Questions tagged [festivals]
A festival is an event centering on and celebrating some unique aspect of the community.
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What is the significance of the float festival - Theppotsavam?
I came across a few videos of Theppotsavam, a festival celebrated in some temples of South India. The principal murti is decorated and floated on a nearby river or lake. As per Wikipedia it seems that ...
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3answers
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Are fire cracks really a part of diwali celebration?
Are fire cracks really a part of diwali celebration? We're crakers always used in ancient times or they are just something that we cameup in recent times?
And is there any scriptural reference to this ...
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Which festivals trace their origin stories to Vedas
There are many hindu festivals. Most of them derive their origin in Itihaasa (Ramayana and Mahabharata) and Puranas.
So, are there any festivals that have their origin in Vedas ?
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What is New Year in North India called?
I did try to read online but some pages say Phalgun Poornima while others say Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Any clarification would be appreciated.
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1answer
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Bali Padyami vs Onam
Today is Bali Padyami. On which day is Mahabali supposed to visit his subjects on prithvi loka - Onam or Bali Padyami?
Looking for references from scriptures only, and neither from folklore nor from ...
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1answer
168 views
Why do Smarthas and Vaishnavas have differences regarding dates (tithi) of festivals like Ekadashi?
Generally it's seen that ekadashi or any other date for that purpose falls on two days. Normally Smartha observe say,ekadashi one day earlier than Vaishnavas. Most calendars only show Smartha dates ...
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How many times and what all we can eat in Navratri?
I want to know that how many times in a day we can eat when we are doing Navratri fast? Some are saying that we can have sattvik any number of times and some are saying two times. Please help me with ...
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staying awake during shivaratri
It seems people seem to be mentioning benifits of staying awake during the MahaShivatri festival. What is the time in the morning till which they have to stay awake? Does it end after midnight 12 o'...
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Is it true that two thousand years ago Makar Sankranti used to be celebrated in December and would be celebrated in April after seven thousand years?
I got a message on Christmas stating that there was a time when Christmas and Makar Sankranti used to be celebrated on their website same day.
After a quick web search, I found that Sun takes 20mins ...
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Is there any festival in hindu religion celebrating girl child and why girls have to fast most of the time?
A person raised a question that why in Hindu religion we have "boy" centered festivals but none for girls. For example in north India we have bhai-duj and jhat puja festival in which family worship to ...
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Can an unmarried girl keep Karva Chauth?
In our culture, Karwa Chauth is an important festival for all married women. From sunrise till moonrise, she keeps a fast for the safety of her husband.
But my question is can an unmarried girl keep ...
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Do any scriptures talk about Atla Taddi?
Today is Karva Chauth (Chaturthi) celebrated in the north especially Punjab and I found out that Telugu people also celebrate the Uma Vratham or [Atla Taddi [(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atla_Tadde) ...
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What is Ganesh Chaturthi/ Ganesh Utsav idol worship size according to shastra and Dharma
In my Marathi state we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi as a Ganesh utsav for ten days and bring clay idol from market on the first day and make visarjan on 10th day.
My question is, what is the right size ...
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190 views
Why is Janmashtami always celebrated in the evening?
I read the post about why Janmashtami is celebrated on two different days. But why evening? Like people who give preference to ashtami thithi do it on 23rd Aug 2019 evening, while people who give ...
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Why is Janmashtami celebrated on 2 dates in some parts of India?
For example, in Gurgaon in India, a few people are saying that Janmashtami will be celebrated on 23rd. Google shows 24th.
Also, I guess this time Rohini Nakshatra and Ashtami is more close to 24th. ...
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Why Lord Krishna didn't celebrate Deepavali?
Why Deepavali is not celebrated by Lord Krishna in Dwapara Yuga ? One of my friend asked me this tricky question. I didn't have an answer.
Moreover, Why there is no mentioning of Ramayana incidents ...
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What is the significance of Deep Amavasya?
Today is Deep Amavasya and many people in Maharashtra worship and light up diyas or earthen lamps in their homes at night. I want to know what is the significance of this festival and what are the ...
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1answer
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Hindus observe Nava Ratris twice in a year. What is the logic and theory behind the same?
Hindus observe Nava Ratris twice in the same calendar year. One is associated with Rama Navami (ie birth of Lord Rama) and the other is with Lord Rama's victory over Ravana. But why do we worship the ...
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1answer
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Why do women observe Holika vrata?
Holika was Hiranyakashipu's sister and tried to kill Prahlad. Then, why do women observe holika vrata and worship holika wood before lightning fire in it?
Note: Poornima also falls on the Holi day ...
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1answer
177 views
Scriptural reference about avoiding non vegetarian food on every Hindu festival?
It is mentioned across Hindu scriptures to avoid non vegetarian food on certain days or months, which may include some festivals also.
But, is there any mention to not eat non vegetarian food on ...
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Why date of any “Hindu festival” changes every year? [duplicate]
'Christmas' occurs on 25th December every year.
But why the dates of Hindu festivals vary from year to year?
Are there any references of this in Hinduism?
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What is the relation of Vasant Panchami with Goddess Saraswati?
Tomorrow is Vasant Panchami and my Bengali friends shall be celebrating Saraswati Puja. I wanted to know if the worship of Saraswati is mentioned in any scripture on this particular day.
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Are there Pan-Indian Hindu festivals dedicated to Vishnu or Narayana?
Janmashtami and Ram Navami are dedicated to Vishnu's avataras and are Pan-Indian. But are there any such festivals dedicated to Vishnu or Narayna?
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Festivals observed on basis of solar cycle
Apart from Sankrantis, are there any other festivals that are observed on the basis on solar cycle and hence fall on the same date every year?
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Relation between Laxmi poojan and returning of Lord Rama on the same day
Is it just a coincidence or is there any relation between Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya from 14 years of exile and the worshipping of Goddess Laxmi on the same day i.e. Diwali
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Who is the goddess Ahoi worshipped on Ahoi Ashtami?
Today is Ahoi Ashtami in northern India in which women keep fasts for their children's well-being just like they do for their husbands on Karva-chauth. While they break the fast on Karva-chauth after ...
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1answer
222 views
Why have we celebrated Dussehra today instead of tomorrow?
Whatever I know for consideration of Tithi from Panchangam is whichever Tithi falls on the sunrise, that is considered for whole the day.
For example, yesterday there was Ashtami on sunrise and ...
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662 views
Which scripture mentions the prohibitions on food consumption in Chaturmas?
The term Chaturmasya means four months. The term Chaturmasya Vrata is a Vrata to be observed for a period of four months.
The Poornima (full moon day) in the month of Ashadha is called ‘Guru Poornima’...
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Guru Dattatreya Parayan
Being a woman, can I read the whole Sri Guru Charitra, which is known as GuruDatta Parayana, in the coming Datta Jayanti (Festival) ?
In our home, my father used to read it every year by following ...
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1answer
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What is the importance and concept behind Masik Shivratri?
I found the following date calendar for Masik Shivratri, till date I was only aware of Shivratri and Maha Shivratri but Masik Shivratri is totally new for me. So wanted to understand the importance ...
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Mentioning of Rakhi in Mahabharata
Consider the following paragraph from raksha-bandhan.com
Raksha Bandhan finds a mention in Mahabharata when Lord Krishna advised Yudhishthir to perform the ceremony to protect himself and the army ...
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Which Guru is to be worshipped on the Guru Purnima day by a disciple who's having multiple Gurus?
When a person has more than 1 gurus, then at the time of "Guru Pournima", whom should he/she worship.
(some Gurus are still living, but far away located. Other ones are "brahma leen, i.e. left their ...
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1answer
136 views
Which scripture mentions Lord Parshurama was born on Akshaya Tritiya?
The Drikpanchang says that Parshuram Jayanti falls on Shukla Paksha Tritiya in the month of Vaishakha also known as Akshay Tritiya.
It is believed that Parashurama was born during Pradosh Kala and ...
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2answers
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Is Mahamaham connected with kumbh mela?
Mahamaham is celebrated every 12 years at Kumbakonam, when people take a dip in the holy mahamaham tank. Does this also qualify as a kumbha mela? What is its scriptural background?
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When did Holi start being celebrated?
Wikipedia writes:
The Holi festival is an ancient Hindu festival with its cultural rituals. It is mentioned in the Puranas, Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet Kālidāsa during the 4th century ...
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1answer
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Which scripture mention coronation of Rama on the very first day of Chaitra Navratri?
The wiki Gudi_Padwa#Significance says:
Gudi Padva signifies the arrival of spring and to the reaping of Rabi crops.
The festival is linked to the mythical day on which Hindu god Brahma created ...
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1answer
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Does Holi celebration have a link to the Narasimha avatar?
In this question the reason for celebrating Holi was asked but the answer given is based on wikipedia which also says:
The Holika bonfire and Holi signifies the celebration of the symbolic victory ...
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Why is Holi not much known in Southern India?
Why is Holi not much known in Southern India? Did the festival come into being relatively late in North India?
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What is Holika Dahan timings?
Holi is celebrated as a two day festival in India. The first day is known as Holika Dahan or Choti Holi and the second day is known as Rangon wali Holi.
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makara sankrAnti and sun's rAshi
When is sankrAnti celebrated? If the sun lies in dhanuSh-rAshi at sunrise and only crosses over to makara afternoon (as is the case in 2018 relative to India time), is sankrAnti celebrated on that day ...
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Bhishma ekadashi festival
Generally Bhishma Ekadasi is celebrated on Magha Suddha Ekadasi. It is learnt that Bhishma died on Ashtami. Why the festival is being celebrated on Ekadasi?
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1answer
175 views
Why Goddess Durga was worshiped on dusshera?
Dusshera is the day the Ravana was killed by the Rama, but Hindus worship Goddess Durga instead of Rama on dusshera ? Why so?
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Why are crackers used on Diwali?
I don't know if this question is related on not. But why and how Diwali, a festival of lights turned into a festival of crackers? How this all started?
Is there any relation of this festival with ...
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1answer
394 views
Which is the oldest scriptural reference for Diwali?
The festival of Diwali is associated with many legends:
The first day of Dhan Trayodashi is the day when Goddess Lakshmi appeared from the Samudra Manthan.
Next comes Narak Chaturdashi is when ...
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Why the main festivals are in chaturmas if god is sleeping in that period?
Ok, this might be very silly question but i couldn't find answer from my elders, I thought this could be right place to get my answer.
I know the scientific reason that in the rainy or monsoon season,...
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Why do we wear different colors on different days of Navratri?
Each day of Navratri is associated with a different color as mentioned in this article.
How are Navratri colours decided and why do they change every year?
The first colour of the Navratri is decided ...
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1answer
542 views
Why do Hindu festivals fall on different dates every year?
Why do Hindu festivals fall on different dates every year?
How festivals are determined?
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502 views
Which were the Holidays in ancient Indian culture?
In today's time the Indian government offices are full of holidays, so are many western corporations.
How were the weekly/monthly/yearly Holidays in earlier times?(e.g. Weekends, Seasonal holidays, ...
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Why all Hindus won't celebrate Hanuman Jayanti on same day?
In South India, especially Tamil Nadu Hanuman Jayanthi is celebrated
on the Margazhi month of Moola nakshathram. It is said that Lord
Hanuman was born during that month.
In Telangana and ...
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2answers
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What is the origin of Raksha Bandhan?
Raksha Bandhan is a festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Shravana. But what is the origin/story behind ...
