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The Vice President of India greeted the people on festivals ‘Chaitra Sukladi, Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, Cheti Chand, Vaisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, and Bohag Bihu’.?
Gudi Padwa
- It is celebrated in the first month of Chaitra, Gudi Padwa is primarily celebrated by the people in Maharashtra and Goa.
- The festival derives its name from two words — ‘gudi’ which is the flag of Lord Brahma and ‘padwa’ which signifies the first day of the phase of the moon.
- The festival signals the onset of the warmer days and the spring season.
- The festival is observed with colourful floor decorations called rangoli, a special Gudhi flag (garlanded with flowers, mango and neem leaves, topped with upturned silver or copper vessel), street processions, dancing and festive foods.
Ugadi
- Ugadi, also known as Yugadi, is celebrated as New Year’s Day by the people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.
- Ugadi is festively observed in these regions on the first day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Chaitra.
- The vibrant festival of Ugadi is celebrated to welcome abundance, prosperity, and happiness in the new year.
- The festival also holds a special place for the region as it marks the beginning of nature’s annual cycle and the onset of the spring season.
Chaitra Sukladi
- It is the New Year in the traditional Hindu calendar based on the beginning of the new moon.
- Shukladi is one of the methods by which a lunar month is determined.
- It is the first day during the waxing phase (in which the visible side of the moon is getting bigger every night) of the moon in the Chaitra (the first month of the Hindu calendar).
Cheti Chand
- Cheti Chand is observed by the Sindhi community and is celebrated on the Pratipada Tithi (first day) of Chaitra, Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of the Moon).
- Cheti Chand also marks the emergence of Jhulelal
- Cheti Chand (also known as Jhulelal Jayanti) is observed by the Sindhi community on the Pratipada Tithi (first day) of Chaitra, Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of the Moon).
- It is celebrated when the crescent appears after the New Moon day (Amavasya). On this day, Sindhis celebrate their New Year as well as the birth anniversary of Jhulelal.
Baisakh
- It is also called Vaisakhi, and is known as the harvest festival of Punjab.
- It is celebrated by people across religions. Other than marking the season of harvest, Baisakhi also has religious significance for the Sikhs. Baisakhi marks the beginning of the Sikh New Year.
- Baisakhi is an important festival as the day marks the new spring year and also the formation of Khalsa Panth under the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699.
- This holiday is also known as Vaisakha Sankranti and celebrates the Solar new year, based on the
Vishu
- The festival of Vishu heralds the beginning of the Malayalee New Year and the festival is celebrated in a big way in Kerala and the adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu.
- Vishu day marks the Sun’s transit to the zodiac MeshaRashi as per the Indian Astrological calculations.
- The festival marks the first day of Medam, the ninth month in the solar calendar followed in Kerala.
- It therefore always falls in the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar on 14th or 15th April every year.
Puthandu
- This is also known as Puthuvarudam or Tamil New Year, is the first day of the year on the Tamil calendar and traditionally celebrated as a festival.
- The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, as the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai.
- It therefore falls on or about 14th April every year on the Gregorian calendar.
Bihu
- It is also called Rongali Bihu and Bohag Bihu is Assam’s harvest festival which marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year
- The word Bihu is taken from the Sanskrit word Bishu meaning “to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods” during harvesting season.
- Bihu, in Assam, is of three types: Rangoli Bihu, Magh Bihu and Maghar Domahi.
