Vedic Holidays

Maha-Shivaratri

Mahashivaratri Festival or the 'The Great Night of Shiva' is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of Hindu Trinity, the destroyer and transformer. Shivaratri falls on the 14th night of the in the Hindu month of Magha or Phalgun, according to the Hindu calendar. Celebrating the festival of Shivaratri devotees observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam.According to the Vedic scriptures, this night marks the night when Lord Shiva danced the "Tandava", a vigorous dance which is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death.

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Next Maha Shivaratri Feb. 09, 2012


Adi Shankara Jayanti

Adi Shankara Jayanti is the celebration of the Appearance Day of the Hindu philosopher and great sage Adi Sankaracarya who lived about 2,500 years ago. Shankara is best known for consolidating the Vedantic system of thought known as Advaita Vedanta, or non-duality, which sees all beings as manifestations of the same one, non dual reality of which God and the self are no different . Shankara’s many writings were based on ideas found in the sacred Upanishads


Apperance Day of Lord Nirisimadev

Narasimha Jayanti celebrates the appearance day of Lord Narasimha dev, who was the fourth of incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The form of Lord Narasimha dev is described in the ancient Hindu texts as half-man/half-lion, with his torso and lower body like that of a man while he had the face and claws of a lion. He took this form to save his great devotee Prahlada whose father, the demon Hiranyakasipu, repeatedly tried to kill him. Hiranyakasipu had obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that he could not be killed by man nor beast, during the day or night, inside or outside, and by no weapon. With this, Hiranyakasipu conquered heaven and earth and declared himself to be God, ordering all to worship him and not Lord Vishnu. While his entire kingdom worshiped Hiranyakasipu, there was nothing he could do to stop his own son from worshiping Lord Vishnu with strong devotion.




Holi

The festival of "Holi" commemorates the victory of Lord Vishnu over the demon King Hiranyakashipu and his sister Holika. Hiranyakashipu's own son Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Prahlada's demon father attempted to burn Prahlada to death on a pyre by ordering him to sit in the fire on the lap of his aunt, Holika, who was to be protected by a magic shawl. Praying to Lord Vishnu, Prahlada was unharmed in the fire but his aunt perished. The destruction of the Holika by the Lord is symbolized on Holi with the burning of the demoness in huge bonfires. Holi is also called the Festival of Colors, and people celebrate this spring festival with folk songs and dancing and with lighthearted pranks such as the throwing of colored powders and water at each other. Holi has a special significance for devotees of Lord Krishna, who celebrate the divine love of Radha for Krishna in joyful festivities that last for several weeks in Vrindavan and Mathura, the towns where Lord Krishna grew up, and where He first celebrated the festival by playing pranks on the gopis.


Diwali

Diwali, or Deepawali, is a significant festival in Hinduism which occurs on the fifteenth day of the Hindu month of Kartika and is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Diwali, or the Festival of Lights is the third day of this five-day festival.


Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturhi, a 10-day festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesha, is one of the most sacred and popular Hindu festivals. Also called Ninayak Chaturthi, it typically falls sometime between August 20th and September 15th. Ganesha, who has a large belly and the head of an elephant topped with a tiara, is one of the best-known and most widely worshiped dieties in the Hindu religion, In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities.



Devi Navaratri

The Hindu festival Navaratri -- Sanskrit for nine nights -- is observed twice a year, in the beginning of summer and again at the start of winter. Nava translates to nine and Ratri means nights. For the festival's nine nights, people worship the different aspects of the Divine Mother, often referred to as Durga, which translates to the remover of life's miseries.
Durga is often called Devi, which translates to Goddess, and shakti, which means energy or power. This energy helps God to continue the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In observing Navarati, the energy aspect of God is invoked in the form of the universal Mother. 


Vasant Navaratri

Vasant Navaratri is a Hindu Festival that takes place in the beginning of spring and is dedicated to the Divine Mother, specifically in the forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Both the beginning of spring and autumn, important seasons of climatic and solar influence, are periods called Navaratri, the Sanskrit word for "nine nights", and provide sacred opportunities to fast and honor the Divine Mother in ceremonies call pujas.
The spring festival coincides with Ram Navami, the celebraton of the birth of Lord Ram as well as his marriage to Sita.


Rama Navami

Sri Rama Navami is dedicated to the memory of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who took birth to destroy the demon King Ravana and to uphold Dharma, or righteousness.  The story leading up to the birth of Lord Rama is described in the great epic known as Ramayana.
This day is also observed as the wedding day of Rama and Sita (an incarnation of Lakshmi). In Hindu temples, a marriage celebration is performed with small murtis of  Rama and Sita, and at the end of the day the deities are taken on a procession in the streets. Readings of the sacred Ramayana continue throughout the night.


Hanuman Jayanti

Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Hanuman, who is worshiped for his supreme devotion and selfless dedication to Lord Rama. He is remembered for his courage, strength, and indefatigable power and energy. Lord Hanuman is considered the living embodiment of the Karma yogi, one whose meditation and devotion are demonstrated through utterly selfless service to the Lord. He lived only to serve Lord Rama with pure humility, love and devotion, without expecting any fruit in return. He is also an example of the power of Ram-Nam, or the devoted repetition of the Holy Name.

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