5 Beautiful Indian New Year Traditions

By Author: myschool
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India is culturally rich and every region has its own traditions; because of this, different parts of India celebrate New Year festivals at different times of the year. Here are just five of the most exciting and beautiful ones.

Ugadi
Ugadi, which means ‘the beginning of a new age’, is the New Year’s Day in the Deccan region of India. Celebrated with feasting and prayer for health and wealth in the New Year, Ugadi is marked by the symbolic eating of a dish with six different tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent; representing different emotions and experiences.

Baisakhi
Celebrated on 13th or 14th April, Baisakhi is the celebration of the Sikh New Year and the founding of the Sikh community in 1699. Originally a harvest festival in the Punjab, Baisakhi is now the most important Sikh festival – although it is still celebrated as a harvest festival across North Indian states.

Puthandu
Also celebrated on 14th April, Puthandu is the Tamil New Year. Entrances to houses are decorated with patterns called kolams, with a lamp placed in the centre to eradicate darkness. ...
... A ritual called kanni, meaning ‘auspicious sight’, takes place, where people view a tray of fruit, flowers, jewellery, coins, and a mirror first thing in the morning. Kanni is believed to bring good luck for the New Year.

Bohag Bihu
Three Bihu festivals are celebrated in Assam each year across all castes and religions, but Bohag Bihu is the most popular among all of them. Celebrating the Assamese New Year and the start of spring, Bohag Bihu is celebrated with feasting, dancing, folk songs, the preparation of paddy fields and the worshipping of cows.

Vishu
Vishu festival is usually observed in Kerala (southern state of India). People in Kerala consider this festival to be an auspicious one and is considered as the astrological New Year. The rich traditions and customs of Vishu is an important part of the celebration. The families then celebrate the day with joyous abandon by bursting fire crackers after the vishukani. While the men and the children engage in bursting crackers, the women start cooking a variety of delicacies for the day’s lunch. The dishes prepared from the vegetables and fruits that are abundant in the season like jackfruits, mangoes, pumkins, a variety of gourds, and coconuts. The young people of the village go from house to house, dancing and collecting money. They usually do this in groups dressed up as the ‘chozhi’ with dried banana leaves tied around their waists and masks on their faces.