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Delhi,
Rajasthan, Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh and the newly formed Uttarnachal (Uttarakhand)
state are the eight states, which make the North part of India.
The traditions and cultures of celebrating a particular festival
differs not only from state to state but also from the
mountainous region to the plains. Festivity brings alive the
spirit of the people staying in the northern part of India. The
all time fruitful land of five rivers is Punjab. The land of the
challenge devil Sikh society. The religion was born to save the
motherland and the Sikhs and the Punjab is, prepared to take any
risk, and accepted it. India has been represented by the Sikh
society undertaking out for business to far fledged lands, more
than anyone else from India.
Baisakhi is the New Year day, falling in Mid April, of
the Punjabis. They sing, dance and make merry on this particular
day. It is also a harvest festival, when the golden wheat ripens
and fills the heart with Joy. It was on this day almost 450
years back that the Sikh Guru started the custom close to
baptism to Sikhism. People visit temples and Gurudwaras to
worship. They gather and the men folk dance the famous Bhangra
on the tune of huge drums and the women start the Giddha to
attend them. Preparing and eating goodies and singing is also
part of the celebrations.
A yearly festival held at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab,
Hola Mohalla was started by the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind
Singh, as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises and mock
battles on the day following the festival of Holi. The word hola
is adapted from halla, meaning attack, while mohalla means the
place of attack. On this three day festival mock battles are
held followed by music and poetry competitions. The martial
custom with mock battles and displays of swordsmanship and horse
riding is the highlight if this festival held in March.
Gurupurab is another essential festival for the Sikhs and
the Punjabis. Birthdays of reverend Sikh Gurus, Guru Nanak and
Guru Gobind Singh and the martyrdom of Guru Teg
Bahadur and Arjun Dev is remembered on these days.
The first full moon night falling after Diwali is the birthday
of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. The festival is famous with
great excitement. They burn crackers and beautify their houses
with lights.
The state is full of surprises and is known as the glory of
India. Jammu and Kashmir is essentially the crown of India, the
northern most state. The spiritualist Leh, the beautiful
valleys of Kashmir and the huge holy places of Jammu,
include a treat for the traveler. Followers of Islam, Buddhism
and the Hindus, all stay in peace in this state blessed with
natural abundance. The great Himalayan mountain range forms a
superb background to this unique state. All the Hindu, Muslim,
Sikh and Buddhist festivals are famous here with all the
eagerness and vibrancy. Vaitha - Vatur - Truvah which
exactly means thirteenth day of source of River Jhelum. It is
held at an ancient temple at Verinag, the source of the
Jhelum. Hindus and Muslims contribute in this festival.
The Urs is a typical Kashmiri festival. It is held yearly at the
shrines of Muslim saints on their death anniversaries. Urs of
Meesha Sahib, Urs of Batamol Sahib and Urs of Bahauddin are
mainly famous. These Urs are popular although the rigorous
weather. Celebrated in different parts of Srinagar, not only
Muslims but Hindus and Sikhs also take the blessings. Sindhu
darshan festival is another significant festival when the
Kashmiris come from all over the state to worship the source of
the River in Leh. There are many Buddhist Monasteries in the
part of Leh as the major population of Leh and Ladakh practices
Buddhism. Few typical Leh Buddhist festivals such as the Yuru
Kabgyat celebrated in July.
Himachal Pradesh, known as the house of Gods is another
picturesque region of Northern India. The people of this region
based on the foothills of Himalayas are religious and celebrate
their festivals with fun and splendor. The Phulaich
festival famous in the Kinnaur district in month of September is
unique in tradition. This four day festival is celebrated as the
flower festival by the people of Himachal. The Rajputs of the
village go to pluck flowers from a specified mountain and return
only the next day. The night is spent singing and dancing. On
the third day, the village idol is taken out and bedecked with
all the finery along with the numerous flowers. A procession is
taken out and the rests only the next day when an animal is
sacrificed. Although this is a beautiful festival, the more
famous and promoted is the Dushera of Kullu. Dushera is
celebrated all around India, but not similar to that in Kullu.
The celebrations start in Kullu when the celebrations of India
for Dushera finish. The presiding idol of Kullu, Raghunathji
is taken out on this day and around 600 deities of Himachal come
to pay admiration to this deity.
The state of Haryana is full of greenery and the places in
Haryana are ancient having a point out in the Mahabharata. Due
to the closeness to Delhi, some places in Haryana like Gurgaon
and Faridabad have newly gained great importance as the
satellite towns of Delhi and have been added to the list of the
National Capital Region. All the common festivals like Holi,
Diwali and Dushera are celebrated in the state. But
the Haryanavis celebrate two important festivals with large
fervour. Teej festival is celebrated during the month of July -
August, to welcome the month of Sawan, bringing rains.
Mainly ladies and girls enjoy this festival more than the men
folk. The dupattas in bright red or pink with beautiful motifs
of golden thread are worn, swings are hung on trees to play with
and henna is applied on palms. A colorful festival, where the
girls and the married ladies worship Lord Shiva and Parvati.
Sanjhi is another important festival celebrated and
worshipped as the mother goddess by unmarried girls of Haryana.
They make the image of Sanjhi with sludge using different
shapes. These shapes include stars, moon, sun, face of the
goddess and are then colored.
Uttar Pradesh, the most popular states of India, is also one of
the most ancient cradles of Indian culture. Two great Rivers
beside with one mythological river that of Saraswati flow
through this state. Plentiful with natural wealth and resources,
Uttar Pradesh has given India most of its Prime Ministers. The
common Hindu festivals of Diwali, Dushera and
Muslim festivals like the Ids are celebrated with vigor over
here. The state wears a vibrant color throughout the
festivities. Some unique festivals to Uttar Pradesh includes the
most famous, Lathmar Holi. The Kumbh Mela of
Allahabad is one of the largest fairs of the world and is
attended by millions of pilgrims from all over India as well as
the religious from the world over. This religious occasion takes
place in the months of January-February, on the banks of the
holy flowing together with river Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical
Saraswati. It is believed that a holy dip on this occasion
washes all the sins. There is annual Kumbh, six yearly
and the most important is the one that comes every twelve years.
The beautiful Kartik Purnima festival or the Deepawali
celebrated in Varanasi or Banaras, is a visual
delight. Varanasi is the land of festivals. The full moon night
after Diwali falling in November - December is the
blessed day for all the people. The ghats of Banaras come
alive with thousands of brightly lit earthen lamps. The lamps
then are gently left on the River. Visitors throng in large
numbers to watch this stunning event. Other important festivals
celebrated in the Uttar Pradesh are the Ramnavami at the birth
place of Ram, in Ayodhya and Janmashtami, at the
place of Krishna in Mathura. These festivals are
celebrated with large ceremony and show in these two places as
compared to other places in India.
The land of celestial beauty that is what the new state of
Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand) is all about. Blessed with magnificent
glaciers, majestic snow clad mountains, massive and delighted
peaks, valley of flowers, skiing slopes and dense forests,
Uttaranchal is traveler delight and also a pilgrimage site for
the Hindus, located the four most sacred places of Badrinath,
Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in its
mighty mountains and deep valleys. The Mata Murti Ka Mela
held in the Champavat region in September is the unique
festival. On this day the mother of Badrinath is
worshipped, and a large fair held at the Badrinath Temple. Among
the four sacred places of India where the Kumbh is held, one of
them is Haridwar in Uttaranchal (Uttarakhand). The
Magh Mela during Sankranti in the Kumaon
region is another important festival.
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