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& Festivals in January:
India: Fairs & Festivals: January
(Festivals
in India are determined by the Solar & Lunar positions & they may
fall in a different month as specified here. Kindly contact our
members for exact date/ month
of festivals/ fairs in India) MAKAR
SANKRANTI
(Maharashtra, Karnataka & Andhra
Pradesh)
Is
a celebration of spring on the occasion of the 'ascent' of the sun to the
north (Uttarayana). In Maharashtra, Karnataka as well as part of Andhra,
Maker Sankranti is a day of goodwill and friendship. Seasome ladoos and
suger drops are distributed as a symbol of the need to be generous and
kind to everyone. Women wear new clothes, new glass bangles and hold
get-togethers to share sweets and gifts. A new bride is given ornaments
made of sugar drops and her new relatives are inivited to meet and welcome
her at a Haldi Kumkum celebration.
LOHRI
(Punjab)
In the North Makar Sankranti
is called Lohri. It is the only Hindu festival which falls regularly on
the 14th of January every year. Lohri is the time after which the biting
cold of winter begins to taper off. On this day the children go from door
to door to collect founds for community bonfires which are lit in the
evening. Lohri is more of a community festival, where the birth of a son
or the first year of marriage is celebrated with great fun and frolic.
People gather around the bonfires and offer sweets, crisp rice and popcron
to the flames. Songs are sung to the beat of vigorous claps and greetings
are exchanged.
PONGAL
(Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh)
In
the South Sankranti becomes Pongal. It is a celebration of the harvest
which is observed for three days in Tamil Nadu as well as in Andhra
Pradesh. The first day is the Bhogi Pongal which is celebrated as a family
festival. Surya Pongal, the second day, is dedicated to the Sun (surya)
when pongal (rice cooked in milk and jaggery) is boiled by women and
offered to the sun. Friends greet one another by asking "Is it
boiled?" and the answer given is "It is". It is followed by
great rejoicing.
Mattu Pongal, the third day, is a day dedicated
to the worship and veneration of cattle(mattu). The pongal that has been
offered to the local deities is given to the cattle to eat. The cattle are
bathed and decorated. Coloured balls of the pongal are also made and left
in the open for birds. In Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjore, a kind of
bullfight, called the "Jellikattu" is held. Bundles containing
money are tied to the horns of ferocious bulls, and unarmed villagers try
to wrest the bundles from them. With ingredients provided by the freshly
gathered harvest, community meals are held at night.
THAI PUSAM
(Tamil Nadu)
This
festival usually takes places in the temples dedicated of Kartikeya or
Mariamman where trenches of burning coal are laid out for the devotes to
walk over. It has been seen that people who volunteer to undertake this
experience with faith, come away unharmed and unscathed. The chief priest
of the temple and the twelve "hero-youths", who are to perform
this feat, first go out in a procession from the temple to bathe, smear
themselves with turmeric, powder, and begin and dance. Then they walk over
a long pit covered with burning coals and come out unscathed. This is
followed by singing and feasting which continues till late night.
FLOAT
FESTIVAL
(Tamil Nadu)
This magnificent
festival is celebrated in Madurai on the night of the full moon. The
ornamented icons of the two deities, the God Sundaresa (incarnation of
Shiva) and the Goddess Meenakshi (incarnation of Parvati), with pearl
crowns on their heads and riding on a golden bull are taken out in a
splendid procession from the Meenakshi temple. The God Alagar (incarnation
of Vishnu) gives his sister Meenakshi, in marriage to Sundaresa amidst
great rejoicing. Devotes clothed in yellow and red dance among the
processionists and spray coloured water on them. The icons are floated in
the tank on a raft decked with flowers and flickering lamps.
NATIONAL
KITE FESTIVAL
In Gujarat and other western states the
change in the direction of winds on Makar Sankranti is marked by thousands
of colourful kites of all patterns and dimensions which dot the blue sky.
Young men vie with each other to win community kite-flying competitions.
The kites are hand made and the thread is given a coating of glass powder
mixed in either resin or a paste made of refined wheat flour. The day also
witnesses kite flying tournaments in which handsome cash, cups and shields
are awarded as prizes to the winners. Special kites with paper lamps fill
the night sky with myriad flickering lights.
KERALA
VILLAGE FAIR
Mid -January is the time for cultural events
in the lush villages around Kovalam, every year. Traditional thatch houses
are decorated during this ten day long festival and are the venue for folk
dances, music and festivites.
BIKANER
FESTIVAL
The festival starts off with a magnigicent
procession of bedecked camels. It is a colourful spectacle of beautifully
decorated camels that fascinates the onlookers with their charm and grace.
Several competitions are held, marked with typical Rajasthani colour,
joyous music and lilting rhythms and gay festivities.
PATTADAKAL
DANCE FESTIVAL
Is a festival of dance held at Pattadakal
(karnataka), the ancient capital of the Chalukyan kings.
ID-UL-FITTR
(All over India) Celebrates the end of Ramzan, the Muslim month of
fasting. It is an occasion of feasting and rejoicing. The faithful gather
in mosques to pray, friends and relatives meet to exchange greetings.
Prayers, family get-togethers and feasts are the major highlights of the
celebrations. Idi or present of money are given to the youngsters by the
family elders, conveying their blessings.
VASANT
PANCHAMI
(North India and West Bengal) Is a
ceremonical welcome to spring on the fifth day of the waxing moon of Magh,
when Saraswati, Shiva-Durga and Vishnu-Lakshmi are worshipped. People wear
colourful attires, especially in bright shades of yellow and they dance,
sing and make merry.
In West Bengal, 'Saraswati'-the Goddess of
learning is worshipped. The festival is celebrated with great fervour in
the university town of Shantiniketan.
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