How do hindus celebrate festivals

The celebration involves all-night worship the night before, fasting on the day, prayer and vigil. Navratri — Nine Nights.

The celebration and festival last for nine nights and ten days. Raksha Bandhan — The Bond of Protection. It celebrates brotherhood and love. It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Holidays and Observances This guide provides information about diverse cultural celebrations and religious holidays.

It includes calendars and brief descriptions of the events. It is also called The Festival of Colours as people smear each other with coloured powder and throw coloured water around. This breaks down all barriers of discrimination as everyone ends up looking the same — a colourful mess!

There are various stories associated with the festival. The tradition of throwing coloured powder around comes from a story about Krishna. Another story about Prahlada and Holika gives rise to the tradition of lighting bonfires in parts of India. The moral of this story is that good wins over evil. Highlights of the story are read in the temple but the whole epic may be recited during the week beforehand.

Rama is said to have been born at noon, so at this time a special prayer is said and Prasad or blessed food is offered to a picture of baby Rama which has been placed in a cradle. The food may then be shared among the congregation. The invigorating festival centres around the goddess Durga in East India, and goes by the name of Durga Puja. The world-famous Dussehra of Mysore also falls on the final day of Navratri, and the festival as a whole essentially serves as the precursor to the coming Diwali.

The epic poem of the Ramayana has vast religious significance in Hinduism. Its protagonist, Lord Rama, with his divine prowess and benevolence, slays immoral beings, conquers the realm and establishes order. The day marking the birth of Lord Rama is celebrated as Rama Navami, and the observances include charity, recitals and prayers. Premises are decorated with mango leaves, flowers and other embellishments; floral patterns are drawn on the floor, and savoury snacks are prepared in a bid to welcome the new year on a high note.

Additionally, the consumption of bevu bella — a blend of neem bevu and jaggery bella — is obligatory. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Sign Up. Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Prabhu Gowda. Maha Shivaratri. Krishna Janmashtami. Makar Sankranti.

Ganesh Chaturthi. Navratri — Dussehra — Durga Puja. Rama Navami. Give us feedback. Read Next View. Inside the Nine-Day Festival.