India is well known all over the world as a country of cultural and traditional

festivals as it has many cultures and religions. One can enjoy the festival
celebration in India every month. As it is a secular country full of diversity in
the religions, languages, cultures and castes, it is always crowded with the people
involved in the fairs and festivals celebration. People from each religion have
their own cultural and traditional festivals. Some of the festivals are celebrated
by the people of all religions in the entire nation. Each and every festival is
celebrated uniquely in different ways according to the rituals, beliefs and its
significant history behind. Each festival has its own history, legend and
significance of celebration. Indian origin people in the abroad also celebrate
their cultural festival with the immense passion.

India is a country with example of unity in diversity as it contains people of

various religions like Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, Christian and etc. Some of the
festivals are celebrated at national level whereas some of are at regional level.
According to the religions and rituals, festivals have been categorized into
following categories:

HINDU FESTIVALS
There are lots of cultural and traditional festivals celebrated by the people of
Hindu religion all over the world. Hinduism is considered as the oldest organized
religion of the world as well as counted as the third largest religion of the
world. Each Hindu festival celebration has a special ritual to be celebrated in
that way by the act of worship, offerings to deities, offering Ganga Jal, fasting,
bathing in Ganga jal in early morning, feasting, Dan, Dakshina, Puja, Katha, Hoom,
aarti and so many. All the people of Hindu religion celebrate their festivals by
uniting together in community without any distinction of age, caste and gender.

The dates of the Hindu festivals are fixed according to the dates of the Hindu
calendar, lunar calendar which depends on the sun and moon movements throughout the
year. Some of the festivals of Hindu are celebrated as the historical mythology,
some for seasonal changes and some for cleaning and keeping the environment safe.
Some of the festivals celebrations are limited to the specific sects or Indian
subcontinent regions.

There are many believes in the Hinduism because of various historical sculptures
(Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and Ramayana), ancient and sacred religious text (Rig
Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda), Hindus deities and etc. The birth
and death anniversaries of the god and goddess are also celebrated in the Hinduism
with lots of fun and frolic activities such as music, dance and etc. Below is the
list of all the Hindu festivals:

FESTIVALS IN 2018

Hindu Festivals Date � 2018

Lohri 13 January, Saturday
Makar Sankranti 14 January, Sunday
Pongal 14 January, Sunday
Vasant Panchami 22 January, Monday
Thaipusam 31 January, Wednesday
Maha Shivaratri 13 February, Tuesday
Holika Dahan 1 March, Thursday
Holi 2 March, Friday
Chaitra Navratri 18 March Sunday to 26 March Monday
Ugadi/Telugu New Year 28 March, Wednesday
Gangaur Festival 20 March, Tuesday
Mewar Festival 18 March Sunday � 20 March Tuesday
Ram Navami 25 March Monday
Mahavir Jayanti 29 March Thursday
Hanuman Jayanti 31 March Saturday
Rath Yatra 14 July, Saturday
Guru Purnima 27 July, Friday
Onam 15 August Wednesday to 27 August Monday
Raksha Bandhan 26 August Sunday
Kumbh Mela 29 August Wednesday to 18 September Tuesday
Janmashtami 2 September Sunday
Ramlila 8 September Friday to 8 October Sunday
Ganesh Chaturthi 12 September Wednesday
Brahmotsavam 10 October Wednesday to 18 October Thursday
Pitr Paksh 24 September Monday to 8 October Monday
Rambarat 8 October Sunday
Navratra 10 October Wednesday to 18 October Thursday
Dussehra 19 October Friday
Maharishi Valmiki jayanti 24 October Wednesday
Karva Chauth 28 October Sunday
Dev Uthani Ekadashi 19 November Monday
Dhanteras 5 November Monday
Diwali 7 November Wednesday
Govardhan Puja 8 November Thursday
Bhai Dooj 9 November Friday
Chhath Puja 11 November Sunday to 14 November Wednesday
MUSLIM FESTIVALS
All the people of Muslim religion enthusiastically celebrate their all the Islamic
festivals all over the world. There are many religious festivals which they
celebrate with great passion and dedication by following the date of their Islamic
calendar. Some of the very important Islam festivals are Ramzan (Ramadan), Id-e-
Milad, Muharram, Bakr-Id and etc which they celebrate in special ways by offering
prayers in the mosques, feasting, fasting and wishing to each other.

They decorate their homes with colored lights and other things in the evening and
celebrate throughout the night by getting together. Some of the Islamic festivals
have been declared as the public holiday in the educational institutions,
government offices and other working place. Islam was founded by the spiritualist
Muhammad around the 7th century which has become the 2nd largest religion
worldwide. The Islam has five most significant Pillars such as �Shahadah (Faith),
Salah (Prayer), Zakah (Donate), Sawm (Fasting) and Hajj (Pilgrimage)�. Below is the
list of all Muslim festivals:

Muslim Festivals Date � 2018

Barawafat 11 December, Monday
Milad-Un-Nabi 20 November Tuesday to 21 November Wednesday
Giaravahin Sharif 22 January, Sunday
Hazarat Ali�s Birthday 29 March, Thursday
Shab E Miraj 12 April Thursday to 13 April Friday
Shab-e-Barat 30 April Monday to 1 May Tuesday
Jamat-Ul-Vida 14 June Thursday to 15 June Friday
Id-ul-Fitr (Ramzan Eid) 14 June Thursday to 15 June Friday
Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid or Eid Ul-Adha) 21 August Tuesday to 22 August Wednesday
Muharram 21 September Friday