Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

celebrate a significant number of festivals and celebrations, many of which commemorate events from

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

and often align with seasonal changes. These festivities take place either on a fixed annual date on the

solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicates the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar ...

or on a specific day of the lunisolar calendar. The observance of these festivals often varies by region, with many celebrated predominantly by particular sects or in specific areas of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Terminology

Dolu Utsava

''Utsava'' is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word for festivals. The Sanskrit word ''Utsava'' comes from the word ''ut'' meaning "starts" and ''sava,'' which means "change" or "decline". ''Dolu'' means "seasonal colouring". Both the solar and the lunisolar calendars operate based on Dolu Utsava.

Observance periods (''tithi'')

Hindu calendar dates are usually in accordance with a lunisolar calendar. In Vedic timekeeping, a ''māsa'' is a lunar month, a ''pakṣa'' is a lunar fortnight (two weeks), and a '' tithi'' is a lunar day. There are two prevailing definitions of the lunar month: ''amānta'', where the month ends with the new moon, and ''pūrṇimānta'', where it ends with the full moon. Consequently, the same day may be associated with different but adjoining months. When a festival takes place during '' śukla paksha'' (the waxing phase of the moon), both traditions attribute it to the same month. However, if the festival occurs during ''kṛiṣhṇa paksha'' (the waning phase of the moon), the two traditions assign it to different but adjacent months.

Sublists

* List of Hindu festivals in Punjab * List of festivals observed at Jagannatha Temple, Puri * List of Sindhi festivals

List and descriptions of the major Hindu festivals

The '' tithi shown in the'' following list is as per the amānta tradition.

References

External links

Festivals
Ministry of Culture

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindu festivals

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Festivals Lists of observances Lists of religious festivals Lists of festivals in Pakistan