It is essential to note that, India has more than 100 festivals in the country, to be precise, every year the country hosts more than 1000 festivals. Yes, you read that right! This culturally diverse beautiful country has many festivals that are hence held in this country all year round. It is time we get your kids acquainted with some of the most popular festivals of India; come, let’s go.
- The Grand Celebration of Diwali:
- Holi – The Festival of Colors:
- Pongal in Tamil Nadu:
- Lohri in Punjab:
- Makar Sankranti:
- Ganesh Chaturthi – The Elephant-Headed God’s Festival:
- Durga Puja – The Divine Mother’s Celebration:
- Christmas – A Festival of Joy:
- Eid – The Festival of Brotherhood:
- Onam – Kerala’s Harvest Festival:
- Raksha Bandhan – Celebrating Sibling Love:
- Janmashtami – Lord Krishna’s Birthday:
- Baisakhi – The Harvest Festival of Punjab:
- Navratri – Nine Nights of Dance and Devotion:
- Puthandu – Tamil New Year:
When one discusses common festivals in India, immediately Diwali jumps to mind. Observed in the month of October and November in general, marred as the Festival of Lights. Well, thousands of homes literally; thousands of streets; even the sky with colourful fireworks! Frankly, thousands of diyas (clay lamps). It is important to let your kids know that this festival is to mark Lord Rama’s homecoming to Ayodhya after the wicked Ravana.
Fun Fact for Kids: In Diwali, people ensure cleanliness in the compound, draw decorative patterns on the floor with colorful powders at the doorway to welcome Goddess Lakshmi!
Perhaps, the brightest of all the different festivals celebrated in India, folks love to share is Holi. This spring festival is celebrated in March and has children’s favorite in it- throwing colored powder and water at each other. With the child you can read a story of Prahlad and Holika, the bad aunt who tried to kill him but ended up burning in the fire.
Parent Tip: When talking about Holi you can organize a safe color activity at home using natural colours derived from flowers and leaves.
The Harvest Festivals:
India’s agricultural heritage brings us multiple harvest festivals. Here are some Indian festival names your children should know:
A harvest festival for four days in Thanking God of the sun for the fruitful farming period. It is a fun to watch the preparation of sweet pongal in silver clay ture and utensils, using turmeric and flowers etc.
With enthusiasm of enjoyment the people burn the effigy (legs made of bamboo with stopper), celebrate with dance, songs and tossing boiled puffed rice and popcorns into the fire.
Said by the one or the other name in India, this kite flying festival assists the children in studying the solar transition.
This is one of the most popular festivals of India, most especially for children in the country. Ganesha Chaturthi’s festival lasts for 10 days and includes taking home clay statues of Lord Ganesha Statues, celebrating them and offering daily prayers. Children especially like creating artistic Ganesha idols using recycled materials and the immersion process.
Activity Suggestion: Teaching your children about environmental awareness, let them prepare their own Clay or Play Dough Ganesh idol on their own.
Another important Indian festival name is Durga Puja which is quite popular and enjoyed most in West Bengal. The nine nights and nine nights celebration, attractive looking symmetric with roof top pandal and the story of How Goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura is very attractive for children and adults.
Christmas is actually a Christian festival though today it has emerged as one of themost common festivals in India wherein people of all communities enjoy. Kids are fascinated with tree decorating , waiting for Santa and singing Christmas carols.
Of all the different festivals celebrated in India, Eid has a special place. At the same time both Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul Adha are an ideal arena, where children learn sharing, caring as well as togetherness. Children further on look forward to these festivities due to preparation of foods such as sewaiyan and biryani.
Onam, the most popular festival of India, ‘Keralites’, enacts the annual sojourn of the rightful king Mahabali, who was barbarously banished to the netherworld. Served in a banana leaf ‘Sadya’ and the boat races make the Onam unique from the other festival celebrated in Kerala.
This beautiful festival is all about respect between brothers and sisters. Girls put colorful threads (rakhis) around the neck of their brothers and in return they get some kind of gifts and assurance of safety.
Kids love it because there are dahi handi competitions meaning filling a pot of yogurt hung at a high level with handi meaning a clay pot and also kids dress up as little Krishna or Radha.
People of Punjab celebrate the arrival of their new religious year and the start of harvest through this active Indian festival. Punjab people celebrate Baisakhi as they memorialize the foundation of the Khalsa panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Children enjoy seeing high-energy dancers at Bhangra and Giddha shows while Baisakhi shows young people how to be brave defenders of what is just. Children find Baisakhi most memorable because they enjoy looking at harvest fields of wheat and joining festive gatherings with their neighborhoods.
Indian festival names reach their pinnacle during Navratri’s nine-night celebration of musical and dancing festivities. Available practices such as Garba and Dandiya Raas excite children when they don colorful traditional dress at this festival. People in Gujarat and Maharashtra dance together each night as other regions invite young girls for Kanjak and Kanya Puja. To children the festival shows how Goddess Durga appears in nine forms while teaching about female strength.
Many parts of India celebrate Puthandu as their official New Year. Children find joy in creating rice flour kolam designs and making vishu kani – they see its special collection of fruits, vegetables, betel leaves, gold jewelry, and religious texts. People start Puthandu by looking at traditional arrangements in the morning then put on new clothes to share a special meal. Through Vishu the festival children learn how positive energy creates better beginnings for their future.
Making Festivals Educational and Fun:
Here are some ways to make these different festivals celebrated in India more engaging for children:
- Create Festival Journals: Encourage your kids to maintain a festival diary where they can write about each celebration, paste pictures, and collect memorable items.
- Cook Together: Involve children in preparing festival-specific dishes, teaching them about traditional recipes and their significance.
- Story Sessions: Share the fascinating stories behind each festival through interactive storytelling sessions.
- Art and Craft: Organize festival-themed craft activities like making your own diyas for Diwali or rakhis for Raksha Bandhan.
- Cultural Exchange: Arrange playdates during festivals where children can learn about different traditions from their friends.
Teaching Values Through Festivals:
Each of these common festivals in India carries important life lessons for children:
- Diwali teaches about the victory of light over darkness (good over evil).
- Holi demonstrates how spring brings new beginnings.
- Harvest Festival celebrates willingness to be thankful to nature that has provided humans with so many resources.
- Due to its key principles the Ganesh Chaturthi festival emphasizes wisdom and learning.
- Women strength and power, is the lesson that comes with celebration of Durga Puja.
Celebrating Diversity:
Knowledge about popular festivals of India which are celebrated all over the country, enables children grasp India cultural difference at from their tender age. It teaches them that despite different celebrations, the core values of love, sharing, and respect remain the same across all festivals.
Environmental Consciousness:
While teaching about festivals, it’s important to educate children about celebrating responsibly:
- Using eco-friendly colors during Holi
- Choosing clay idols over plastic ones for Ganesh Chaturthi
- Opting for earthen diyas instead of electric lights for Diwali
- In the festival people do order a lot of foods and it is important that food wastage is prevented.
The Indian Festivals are not only rejoicing, but a culture in its raw form through which our legacy is passed to the generations of the future. When explaining these Indian festival names and their importance to your children, you are preparing them for embracing their cultural background and entertain them at the same time.
Just as mentioned earlier, festivals are excellent time when parents should aim at spending quality time with their children while educating them on their cultural background. So why not have your kids what prepare and participate at least in one or other of these festivals to make it an educational experience that will be amazing.
Perhaps you would like some concrete ideas that can help you make these festivals much more fun and interesting for your kids and you?
