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Lohri:
Bonfire Festival
Pongal
(Makar Sankrati): Thanksgiving (India)
Vasant
Panchami: Birthday of the Deity of Wisdom
Maha
Shivaratri: Celebration for the Deity of Power
Holi:
Spring Festival
Hindi/Telugu
New Year: New Year for Hindi & Teluga
Ramanavami:
Celebration of the deity Rama
Hanuman
Jayanti: Celebration of Hunaman the
mighty ape
Tamil
New Year: New Year for the Tamil
Bengali
New Year/Vishu: New Year for Bengali
Akshaya Tritiya:
The auspicious day
Buddha
Purnima: Day of rejoicing Buddha in reflections
and teaching.
Ganga
Dasshera: The begining of the four months of Chaturmasa.
Kabir
Jayanti: Celebration of Saint Kabir Jayanti
Guru
Har Govind Jayanti: Celebration of the Guru Har
Govind
Rath
Yatra: The Chariot Festival in
celebration of the deity Jagganath
Tulsi
Das Jayanti: Celebration of the birthday of
Saint Tulsi Das.
Onam:
Festival to usher in the holiday season
Raksha-Bandhan:
Celebrates the bonds between brothers and sisters.
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Krishna
Janmashthami: Krishna's Birthday Celebration
Ganesh/Vinayak
Chaturthi: Celebration of Ganesh, the Indian diety
Pitr-Paksha
begins: Beginning of the rituals in celebration of
god
Pitr-Paksha
ends: End of Pitr-Paksha
Mahalaya:
Celebration of the deity Durga
Navaratri
begins: First day of the Celebration of Nine
Nights in honor of Durga
Durga
Puja begins: Bengal festival in honor of Durga
Vijaya
Dashami/Dusshera: Ten day festival in honor of
Durga
Lakshmi
Puja: Celebration of Lakshmi, the diety of wealth
and beauty.
Karwa
Chauth: Fast for married women.
Dhanteras:
Marks the beginning of the Diwali celebrations
Diwali:
Hindu Festival of Lights
Vikram
New Year 2061: New Year for the Vikram
Kali
Puja: Celebration of the deity Kali.
Bhai
Dooj: Women mark with a spot on the head to their
male loved ones to strengthen their bonds
Guru
Nanak Jayanti: Celebration of Saint Nanak Jayanti
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Websites on Hinduism,
Hindu Holidays and India
HinduNet.org (official):
Largest site about Hindus and Hinduism on the web
Hindu
Almanac (About.com): List of Hindu holidays, their dates, with links
to articles about each date.
Hindu Festival
Dates (Infoplease): Dates for Hindu holidays in 2004
All India Travel (official):
Information about India, its traditions, holidays and customs. The
World Factbook (CIA): Information and facts about India The
Times of India (official): Indian newspaper with news stories and
articles relating to India and current events.
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There are many different rituals and customs for these
holidays. Even the rituals between the different sects might
differ. I have included links to each of the holidays above, and
they should give you specific information for each holiday.
Below I have provided some gift ideas relating to
Hinduism and India which may or may not have to do with any particular
holiday ritual.
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