Fast for the health and happiness of your man!

Karwa Chauth is a festival full of legend and tradition celebrated by all married Hindu women, mostly in Northern India. During the day they fast for the long life, health and prosperity of their husbands. The event is growing bigger with each passing year and nowadays, Karwa Chauth is more for fun than a serious festival.

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Picture: Karwa Chauth henna by HennaLounge, on Flickr

Nine nights of music and dancing…

Navratri (literally meaning “nine nights”) is one of the greatest Hindu festivals and one which symbolises the triumph of good over evil and in which God is adored as Mother. It is actually held several times a year with the most important being around harvest time. 

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Picture: Dance by MJField, on Flickr

Do not look at the moon! The moon laughed at Ganesh when his stomach burst open and the sweets fell out!

Ganesha Chaturthi, the great Ganesha festival, is celebrated by Hindus around the world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. On the last day, a Ganesha idol is carried through the streets in a procession to be immersed in a river or the sea in a ritual send-off on his in his journey towards his abode in Kailash taking with him all the misfortunes of man.

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Picture: Ganesh Chaturthi by anupama kinagi, on Flickr

A Hindu celebration of marriage and family

Women all over India celebrate Teej with great enthusiasm, dressing in their best saris and honouring the other women of the family and their husbands.

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Picture: Teej Festival, Jaipur by Bahadur Singh aus Rajasthan, Indien, on Flickr

Cover the floor with flower carpets and dance with the decorated elephants until you are blue in the face…

Elaborate feasts, elegant dances, ornately dressed elephants, vibrant parades, snake boat races and intricate flower carpets are all part of this breathtaking harvest festival, the biggest festival in the South Indian state of Kerala .

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Picture: Onam in Kerala. Gods with Green Faces ! by Anoop Negi, on Flickr

Hindu Girl Power…

Women all over India celebrate Teej with great enthusiasm, dressing in their best saris and honouring the other women of the family and their husbands. There are lively street processions with images of the goddess Parvati dressed in new clothes and jewellery and escorted by elephants, camels and horse-drawn chariots.

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Picture: Teej Festival, Jaipur by Bahadur Singh aus Rajasthan, Indien, on Flickr.

Every year, in late June or early July, the temple town of Puri, Orissa transforms into a spectacular riot of colour and noise during one of India’s most impressive and oldest Hindu festivals, Rath Yatra (Festival of Chariots).

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Picture: Puri – Rath Yatra 2007 by skinnylatte, on Flickr.

Get dyed at the Festival of Colours…

The Hindu festival of Holi is also called ‘The Festival of Colours’, and people celebrate the festival by smearing each other with paint, and throwing coloured powder and dye around in an atmosphere of good natured abandon in celebration of springtime.

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Original tumblr post by just-sittin-eatin-bagels:

Holi, or The Festival of Colors, in India, celebrating the beginning of Spring.

Look away if you are squeamish, this one’s not for the faint hearted!

The Hindu festival of Thaipusam is about faith, endurance and penance. It’s a highly colourful, event which can stretch for 3 or 4 days and is in honour the Hindu God, Lord Murugan. On the day of the festival, devotees will cleanse themselves, shave their heads and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route whilst carrying various types of kavadi (burdens) as an act of devotion to Murugan. At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but piercing of the flesh (mostly tongue or cheeks) with vel skewers or spears is also common. 

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(Source: nomadicfeet)

Khajuraho Dance Festival

This annual Dance Festival brings the amazing (and somewhat erotically sculptured) temples of Khajuraho alive with India’s finest classical dance every February or March time. Styles of dance include Kathak, Bharat Natyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Manipuri.

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silezukuk:

khajuraho [***]