| Festivals | |  | | India is a land where the life of its people is beautified with festivals. Festival is a celebration of the changing seasons, harvest, reconciliation and the birth anniversaries of saints, gurus and prophets and honours the gods and goddesses. |
| | | History of Festivals | | | Epigraphical evidences prove that festivals have been celebrated in India since Vedic times. The Aryans conquered India around 1500 B.C. and cultural integration with the local population took place. | | | Religious Festivals | |  A large number of festivals being celebrated in India have a religious outlook. These festivals are being celebrated in commemoration of some saints, gurus and prophets, the gods and goddesses or events celebrating their victories. | | | Temple Festivals | |  No festival in India is complete without a feast, and the Hindu temple provides feasts during the temple festivals. The attendees spend all day at the temple, enjoying themselves. | |
| | | Fairs or Melas | |  Melas or Fairs are extremely popular not just in India but all over the world. Mela serves a very important role as most of the festivals are celebrated in individual homes. Melas that are normally celebrated for a week to over a month help to bring the community together and share greetings. | | | National Festivals | |  Independence Day, August 15, commemorates the day in 1947 when India achieved freedom from British rule. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth of the world`s biggest democracy as a national festival. | | | Regional Festivals | |  India presents a cultural potpourri of number of religions with their festivals and celebrations but the four major religions followed in India are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism in the descending order. There are a number of regional festivals that are celebrated in particular areas only. | | | New Year Festivals | |  Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is the first day of the month of Vaisakha, the beginning of the Hindu year in some parts of the country. For the Sikhs in Punjab and other parts of the country, this day has a particular significance, as it was on this day in 1699 that Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa. | |
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