Festivals Of Uttrakhand

• Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela in Uttrakhand is a festival that we all hear about a lot. But how grand it really is?! Well, it goes beyond a mela or fair for those who celebrate it. This rather important occasion sees the greatest assemblage of explorers that take a plunge into the Ganga River in order to free oneself of one's transgressions. Followers, saints, sadhus, and spectators,  regardless of their caste, creed, or orientation, immerse themselves in the waters of Ganga, thereby harmonising with the pattern of birth and passing. A 3-month extensive celebration, this mela happens once every 4 years wherein it pivots in between Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and also Nasik i.e. exactly once in 12 years in any one place.

• Basant Panchami

Basant Panchami in Uttarakhand commends the beginning of Basant or the spring season which makes it quite a significant festival in Uttarakhand. This occasion marks the end of winter, a period of death and degeneration, and is also celebrated in the month of Magh or January/February. People dress themselves up in yellow apparel, do Chounphula and Jhumelia dances, and also fly kites. At the centre of it all, they worship Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and prosperity in the land. Magnificent rice is made in pretty much every home at this time.

•  Bhitauli and Harela

When it comes to Uttarakhand, each season has a significant number of celebrations, and every celebration sees a scale that it warrants. Harela, for instance, is a celebration that denotes the start of the rainy season or monsoon. Individuals belonging to the Kumaon community engage in this festival during the period of Shravana i.e. July-August. The premise of this occasion is to honour the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati. People make little idols or dikars of divine beings like Maheshwar Ganesh.

Celebrated in the month of Chaitra, this festivity is trailed by Bhitauli that revolves
around farming; the ladies plant seeds in the dirt and procure the reap called harela. In a sense, it is a ritual with a purpose since it lets them test the qualities of their seeds. At the same time, it is also an occasion where brothers gift their sisters.

• Phool Dei

Phool Dei is a festival of Uttarakhand that commends the year's harvest and the coming of the spring season. It happens on the first day of the Chaitra season (March-April) according to the Hindu calendar and is otherwise called the harvest festival. It is when blossoms bloom and this is accompanied by the ceremonial pudding called dei which is made by local people utilizing jaggery or gud, curd and flour. This dish is an indispensable part of the celebration.

• Uttarayani Festival

The Uttarayani Fair is typically held in the second week of January yearly on the divine festival of Makar Sankranti in Uttrakhand. It is held at an assortment of spots in the Kumaon area of Uttarakhand including Bageshwar, Ranibagh, and Hanseswari, however, the main fair has entirely been that of Bageshwar. The ground of the spiritual Bagnath Temple in Bageshwar, on the banks of River Saryu, turns into the setting of this festival which continues for seven days. All through the Mela, it is depicted that when the sun migrates from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, it is believed auspicious to take a plunge in the water of the river.