In India we celebrate festivals throughout the year. People of all religions and sects gather together to celebrate the diverse customs and traditions with much fanfare. No matter what the festival is, the ambience of our home becomes nothing short of spectacular. We gather together to celebrate the festivals and enjoy the many new beginnings that these festivals bring with them. 

The act of buying and stepping into a new home itself begins with a ritualistic celebration -the Griha Pravesh. Griha Pravesh is performed to mark a new phase of life - stepping into a home that is complete from all aspects. To perform the Griha Pravehs an auspicious day as per the Hindu calendar is selected. Important dates for performing a Griha Pravesh include Vasant Panchami, Sharad Purnima, Akshaya Tritiya, Gangaur, or Diwali. 

Just like Griha Pravesh, many other festivals transform our homes into a vibrant landscape and a center of celebration. Let’s look at some of these important ones.

Gangaur

Gangaur is a festival that announces the beginning of spring. The celebrations last 18 days and culminate with Lord Shiva's entrance to escort his bride home. In some cities, particularly Rajasthan a parade of highly embellished elephants, camels, and people singing, led by jubilant musicians and children, transports the deity of Gauri. Gangaur celebration honours Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. 

The celebration is geared particularly for women. Unmarried women pray to Gauri for a good spouse, while married women pray for the prosperity, happiness, and longevity of their spouses, as well as a happy married life. They make clay idols of Lord Shiva and Parvati at their homes and dress them beautifully. The idols are placed in a basket and worshiped for a day.

Gangaur commences on Holi and is performed until the Tritiya of Chaitra Shukla Paksha. On Gangaur women from different places travel to a lake or river to offer Gangaur water.

Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi Purnima or the Hindu Festival of Brothers and Sisters is celebrated every year by the symbolic tying of Rakhi. The sister tying the Rakhi on the wrist of her brother represents the love and trust that a sister has for her brother. In return the brother reassures her sister to help her when needed. The Rakhi ceremony begins with the sister applying a vermillion dot to her brother's forehead before tying the Rakhi.

Rakhi is commemorated every year on the full moon in the Hindu month of Shravan. Sisters bring lip-smacking delicacies to their brothers’ home when they come to tie the Rakhi. Family members usually adorn their homes with decorative lights and flowers on the day of Rakhi. 

Karwa Chauth

The word 'Karwa' means clay pot while the word 'Chauth' means the fourth day. The Karwa Chauth celebration honours the lovely tie of marriage by commemorating the unwavering love and support that binds a couple together. According to the Hindu lunar calendar, it is observed on the fourth day, following the full moon in the month of Kartik.

Women fast without drinking water and swear to keep the fast with commitment and honesty. They worship the gods Karwa Mata, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, and Lord Kartikeya in order to obtain blessings for their spouses' long lives. If a married lady keeps the Karwa Chauth fast, it is thought that her husband would live a long and happy life.

Married women break their fast after they catch a glimpse of the moon in the evening. They often step out in the verandah or the terrace of their homes, several times to check if the moon is visible. 

Every year on Krishna Paksha Chaturthi, the Hindu custom of Karwa Chauth fasting is practiced. Karwa Chauth falls around 10 days before Diwali every year.

Sharad Purnima

The term "Sharad" alludes to the year's "Sharad Ritu" (season). It's largely a harvest festival with religious connotations. Goddess Lakshmi is reported to wander from place to place on this night, checking to see who is awake and thanking those who are. As a result, instead of sleeping on this night people sing, dance, and remember God. 

On Sharad Poornima, Goddess Lakshmi is believed to have been born. Anyone who adheres to this fast does not eat solid foods. After finishing the fast they must first taste a mixture of cold milk and rice flakes kept under the moonlight for the night. Family members usually keep a bowl out in their verandah. During this fast it is customary to drink cold milk. This practice also has scientific underpinnings.

Janmashtami

The Hindu festival of Krishna Janmashtami honours Krishna's birth as Vishnu's eighth incarnation. The festival is celebrated throughout the country, especially with much grandeur in Mathura and Vrindavan - the place where Krishna spent his infancy and early adolescence. Devotees conduct a vigil and fast until midnight, the traditional hour of his birth. The picture of Krishna is then washed in milk and water and clothed in fresh clothing before being worshiped.

The auspicious day is nothing short of a celebration. From buying gorgeous outfits for Lord Krishna to beautifying temples with flowers and lights, the day is celebrated with tremendous passion in the temple area of a home. Devotees make a palki of Laddu Gopal and swing him back and forth as a show of their love and care. Children and elders alike enjoy swinging their Laddu Gopal.

Tulasi Vivah

Almost all Hindu homes have a Tulasi plant. The plant has innumerable health benefits - promotes a healthy heart, cures fever and relieves headaches. Family members, especially women, worship Tulasi with reverence every day. 

Tulasi Vivah is the marriage of the plant to Lord Shaligram or Amla - the personification of Lord Vishnu. A simple and short ceremony is performed in the area where the Tulasi plant is kept. Usually, people keep the Tulasi plant in their verandah. 

Practically speaking, the marriage ceremony marks the end of the monsoon season and the commencement of the wedding season as per the Hindu calendar. This is the grandeur of our traditions where everything around us - the plants, environment or even the food we eat is worshiped with devotion.

Conclusion

Some or the other celebration keeps going on throughout the year in our country. The act of people coming over, decorating your home and cooking delicacies happens at least once every month. Make certain to keep your home ready and enjoy every occasion with grandness. There is nothing more joyful than bringing home the festivities and relishing them with your loved ones.