Harvest festivals of Indian states

Harvest festivals of Indian states occurs at the time of main harvest of a the region and people. The 28 states of India celebrated its own Harvest festival at various times throughout the year. Major Harvest festivals in India are Makara Sankranti which is also known as Pongal,Uttarayana,Lohri,Poush Parbon and Bhogali Bihu.

Makara Sankranti in January

Makara Sankranti is one of the major Indian Harvest festival celebrated with different name and innumerable way due to the diversity of culture in India. Festival of Makar Sankranti is most auspicious days for Hindus and take a dip in holy places like Ganga Sagar and Prayag. Makara Sankranti is known as Pongal,Uttarayana,Lohri,Khichdi,Shishur Saenkraat and Maagh Bihu, major kite festival also held at this day in Gujarat. Kumbh Mela 2013 will be the biggest attraction of Indian during the festival of Makara Sankranti, schedule to held in Allahabad at the confluence of the holiest Ganga and Yamuna rivers.

Makara-Sankranti-Festival

Holi in February–March

The festival of colors is celebrated between the February and March month and known as Phagwah as well. Holi has many significance and one of them is changing of season and beginning of the new spring season. Its a bid adieu to winter and welcome the season of spring with enjoyment and pray for good harvests. The religious purpose of Holi is Holika Dahan and Rangapanchami,the Braj region is famous for its traditional Lathmar Holi,a major tourist attraction in India.

Holi-re-rasiya-festival

Baisakhi in April

Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is the major festival celebrated across the north region of India, especially in the Punjab state. Vaisakhi is celebrated as the Indian thanksgiving day by farmers of Punjab, praying for future prosperity and thanking God for harvest. It also has religious significance for the Sikhs community as the foundation of the Panth Khalsa on this day by the Guru Gobind Singh.

Baisakhi-festival

Rongali Bihu in April

Bihu is the national festival of Assam celebrate three time in the year, Maagh in January, Bohaag in April and Kaati in October. Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu is the major among the other and most popular Bihu festival celebrated as the Assamese New Year in mid April along with Spring season. The seven days festival is celebrated with the feeling of joy,worship,traditional cuisines and folk dance.

Bihu-Festival-Assam

Hareli Festival in July-August

Hareli is one of the major harvest festival of tribal Chhattisgarh state,celebrate during the holy month of Sawan or in the month of monsoon (July-August). During the Hareli festival of Chhattisgarh tribes worshipping farm equipment, cows and pray for good crops along with many social and cultural events. Cher-Chera is another most popular harvest festival of Chhattisgarh celebrated with traditional folk songs and dance like raut nacha,Panthi,Gaur Madiya and Karma in the tribal region of state.

Hareli-Festival

Onam in August–September

Onam festival is the grand carnival of Kerala state, celebrated during the month of Chingam (August–September). The ancient festival has a significance of homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali and harvest of rice and rain flowers in Kerala. The ten day festival is celebrated with various festivities such as flower carpets,Vallamkali,Puli Kali and Kaikottikkali.

Onam-dance-in-kerala

Nuakhai in August–September

Nuakhai also known as Nabanna is the Harvesting Festival of Orissa celebrated in the month of August–September. The harvest festival Nuakhai is mostly celebrated in the western region of Orissa and a major social festival of Kosal.

Nuakhai-Festival

Diwali Festival in October-November

The festival of lights is also celebrated as Harvest Festival, as it occurs at the end of a cropping season or the last harvest of the year before winter. Diwali is the most popular festival in India, celebrate the triumph of good over evil, in the form of lighting up of houses, burning the candles and set off fireworks.

Diwali-Festival

Kut Festival in November

Kut festival is a major Post Harvest festival celebrate in the month of November by Kuki-Chin tribes. The annual festival is a leading festivals of Manipur state and does not restricted by community any more, various cultural events are Organized to celebrate the kut festival such as folk dances,traditional dances and songs along with Miss Kut contest. Another harvest festival of Manipur is Chumpha Festival,celebrated by the Tanghul Nagas tribes of the region.

Kut-festival

Tokhu Emong in November

The festival of Tokhu Emong is celebrate by the tribes of Lotha nagas in the first week of November. Tokhu Emong is a popular post harvest festival enjoy with tribal folk dances and old folk songs and held for 9 days.Other harvest festival of the Indian states includes Navanna in West Bengal,Wangala in Meghalaya,Pawl Kut of Mizoram and most famous Garia Puja of Tripura.

Tokhu-Emong-festival

Indian Festivals: Makar Sankranti

Unlike most of the other Indian Hindu Festivals, the date of Makar Sankranti is fixed. Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. The popular Indian festival “Makar Sankranti” is the first Indian festival falls in New Year. It is one of the major Indian harvest festival celebrated on 14th of January of every year. It’s an important festival of the Hindus and celebrated almost everywhere in the country in myriad cultural forms and different names. Every region celebrate it in innumerable ways, according to the localization, culture and traditions.

Festival of Kites: 

Makar Sankranti is also known as Uttarayan or Festival of Kites in Gujarat and Rajasthan. This is a full kite-flying day, colorful kites in the sky convert Sankranti into the beautiful colors of kites. The International Kite festival is held at Ahmedabad on January 14 of every year. Kite festival is one of the most popular festivals of Jaipur “The Pink City” Rajasthan.

Patang-Uddi-Re-Patang

Fairs and Festivals:

During the Makar Sankranti festival, so many mela or fairs held’s in different region’s of India. A biggest fair held at Ganga Sagar  in west Bengal, where the most scared river “Ganga” enters the sea, thousands of pilgrims and Sadhu the holy men come here for the holy bath on the day of Makar Sankranti. The bullock festival, cattle fair held on Makar Sankranti at different places, where many camels, bullocks and horses are sold and purchased by animal lover people. One of the famous and unique fair is held at Rajgir, Bihar.

Ganga Sagar Festival Mela in West Bengal

The famous Makar Sankranti festival is related to harvesting the food grains. Its called Lohri in Punjab, In south India it’s known as Pongal “The National festival of India”, in Karnataka it’s called Sankranti and in Kerala it’s called Makara Vilakku. In Bengal, Makar Sankranti is celebrated at the last day of the Bengali month of Poush. This festival goes on for ten days, feasting, boat races, songs and dance are the major parts of attraction of this important Indian festival. It is celebrated with the til (sesame seeds) ke laddoo, gajak, Ellu Bella and sarson ka saag-makka ki roti.

White-Til-Laddu