India is a spectacular land of festivities where every festival is celebrated with unmatched enthusiasm, plethora of carnivals and hundreds of legendary traditions. Beginning with the first month of the Gregorian calendar,
January gives a great start to worldwide celebrations in every nook and corner of the earth.
People from all round the globe get together in their native countries to celebrate the
New Year's Eve(
नववर्ष-की-पूर्व-संध्या) with carnivals & theme parties on the 1st of
January. Soon after, the much awaited harvest festivals of various states and regions are celebrated with great fervour and delight in the country. Festivities like
Lohri (
लोहड़ी) in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana,
Ganga Sagar Snan (
गंगा-सागर-स्नान) in West Bengal,
Makar Sankranti (
मकर-संक्रांति) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and
Pongal (
पोंगल) in Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu, are considered highly auspicious for the crops and the farmers of the whole country.
January is a proud host to many significant national days as well. Some of them are
Indian Army Day (
सेना-दिवस) ,
National Youth Day (
राष्ट्रीय-युवा-दिवस) ,
Desh Prem Diwas (
देश-प्रेम-दिवस) but the most important of all is the
Republic Day (
गणतंत्र-दिवस). The parades and the patriotic celebrations last for a span of three days and commemorates with trumpets and drums of the Beating Retreat.
Many popular literary and dance festivals also fall in the month of
January. This includes International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad,
Jaipur Literature Festival (
जयपुर-साहित्य-महोत्सव),
Modhera Dance Festival (
मोढेरा-नृत्य-उत्सव) ,
Kenduli Mela (
केंडुली-मेला),
Bikaner Camel Fair (
बीकानेर-ऊंट-मेला) in Rajasthan and
Island Tourism Festival (
आइलॅंड-पर्यटन-उत्सव) in Port Blair. People from North Goa will be all set to commemorate their annual Three King’s Feast which will last for 10 long days of music, dance and partying.
Significant Hindu Vrats like
Putrada Ekadashi Vrat (
पौष-पुत्रदा-एकादशी) ,
Paush Purnima (
पौष-पूर्णिमा) ,
Sakat Chauth (
सकट-चौथ-व्रत) will witness huge crowd near the Ghats of Prayag and Varanasi. For Sikhs,
Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti (
गुरु-गोबिंद-सिंह-जयंती) will be a great time to visit the prominent Gurudwaras of the country and offer prayers and indulge in charity.
