in India, flowers and fields are in bloom and the country goes wild with people running on the streets and smearing each other with brightly hued powders and coloured water. This is the festival of Holi, celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year.
Originally Holi is a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land. There are many legends concerning the origin of this spring festival.
The most popular among these concerns Prince Prahlad, the god-fearing son of the evil King Hiranyakasipu. Prahlad did not give up worshipping the god Vishnu in spite of fearful persecution by his father and his demon aunt Holika, who was deputed by her brother to kill young Prahlad. Ultimately, when Holika who was immune to death by fire, took Prahlad and entered a blazing furnace built for his destruction, it was the wicked Holika who was burnt to ashes by divine intervention, while Prahlad came out unscathed. Before she died, she realised her follies and begged the boy's forgiveness. As his gesture of forgiveness, Prahlad deemed that her name would be remembered at least one day in the year. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation. This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he is so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. Holi is celebrated with particular gaity in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna. Down the ages, civilisation has advanced leaps and bounds, but the spirit of Holi remains the same. Each year, without fail, the old and the young alike, gather into groups and indulge in a riot of colours. Holi is also synonymous with bhang, which is consumed by many in the form of laddoos and ghols. One could get away with almost anything on this day; squirting coloured water on passers-by and dunking friends in the mud pool saying "bura na mano, Holi hai" (don't feel offended, it's Holi). Apart from this usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality.
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Ramzan
 Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The Month of Ramadan is also when it is believed the Holy Quran "was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, a declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation" It is during this month that Muslims fast. It is called the Fast of Ramadan and lasts the entire month. Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and contemplation.
During the Fast of Ramadan strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the evening following the iftar it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning.
According to the Holy Quran:
One may eat and drink at any time during the
night "until you can plainly distinguish a
white thread from a black thread by the
daylight: then keep the fast until night"
The good that is acquired through the fast can be destroyed by five things -
- The telling of a lie
- Slander
- Denouncing someone behind his back
- A false oath
- Greed or covetousness
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These are considered offensive at all times, but are most offensive during the Fast of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, it is common for Muslims to go to the Masjid (Mosque) and spend several hours praying and studying the Quran. In addition to the five daily prayers, during Ramadan Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer (Night Prayer). The length of this prayer is usually 2-3 times as long as the daily prayers. Some Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.
On the evening of the 27th day of the month, Muslims celebrate the Laylat-al-Qadr (the Night of Power). It is believed that on this night Muhammad first received the revelation of the Holy Quran. And according to the Quran, this is when God determines the course of the world for the following year.
When the fast ends (the first day of the month of Shawwal) it is celebrated for three days in a holiday called Id-al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking). Gifts are exchanged. Friends and family gather to pray in congregation and for large meals. In some cities fairs are held to celebrate the end of the Fast of Ramadan.
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 Bakrid
Bakrid, the festival of sacrifice, is one of the most important festivals for Muslims. After Ramzan, it is the one festival, which Muslims around the globe celebrate with religious fervour and gaiety. Bakrid falls on the last month of the Islamic calendar.
Bakrid, also known as Idd-ul-Zuha, coincides with the Haj pilgrimage at Mecca, where Muslims from all over the world congregate to perform the annual ritual of Haj. The significance of the festival is the commemoration of the ordeals of Prophet Ibrahim, who was put to a tough test by Allah to prove his faith. He was asked to sacrifice his son Ismail and without any hesitation Prophet Ibrahim blindfolded himself and made the offering on the Mount of Mina near Mecca.
When Prophet Abraham opened his eyes, he was astonished to find a goat lying upon the altar and his son Ismail standing in front of him. Ever since, faithfuls of Islam the world over offer sacrifices on the festival day of Bakrid.
The day of the Id-ul-Zuha starts with the morning Namaz, where Muslims of all ages offer special prayers at mosques. Namazis are required to offer prayers on an empty stomach. This festival also calls upon every Muslim, who can afford, to sacrifice an animal - a goat, sheep, camel or bull. After Namaz, "qurbani" (sacrifice) is performed. Once the sacrifice is done, meat is served to the family and distributed in the neighborhood and poor. The meat is generally divided into three portions - one part for the poor, another for friends and relatives and remaining is for the family.
In Hyderabad, Bakrid is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and religious fervour. Prayers are offered in the mosques and in iddgahs (open grounds). Meeralam and Madannapet iddgahs are some of the famous iddgahs in the twin cities, where special prayers are offered during the festivals of Ramzan and Bakrid.
Thousands gather near Charminar to offer idd prayers in Mecca Masjid and the entire area from Madina circle to Mecca Masjid is cordoned off during the prayer time. Muslims wear new clothes and apply itr (perfume) and soorma on the eve of Bakrid.Temporary markets spring up along the roadsides where thousands of goats are brought for sale. Chanchalguda, Charminar, Mehdipatnam and Musheerabad are some of the hotspots where the goats are sold on the occasion of Bakrid. The goats are priced anywhere between Rs. 500 to RS 5,000 depending on the age and weight of the animal.
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