Hinduism remains the oldest religion in the world.

It has, over the years,continued to assimilate within itself different sects, creeds and castes, along with their respective customs, traditions, culture and mode of worship, forming a formidable amalgam of astonishing vitality and dynamism.

The secret of Hinduism’s successful survival can be traced to the imaginative and colourful celebration of its festivals by the people.

These joyous occasions of festivals have a powerful impact on the faith and belief of the masses.

These festivals and fairs have several ramifications in the social, economical, cultural and artistic spheres.

Society as a whole gains a lot by celebrating these fairs and festivals around the year.


CONTENTS:

* Hinduism : A Way of Life
* Hindu Festivals and Fairs
* Auspicious Days of Hindus
* Prevailing Rituals

Festivals OF INDIA
* Baisakhi
* Basant Panchami
* Bihu
* Chhath Puja
* Diwali
* Durga Puja
* Dussehra
* Ganesh Chaturthi
* Gangaur
* Guru Nanak Jayanti
* Holi
* Janmashtami
* Karva Chauth
* Khajuraho Dance Festival
* Lohri
* Mahashivratri
* Mahavir Jayanti
* Makar Sankranti
* Naag Panchami
* Navreh
* Onam
* Pongal
* Raksha Bandhan
* Ram Navami
* Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath
* Teej
* Ugadi
* Vishu

FAIRS OF INDIA
* Ambubasi Fair
* Baneshwar Fair
* Chandrabhaga Fair
* Gangasagar Mela
* Kumbh Mela
* Mahamagham Fair
* Nauchandi Fair
* Pushkar Fair
* Sonepur Cattle Fair
* Surajkund Fair
* Tarnetar Fair

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK IS AS FOLLOWS:

DIWALI : Festival of Lights
Diwali is a festival to commemorate the return of Lord Shri Rama to Ayodhya from Lanka after vanquishing Ravana in battle. At the end of fourteen years, Rama along with Laxmana and Sita returned to Ayodhya to a hero\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s welcome by the people. His return sent his subjects in Ayodhya into raptures. This joyous reunion is replicated every year. Lord Rama is said to have reigned for a long time during which the people were supremely happy and contented. Ramrajya (the reign of Rama) has come to connote an era of peace and prosperity. The festival of Diwali is celebrated to commemorate Rama\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s return from exile.

Diwali means an Array of Lamps. This is one of the major festivals in the Hindu calendar. It occurs in October/November, and is spread over five days. Dhanteras (Dhanatrayodashi) is the first day or rather the eve of the day on which the festival begins. Narakachaturdashi which is also known as Kalichoudas or Bali Pratipada is the second day. Lakshmi Pujan is done on the third day, Govardhan Puja is performed on the fourth day in North India and Bhaiyadooj is the fifth and the last day.
Diwali is celebrated on a grand scale throughout India. It comes a day before or on amavasya in the month of Kartik (October-November).

A FAMILY FESTIVAL
Diwali is everyone’s favourite festival all over the country. Normally, in any family all members may not always live together. They have to go to other cities, states, or even to other countries for studies, work, etc. They may not be able to be together even temporarily on any occasion during the year. But, Diwali is an exception. People living in far off places make it a point to visit their hometown to be with their parents. People living abroad talk over the phone and exchange greetings.
New dresses, particularly silk saris for women, are purchased for wearing on the occasion.

Another attraction of this festival is the bursting of crackers and fireworks by all the members of the family. Crackers are purchased well in advance and the bursting starts a week prior to the festival day, Sweets are prepared in as many varieties as can be imagined. Nowadays, sweets are purchased from the market; orders have to be placed a month in advance. People greet one another by making social calls to relatives/friends’ houses or over the phone. Greeting cards are sent to all relatives, friends, clients, etc. Business establishments send boxes of sweets to their clients.

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS IN NORTH INDIA
Diwali is celebrated in North India for five days:

Day One–Dhanteras
Apart from fireworks and new clothes, the people of North India buy gold and silver vessels, ornaments, etc., on Dhanteras. It is the day of Kuber and considered auspicious to buy some tangible goods.

Day Two–Narakachaturdashi
On Narakachaturdashi, only an oil bath is taken in the morning (not early morning) and the day passes on as just another day without any excitement. In such an eventuality, people celebrate Diwali on the next day only.

Day Three–Lakshmi Pujan
The actual festival of Diwali is on the evening of the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Kartik. The celebration starts with the performance of a puja to Goddess Lakshmi late in the evening at about 7.30 pm after Chaturdashi Tithi is over and Amavasya starts. All sweets and snacks specially prepared or purchased for the occasion are offered during the puja. Even the new dresses are kept in the puja room and after invoking the blessings of the Almighty, the eldest member of the family distributes the clothes to others who accept them and offer respects to the elders. Earthen lamps (diyas) are lighted and kept in rows on the compound walls, terrace walls, etc. These are nowadays supplemented by electric (serial) lamps or candles.
All the members of the family then come out in the open and start bursting crackers for about an hour or so until the stock lasts. Then they take sweets, eat sumptuous food and greet their
relatives, neighbours, and friends. Exchanging of sweets and gifts is an indispensable part of Diwali.

Day Four–Govardhan Puja
As the name itself suggests, the fourth day of diwali is devoted to Govardhan Puja (worship of Lord Govardhan Parvat). Legend has it that Lord Shri Krishna once performed the Govardhan Puja along with the people of Vraja for their protection from heavy rains. Since then, it has become a tradition for the Hindus to worship Govardhan Parvat to honour that first Puja performed by Lord Krishna on this day.

Day Five–Bhaiyadooj
On Bhaiyadooj (Feast to Brothers), women generally give gifts to their brothers. Brothers and their families are invited for lunch. With a lot of rejoicing and gaiety, Bhaiyadooj marks the end of Diwali celebrations.

DIWALI IN SOUTH INDIA
In the South, Diwali is known as Narakachaturdashi and is commonly referred to as Diwali. The term \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Diwali\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' means a row of lamps. It was the day Lord Krishna defeated and killed the demon Narakasura. This day commemorates and celebrates that victory.

THE CELEBRATIONS
Celebrations start on the eve of the day, with grand dinner for the members of the family. It is even more elaborate if sons-in-law join the family. Onion sambar and fried potatoes are a must for the dinner. Children burst crackers in the evening and eat sweets to their heart’s content.

People wake up early on the morning of the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Kartik, and the eldest male or female member of the family, first takes a bath and perform a simple puja. There is no specific god who is invoked on the occasion, unlike in the North, where Lakshmi puja is performed. At the most, Lord Krishna will be worshipped. Generally, this is like daily puja with the only difference that new clothes, crackers, sweets, etc., are also offered. Further, the oil which is applied for \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'oil bath is lightly boiled with certain herbs and is included in the naivedyam items. Naturally, the shikakai powder also finds a place there. What is more, a homemade herbal medicine called Deepawali marundhu or lahium is one of the items offered to God as naivedyam.

After this puja is over, the eldest member applies this oil to other members one by one. For this, a specially decorated wooden plank is placed, preferably in the puja room itself, on which the member sits facing east. Normally, warm water is used for the bath because it is rainy season in the South and the weather is cold by normal standards of the region.

The next ceremony is distribution of new clothes, again by the eldest member, to those who finish their bathing. The eldest member is the last person to take the oil bath. Once the puja is over, all the members will first eat a spoon full of lahium followed by sweets. Then they all rush out to burst crackers and fireworks. As the fireworks are delightful only in the dark, people hurriedly bathe, eat one or two sweets and start bursting crackers even at 4.00 am. In olden days, there used to be competition among the teenagers as to who started the fireworks earliest. Now-a-days, the government has enacted laws to curb the noise menace and has put restrictions on the timings of bursting crackers. A heavy breakfast and sumptuous lunch follows.