Major Festivals-

Himachal Pradesh

Phulaich
● This is a big festival of Himachal Pradesh, it is a festival of flowers.
● It is held in the month of September, when the autumn season begins after
the rains.
● It is that time of the year when different types of flowers create colorful
scenes on the mountains of the state.
● Prayers are offered for the souls of the departed ancestors during this time.
● The flower named 'Ladra' has special significance in the festival.

Halda Utsav
● This is a festival celebrated in Himachal Pradesh by the Buddhist
community in the month of January.
● This festival is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi as well.
● It is organized to welcome the New Year.

Rajasthan

Gangaur Utsav
● This festival is mainly celebrated in Rajasthan.
● This festival dedicated to Goddess Parvati is celebrated in the month of
March.
● During this festival, unmarried girls pray for a better life partner and married
women pray for the happiness and prosperity of their husbands.
● This festival lasts for 18 days.
● Gangaur festival is also celebrated in Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh
(Barwani, Khargone, Khandwa etc.)
Maharashtra

'Banganga' Festival
● This festival is related to Maharashtra.
● This is the most important festival of Maharashtra celebrated on Ganesh
Chaturthi.
● A musical performance is given to Lord Rama during this festival.
● Shivaji Jayanti, Jivati Puja, Ajanta Ellora Festival, Elephanta Festival, Narali
Purnima are other famous festivals of Maharashtra.

Gudi Padwa
● Gudi Padwa (spring festival) is specially celebrated in the state of
Maharashtra.
● In Maharashtra, the new year begins with Gudi Padwa.
● It is also celebrated in the states of Goa, Madhya Pradesh and the Union
Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on the first day of
Chaitra month.
● The same day is celebrated as Ugadi (यग ु ादी) in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
and Karnataka.

Chhattisgarh

Cherchera festival
● Cherchera festival was organized in the state of Chhattisgarh.
● It is one of the major folk festivals of Chhattisgarh.
● In Chhattisgarh, it is also known as 'Mahaparva of Annadan'.
● This festival is celebrated to mark the arrival of the new crop in the house.
● Cherchera festival is celebrated every year on the full moon day of Paush
month.
● According to mythological belief, on this day Lord Shankar had begged
Mother Annapurna, so people also donated vegetables and fruits along with
paddy.
Madai Festival
● It is one of the many popular festivals of Chhattisgarh.
● The Madai Festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and enthusiasm by
the people of the Gond tribe.
● The festival begins in the month of December in the Bastar region of
Chhattisgarh with the worship of the local goddess Kesharpalin.
● This festival is organized in a very long field and the festival is started with
processions of local goddesses.
● It is celebrated from the month of December to March.

Hareli Festival
● Hareli Festival is celebrated by farmers in Chhattisgarh in the month of
Sawan (July-August).
● On this occasion, farmers worship their farming equipment (plough, shovel
etc.) and cows.
● Together they set up the leaves and twigs of the Bael tree in their fields.
● Apart from this, they also hang branches of neem tree at the entrance of their
houses to drive away seasonal diseases.
● The local game 'Gedi' (practice of walking on bamboo) is played on this
occasion.

Kajri Festival
● This festival is also related to farmers and is celebrated at the beginning of
the sowing season by mothers who have been blessed with a son.
● Mothers worship Goddess Bhagwati for better harvest through this festival.
● This festival starts on the Navami date of Shukla Paksha.
● On this day, women bring earth from their fields in two pots and after
sowing barley seeds, keep it in a room whose walls and courtyard are
beautifully smeared with cow dung and mud solution.
● The floor of the room is decorated with beautiful Rangoli (made of rice
powder and water solution).
● This religious activity lasts for 7 days and on the last day, taking an urn filled
with barley soil on their forehead, they immerse it in a nearby pond or
reservoir.
Goncha Festival
● Goncha Festival in Chhattisgarh is a tribal festival, which is celebrated in
Jagdalpur.
● It is also popularly known as the Chariot Festival.
● The Goncha festival is celebrated according to the Hindu calendar at the
time of Rath Yatra.

Bastar Dussehra
● It is a ten-day festival celebrated in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
● ।This festival is celebrated in the honor of Mavli, the local goddess of Bastar
region.
● Goddess Mavli is worshiped as the 'elder sister' of Goddess Danteshwari and
all her sisters.

Odisha
Dhanuyatra
● It is organized in the Bargarh district of western Odisha.
● During the Dhanu Yatra, Bargarh town is considered as Mathura.
● The Jeera river flowing there is considered as Yamuna river and Ampalli
village is considered as Gop land.
● During this journey, scenes of Krishna's birth, Kansa and the killing of
various demons are shown.

Dola / Dola Jatra

● This festival is celebrated in the month of March during Holi in the state of
Odisha.
● During this festival, after decorating Lord Krishna, he is made to sit in a
small temple made of wood and is taken around every house.
Rath Yatra
● The holy journey of Lord Jagannath with brother Balabhadra (Balram), sister
Subhadra, which goes from Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple, is
famous as 'Rathayatra'.
● On this occasion, the three deities are decorated with three chariots – Ghosh,
Taladhwaj and Darpadalan respectively.
● These chariots stay at the pilgrimage site for 9 days and then return back to
the Jagannath temple.
● This journey is also called 'Bahuda Jatra'.
● This festival starts every year from the second day of Shukla Paksha in the
month of Ashadha.
● Lord Jagannath ji is considered as the 'Lord of the Universe'.

Nuakhai festival
● This festival is celebrated as a harvest festival in the month of
August-September (Bhadrapada) after Ganesh Chaturthi in western Orissa.
● In this festival, all the members of the house gather and seek the blessings of
the elders and call each other 'Nuakhai Juhar'.
● During this festival, people offer the first crop to their local goddess 'Maa
Sanleshwari' and eat food prepared from it.

Telangana
Bathukamma festival
● Bathukamma is a colorful flower festival in the state of Telangana and has
become a symbol of Telangana culture and identity in recent years.
● Bathukamma comes during the latter half of the monsoon season, before the
onset of winter.
● During the entire preceding week, women make Bathukamma along with
"Boddemma '' (a clay idol of Goddess Durga's mother Gauri) and immerse
them in a pond.
● This helps to strengthen the ponds and keep them filled with more water.
● Bathukamma is a state festival of Telangana.
Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara
● The event is organized near Warangal in Telangana and is also known as
"Medaram Jatra".
● It is one of the largest festivals in the world and attracts the second-highest
number of pilgrims after the Kumbh Mela in India.
● It is also the largest tribal festival in Asia.
● The event is organized by the Koya tribe.
● Sammakka-Saralamma, who were a mother-daughter duo, fought against
unjust laws and waged war against the ruling kings.

Bonalu
● This festival is celebrated in Telangana in June-July.
● During this festival, devotees worship Goddess Mahakali to fulfill their
wishes.
● This festival is celebrated by people of twin cities Hyderabad and
Secunderabad in the months of July/August.
● During this festival, rice is cooked in a brass or clay pot with milk and
jaggery, which is decorated with neem leaves, turmeric, and vermillion.

Karnataka

Kailpodh festival
● The Kurg community worships weapons during the Kailpodh festival.
● Kailpodh is celebrated on September 3rd.
● The word "Kail" means 'weapons' or 'armor' and "podi" means 'festival'.
● This day symbolizes the completion of the "Nati" ceremony, which is the
transplantation of rice (paddy) crop.
● On the day of Kailpodh, weapons are taken out of the worship room,
cleaned, and adorned with flowers.
Kambala festival
● In Karnataka, an annual traditional sport called "Kambala" is organized.
● Kambala is organized in the coastal regions of Karnataka.
● This festival was started by the Alupa kings of Mangalore almost 300 years
ago.
● In this festival, farmers participate in a buffalo race by tying two buffaloes
together with a plow and running them in a water-filled field.
● This festival is celebrated in Karnataka to appease the deities for a good
harvest.
● This festival is dedicated to Lord Kadri Manjunath (an incarnation of Lord
Shiva).
● In the initial days of the festival, it was known as "Karga Utsav" and later
came to be known as the Kambala festival.
● During this festival, the sight of splashing mud, running in the fields, and a
man racing the roaring buffaloes is unique.

Mahamastakabhisheka
● Mahamastakabhisheka is organized in Shravanabelagola every 12 years.
● The term Mahamastakabhisheka is derived from three words: Maha (great),
Mastaka (head), and Abhisheka (anointing), which literally means 'the grand
anointing ceremony of the head.'
● This festival is a ceremonial anointing of the statue of Lord Bahubali.
● During this ceremony, the idol of Bahubali is bathed with a mixture of milk,
ghee, and coconut water, followed by an application of turmeric paste,
vermilion powder, and a shower of fragrant flowers.
● The colossal statue of Bahubali in Shravanabelagola was constructed in the
10th century.
● It was built in the year 981 CE by Chamundaraya, a commander from the
Gang dynasty of Karnataka.
● Since then, the Mahamastakabhisheka has been organized here every 12
years.
Ugadi festival
● Ugadi is a major festival in the state of Karnataka, which symbolizes the
beginning of the New Year.
● It is celebrated on the first day of the month of Chaitra in the Indian
calendar, which falls in March or April.
● During this festival, people decorate the entrance of their homes with fresh
mango leaves and create colorful rangoli designs.
● People prepare a mixture called "Bevu-Bella," which consists of neem
flowers, red chili, tamarind, raw mango, salt, and jaggery.
● This festival signifies various dimensions of life and is associated with
different emotions and sentiments.

Dasara festival
● Dussehra, also known as Dasara, is the main festival of Mysore and is
celebrated here as the "Naada Habba" or the state festival.
● It lasts for 10 days and culminates with Vijayadashami, the day of victory.
● According to legends, it was on this day that Goddess Chamundeshwari
slayed the demon Mahishasura, after whom the city of Mysore is named.
● This festival symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.

Kerala

Onam
● It is the most important festival of Kerala.
● Traditionally it was celebrated by the people during the reign of the
legendary king Mahabali as a festival of happiness and prosperity.
● King Mahabali was sent to Patal Lok by Vamana, the fifth incarnation of
Lord Vishnu.
● With the blessings of Lord Vishnu, it is celebrated once a year in the first
month of the Malayalam calendar, Chingam i.e. August-September in
English.
● This festival is celebrated at the time of harvesting.
 ● On this festival, people decorate the courtyard of their house with flowers
for 10 days.

Makaravilakku festival
● Makaravilakku festival is organized Every year in the southern state of
Kerala in India.
● The festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated as 'Makaravilakku' festival in
the state of Kerala.
● This festival is organized at the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
● This annual festival is celebrated for seven days.
● Special prayers are offered to Lord Ayyapa on this day.
● The main attraction of this festival is the appearance of Makar Jyoti, a
celestial star and on this day this star is visible above the Kantamala hills.
● The Makaravilakku festival ends with a ritual called 'Guruthi'.
● The day of Makar Sankranti is celebrated with different names in different
states of the country and Lord Surya is worshiped everywhere on this day.

Tamil nadu

Pongal
● Pongal is observed by the Tamil community across the world in mid-January
every year.
● It is one of the biggest harvest festivals in India along with Makar Sankranti.
● The term 'Pongal' is derived from Tamil literature which means 'to boil'.
● The history of the festival can be traced back to the Sangam Age and is
considered as the ‘Dravidian Harvest festival’. But some historians claim
that this festival dates back at least 2,000 years old. It was celebrated as Thai
Niradal.
● It is a four-day event that is dedicated to the Sun God. It also marks the
beginning of Uttarayan.

Each day is marked by different festivities

● The first day is called the Bhogi festival (Indra Dev)
● The Second day is called Thai Pongal (Surya Dev) - Pongal - Kheer
● The Third day is called Mattu Pongal - (Nandi Pongal)
● The Fourth day is called Kaanum Pongal. (Friends Pongal)