Leading Festival of Rural India

As stated earlier, all the festivals are not celebrated throughout rural India. But most of the leading festivals are celebrated with equal enthusiasm throughout the rural part of the country.

Given below the description of some of the leading festivals of Rural India

1. Sakat: Sakat festival is celebrated to guard the villagers against various catastrophes. Mother of male children offer their prayers to Sakat Maharani to protect their children from all the evils and on the evening of the festival day the Sakat Maharani is worshipped and members of the family are served fried food on the day of this festival. Women abstain from food of this day.
2. Makar Sankranti: Makar Sankranti is celebrated every year on the 14th day of January and on this day everyone rises early in the morning and take bath mostly in the river and especially in the Ganges. Special food is prepared on these days and Brahmins are offered rice pudding, ghee, and salt. Lower caste people take rice pudding collectively.
3. Basant Panchimi: It is the Fifth (Panchami) day of Basant when this festival is celebrated. Prayers are offered to the family of God or Lord Shiva on this day. In some of the villages, villagers wear yellow clothes. But this tradition is not universal.
4. Assari: Assari festival is celebrated in the month of assar. Fried food and fruit are the food taken by the higher caste people. Whereas lower caste people take vegetables and other roots. Assari is the festival of women Cow dung lines are drawn on the walls with the belief that it makes the place immune, from an invasion of a snake. Women visit their parent’s residents and children get their heads shaved on this day.
5. Raksha Bandhan: Raksha Bandhan is celebrated by all Hindus throughout the country. On this day colorful Rakhis are tied on the right wrist of brothers by their sisters and offer some sweets and sisters are given some money in exchange. Rakhi is the symbol of the vow that the brother takes to protect his sister from all the difficulties. This festival is also celebrated by the people of lower castes.
6. Naag Panchmi: On this festival, Snake God is worshipped and it falls on the fifth day of saavan. Presents are given to married girls by their parents. Most people take fried food on this day. Many cultural activities like wrestling competitions are organized on this day.
7. Janam Asjtmi: It is believed that Lord Krishna was born on this day at midnight which falls on the eighth day of the month Bhadou. Men and women go on fast till midnight and temples are decorated to depict the happenings of Krishan’s Birth Day. The celebration of Janam Ashtmi is one of the most colorful events of Indian cultural life.
8. Holi: Holi is a kind of Hindu festival. Falling on the day of the full moon in the month of Phalgun, village boys roam in the village and collect wood at a particular place where this is to be lighting the fire and on this occasion, villagers collect together to watch the ceremony. In the evening women worship the place of bone fire. The following day is called Dhulandi on this day colors are exchanged and villagers also sing folk songs. The activities of colors are exchanged and villagers also sing folk songs. The activity of color throwing stopped at noon.
9. Shiva Ratri: Phalgun is the month in which shiva Ratri is celebrated. On this day exclusively Lord Shiva is worshipped and flowers of nature and other materials are put about the idea of Shiva. Generally, people observe fast on the day. Some people take bath in the holly river the Ganges on this day.
10. Worship of Jagannath: The idol of Jagannath has been established in the famous temple in Puri. This festival is also celebrated in most villages. Villagers believe that the worship of Jagannath leads to prosperity. People undertake a pilgrimage to puri and there they offer their prayer. Homes are cleaned properly and fried food is prepared on this day.
11. Dushehra of Jaith: On the day of this festival that falls in the months of Jaith, water is offered to Mahadeva but where the lower caste people are concerned, they offer water at the perfumed residence of the deity.
12. Teej: This festival is celebrated in some parts of the country mainly by women both married and unmarried and only fried food is taken on this day.
13. Vijay Dashmi: Vijoy Dashmi, popularly known as Dushera is one of the greatest festivals of the Hindus, like Holi and Deewali. It is believed that on this day Rama conquered, the Ravana and this established the victory of good over evil. Rama Lila is staged in the villages long before the actual day and the festival is celebrated with remarkable pomp and show. Big effigies of Ravana Kumkharana and Meghanatha are erected and at the appointed day and time on the Dushehra day, they are ablaze with fire. There is great enthusiasm, especially among the villagers on this day.
14. Diwali: Diwali is also, one of the most important festivals of Hinduism. On this day is believed that Rama returned to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. The houses are decorated with earthen pots made as lamps and it looks very beautiful in the evening when they are lit. Sweets are exchanged between friends and relatives.

Besides these, other important festivals are Pitra Paksh, Karva Choath Kartiks Poorniman