List of Hindu festivals in Punjab

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This list of Punjabi Hindu festivals summarizes festivals observed in Punjab. These are based on the Bikrami calendar. [1] The festivals of Maghi and Vaisakhi are determined by the solar aspect and others on its lunar months.[ clarification needed ]

Contents

Observance and overview

Punjabi Hindus follow the Bikrami calendar to observe religious festivals.

List and descriptions of major Hindu Punjabi festivals

Other festivals

In addition to the above, Punjabi Hindus observe other Punjabi festivals such as, Basant Festival of Kites, Lohri, Teej and Gugga.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holi</span> Hindu spring festival of colours

Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Holi originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent of India and Nepal, but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maha Shivaratri</span> Hindu festival dedicated to the god Shiva

Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half of the lunar month of Phalguna. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shravana (month)</span> Fifth month of the Hindu lunar calendar

Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the year, typically beginning in mid to late July and ending in late August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as Āvani and is the fifth month of the solar year. In lunar religious calendars, Śrāvaṇa begins on the new moon or the full moon and is the fifth month of the year. Srabon is the fourth month of the solar Bengali calendar. It is also the fourth month of the Nepali calendar. Śrāvaṇa is also the second month of Varsha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishna Janmashtami</span> Hindu festival celebrating Krishnas birth

Krishna Janmashtami, also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the Gita Govinda, Krishna has been identified as supreme God and the source of all avatars. Krishna's birth is celebrated and observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight in Shravana Masa or Bhadrapada Masa. This overlaps with August or September of the Gregorian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaisakhi</span> Religious, harvest and traditional new year festival

Vaisakhi, also pronounced Baisakhi marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern India. Further, other Indian cultures and diaspora celebrate this festival too. Whilst it is culturally significant as a festival of harvest, in many parts of India, Vaisakhi is also the date for the Indian Solar New Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lohri</span> Winter folk festival in India

Lohri is a popular winter Dogra and Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India. The significance and legends about the Lohri festival are many and these link the festival to the Duggar region and Punjab region. It is believed by many that the festival marks the passing of the winter solstice. Lohri marks the end of winter, and is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere. It is observed the night before Maghi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaithal</span> City in Haryana, India

Kaithal is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the Kaithal. It shares a border with the Patiala district of state Punjab and the Kurukshetra, Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana. Kaithal district is situated in the North-West of the Haryana state. Its North-West boundaries, which include Guhla-Cheeka are attached to Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasant Panchami</span> Hindu festival celebrated to welcome Spring

Vasant Panchami, also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teej</span> Special festivals of Hindu women

Teej, literally meaning the "third" denoting the third day after the new moon when the monsoon begins as per the Hindu calendar, is a combined name for 3 Hindu festivals primarily dedicated to Hindu deities - the mother goddess Parvati and her male consort Shiva, mainly celebrated by married women and unmarried girls mostly in North India and Nepal to wish for the long life of their husband or future husband and to welcome the arrival of monsoon season with the singing, swings, dancing, enjoyment, prayer rituals and often fasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punjabi Hindus</span> Ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent

Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the second-largest religious group of the Punjabi community, after the Punjabi Muslims. While Punjabi Hindus mostly inhabit the Indian state of Punjab, as well as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh today, many have ancestry across the greater Punjab region, which was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mata Mansa Devi Mandir</span> Hindu temple in Haryana, India

Mata Mansa Devi is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, in the Panchkula district of the Indian state of Haryana. The temple complex is spread of 100 acres (0.40 km2) of the Shivalik foothills in the village of Bilaspur, near Sector 13 of Chandigarh, and Panchkula, 10 km from Chandi Mandir, another noted Devi shrine in the region, both just outside Chandigarh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kartika Purnima</span> Hindu, Jain and Sikh holy day

Kartika Purnima is a Hindu, Sikh, and Jain cultural festival that is celebrated on purnima, the 15th day of the lunar month Kartika. It falls on November or December of the Gregorian calendar and is also known as Tripurari Purnima or Deva-Deepavali, the gods's festival of lights. Karthika Deepam is a related festival that is celebrated in South India and Sri Lanka on a different date. It follows Diwali by about 15 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durgiana Temple</span> Hindu temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India

The Shri Durgiana Mandir is a Hindu temple situated in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, India. Though a Hindu temple, its architecture is similar to the Sikh Harmandir Sahib. The temple derives its name from the Goddess Durga, the chief Goddess who is worshipped here. Murtis of Lakshmi and Vishnu are also located and worshipped in the temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maghi</span> Seasonal festive gathering of Sikhs in January

Maghi is the regional name of the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti celebrated in Punjab, Haryana Jammu division and Himachal Pradesh. In Himachal, the festival is also known as Maghi Saaji or Magha Ra Saza. In Bihar and Nepal it is also referred to as Maghi Parva or Maghi Sankranti. whereas it is known as Maghi Sangrand or Uttarain (Uttarayana) in Jammu and Sakrat in Haryana, Maghi is celebrated on first day of the month of Magh of Hindu Calendar. It follows on the heels of the mid-winter festival of Lohri which is marked by bonfires in North Indian fields and yards. The next morning Hindus see as an auspicious occasion for ritual bathing in ponds and rivers.

Punjabi festivals are various festive celebrations observed by Punjabis in Pakistan, India and the diaspora Punjabi community found worldwide. The Punjabis are a diverse group of people from different religious background that affects the festivals they observe. According to a 2007 estimate, the total population of Punjabi Muslims is about 90 million, with 97% of Punjabis who live in Pakistan following Islam, in contrast to the remaining 30 million Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus who predominantly live in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rama Navami</span> Hindu festival celebrating the birth of the deity Rama

Rama Navami is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and human through his righteousness, good conduct and virtue. The festival falls on the ninth day of the bright half of the lunar cycle of Chaitra (March–April), the first month in the Hindu calendar. It is also part of the Chaitra Navaratri festival in spring. Rama Navami is a holiday for government employees in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jammu division</span> Administrative division in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Jammu division is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is bordered by the Kashmir division to the north. It consists of the districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba. Most of the land is hilly or mountainous, including the Pir Panjal Range which separates it from the Kashmir Valley and part of the Great Himalayas in the eastern districts of Doda and Kishtwar. Its principal river is the Chenab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agrasen Jayanti</span> Birth anniversary celebration of Agrasen Maharaj

Agrasen Jayanti is the birth anniversary celebration of a legendary Hindu king Agrasen Maharaj. He was king of Agroha, and it was from him that the Agrawal caste originated. Agrasen Jayanti is observed on the fourth day of Ashwin month of Hindu calendar.

The Punjabi calendar is a luni-solar calendar used by the Punjabi people in Punjab and around the world, but varies by religions. Historically, the Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus have used the ancient Bikrami (Vikrami) calendar. Punjabi Muslims use the Arabic Hijri calendar alongside the Punjabi Calendar. Some festivals in Punjab, Pakistan are determined by the Punjabi calendar, such as Muharram which is observed twice, once according to the Muslim year and again on the 10th of harh/18th of jeth. The Punjabi calendar is the one the rural (agrarian) population follows in Punjab, Pakistan.

References

  1. Tej Bhatia (2013). Punjabi. Routledge. pp. 208–212. ISBN   978-1-136-89460-2.
  2. "2021 Makar Sankranti Punya Kaal Time for Oakland, California, United States". Drik Panchang.
  3. "Holi celebrated across Punjab, Haryana". Hindustan Times. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Punjabiyat: The Cultural Heritage and Ethos of the People of Punjab by Jasbir SIngh Khurana Hemkunt Publishers (P) Ltd ISBN   978-81-7010-395-0
  5. 1 2 "Punjab: Fairs & Festivals". IndTravel.
  6. "Maha Shivratri in India in 2021". Office Holidays.
  7. Neel Kamal (February 20, 2012). "Mahashivratri was celebrated with fervor and gaiety in Punjab. Tens of thousands devotees from far off places landed at historic Shiva temple situated at village Ranike. It is said Pandvas had stayed here during their exile period and had worshipped Lord Shiva. Along with thousands of devotees, families of Trident group MD Rajinder Gupta, Oswal group chairman Kamal Oswal, Barnala MLA Kewal Singh Dhillon and many more dignitaries too landed to vow before Shivlingam". The Times of India.
  8. "Raksha Bandhan celebrated in Punjab, Haryana with fervour". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. August 10, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014.
  9. Alop ho riha Punjabi virsa by Harkesh Singh Kehal Pub Lokgeet Parkashan ISBN   81-7142-869-X
  10. Durga Puja
  11. 1 2 3 "Punjab Festivals". BharatOnline.com.
  12. "List of Holidays - 2014". Government of Punjab, India. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  13. Madhusree Dutta; Neera Adarkar, eds. (1996). The nation, the state, and Indian identity. contributor: Majlis Organization (Bombay). Popular Prakashan. ISBN   978-81-85604-09-1. ... originally was practised by women in Punjab and parts of UP, is gaining tremendous popularity ...
  14. Prabhjot Singh (November 14, 2008). "Rail Roko Farmers resent preventive arrests". The Tribune.