Festivals bring back so many memories for us. It’s is a time of celebrations and creating good memories with family and friends. Do you know there are many different festivals in our country which are celebrated on the same day with different names?

Today all these are celebrated and some of them continue for 2-3 days too.

Here are 4 harvest festivals which are celebrated in different states in different ways-

  1. LOHRI- I have a lot of old memories of Lohri as a child. I still miss those fun times with my family and it is celebrated mainly in north India. It is also called bonfire festival as family and friends light a bonfire and take rounds around it praying for good health and prosperity of the family and thanking God for the harvest season. It is celebrated with songs, music, and dance. 
  2. MAKARA SANKRANTI- It is also a festival of harvest and is celebrated in different states of India in different ways. In some places in the north, it is celebrated by worshipping Sun God and in south India, people worship Lord Krishna. People also worship their cattle in some places. Kite flying is a very common ritual on this day which is especially enjoyed by kids. 
  3. PONGAL– It is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and it is also a harvest festival. It is another name of Makar Sankranti and people thank God for all the food and good harvest of crops. They decorate their cows and bulls and worship them. Also, sweets and different food items are cooked and the special ingredients used are jaggery and sugarcane. In last few years, I have seen some of my Tamil friends cooking rice in an earthen pot on Pongal morning. 
  4. BIHU – Bihu or Vishu is the national festival of Assam and it is also a harvest festival which is celebrated in different months. The one which is celebrated in January around this time is called ‘Magh Bihu’. On this day, they celebrate with song and dance. 

Let’s go back to basics and celebrate our festivals the way we used to celebrate earlier. Let our children see the real way of celebrating these festivals too.

References-

http://www.pongalfestival.org/pongal-festival.html

drikpanchang.com

bihufestival.org

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