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Festivals in Himachal Pradesh |
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The picturesque location of Himachal Pradesh with its capital Shimla puts on a new color with exuberant shades of vibrancy with the beginning of new festivals in Himachal Pradesh year round as they mostly symbolize different seasonal changes and there are numerous folklores related to the beginning of each of the festivals. The farmers mostly don’t work on the fields during the respective festivals and according to the traditions if a death occurs in the family during the festival then that festival is not observed in the family until the birth of a child occurs during the festival and Sikh festivals in Himachal Pradesh are highly recognized while the tribal festivals have their own individuality and significance.
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The Pori festivals in Himachal Pradesh in the Lahaul valley is celebrated with all the traditional methods in the Trilokinath temple and on this day the Lord’s idol is bathed in milk and yogurt and people goes beating drums and blowing conchshells and bugles around the temple early in the morning. A horse on which god is believed to be sited is taken round the temple and is drenched in sweet following the ritual and lastly the king rides this horse which is then taken to all the shops in the locality. The jubilations of Dussera is observed all over Himachal Pradesh and the Ramlila plays are observed all over the state and the effigies of Ravana and Meghnad including his brother Kumbh Karna are set on fire and this is followed by crackers and sweet distribution. In fact the jubilations of Dussera in Kulu is the most famed one and is held in Dhalpur maidan in Kulu in October. The festival commences with the Rathayatra of Raghunathji and this yatra signifies Rama’s conquest of Ravana’s Lanka and the famed Nainadevi fair is observed in August.
The celebrations of Fulaich festivals in Himachal Pradesh in the month of monsoon in Bhadrapada when it’s time for flower watching (ukhyang) in the Kinnaur valley and this fest is known to commemorate the dead. The main fair is known to begin with animal sacrifices and the village assemble on a hilltop looking for the Ladra flower. People offer rice and wine to their dear ones following their demise and later those were distributed among the Harijans and lastly dancers are known to perform dance rituals having ancient weapons. The jubilation of Holi is observed on the full moon day in the Falgun month. Few women do special Puja offerings in this occasion and small twigs of the Kamal tree painted in red, yellow are laid out in little bamboo baskets (khartoo) with thread, kumkum, jaggery and roasted grams. Special Kadah Prasad is also prepared and distributed. The tourists can enjoy at the Holi melas organized at Palampur, Ghughar, Paprola, Baijnath, Jaisinghpur and Sujanpur and are known to last for 5 days folk dances and traditional folk theater forms are also observed.
The festival of Shivaratri is observed in the months of February to March and the fair is known to be held for 7-8 days. On this day numerous Gods and Goddesses are taken to the Mandi town and then to the Mahadev temple and this is followed by the dance, drama and music. The Baijnath temple in the Kangra district is also known to celebrate Shivaratri. Come home to a world of information about the festivals in Himachal Pradesh as countryindia.com offers information about Himachal Pradesh.
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