Festivals of India
India is a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-dimensional country. Some festivals are celebrated as national festivals by the entire country. Some festivals are celebrated by certain religious populations predominantly, but are participated in by other parts of society too. Some other festivals are celebrated by certain cultural or regional sections of society.
Indian mythology has deities for everything including the Earth, the Sky, the Trees, the Animals, the Seasons, etc. And so rituals and ceremonies related to all aspects of life have festivals and celebrations associated with them for e.g. activities like Business, Agriculture, relationships like husband-wife, brother-sister, etc.
A few examples of Indian festivals are described below:
National festivals
These are days of national significance that are celebrated in a festive mood across the country: 15 August as the Independence Day and 26 January as the Republic Day. Both these are national holidays and Indians celebrate them across the world, and in India, by remembering the sacrifices of the leaders of their Independence Struggle against the Colonial British Rule that ended in 1947.
Hindu festivals
Some common Hindu festivals in India are Diwali, Holi, Navarati or Durga Puja, Mahashivratri, etc. Diwali is the festival of lights and is the biggest festival in India, consisting of five days of celebrations including: Dhanatrayodashi, Narakachaturdashi, Laxmi Puja, Padwa and Bhai Duj. Holi is the spring festival and is celebrated as the Festival of Colours or Festival of Love. Navarati or Durga Puja celebrates the ten-day worship of the Goddess Durga, who is the most respected Goddess in India. Mahashivratri is the festival worship of Lord Shiva, another important deity across the Indian subcontinent.
Islamic festivals
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic New Year. The tenth day is observed as Muharram, when Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad attained Martyrdom. Ramadan is the month of fasting. The last day is celebrated as Eid-al-Fitr, which is a day of breaking the fast.
Catholic festivals
All the festivals of the Catholic world are also celebrated in India. The biggest and most important is of course the Christmas and New Year celebrations from 25 December to 1 January; which are celebrated by the entire country.
India is the land of festivals and Indians believe in celebrating everything in life.