Fairs and Festivals: Hindu Festival

Name of Festival	Features
Diwali or Deepawali	It is the festival of lights celebrated on the New Moon (Amavasya) day in the month of Kartik which generally falls in October and November. The day before the festival is called Naraka Chaturdashi.
Dev Deepawali	It is celebrated in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and falls on the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartika (November-December). It takes place 15 days after Diwali. People have a tradition of lighting lamps on the ghats of the River Ganga there. It is also observed as Tripura Purnima Snan.
Holi	It is the festival of Colours and is celebrated by people across the religion. It falls in the month of Phalguna (February-March).
Makara Sankranti	Dedicated to Sun God. The festival is celebrated in the month of January. Lakhs of people undergo pilgrimage to Gangasagar (in West Bengal) and to Prayagraj to take a holy dip.
Janmashtami	It is to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna and generally falls in August.
Dussehra	It is celebrated across India to honour the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana.
Durga Puja	It is to celebrate Goddess Durga’s triumph over demon Mahishasura.
Ganesh Chaturthi	To commemorate the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha.
Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival)	It is the biggest festival of Odisha and is dedicated to three deities – Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra (his brother) and Subhadra (his sister).
Chhath Puja	It is the main festival of Bihar and Jharkhand and is celebrated to honour Sun Goddess. It is observed after days of rigorous fasting followed by holy baths and offerings to the Sun Goddess.