Festivals in India
India is a land of festivals. Every month witnesses some sort of festival or celebration. There are different reasons behind these celebrations and occasions. Every festival is unique and is celebrated in different parts of the country in different names.
Festivals in January
Several festivals are celebrated in January.
- New Year (01 January 2025 (Wednesday))- New Year is among the most popular festivals celebrated all across the
globe. The origin of the New Year can be traced back to the reign of emperors. It was the emperors who
thought of celebrating a particular day in a year that would commemorate the beginning of a brand new
year and the end of the current year. The first celebrations of the New Year are believed to have taken
place in about 2000 years in Mesopotamia. While the Persians, Phoenicians and the Egyptians celebrated
the New Year in the middle of March that is during the time of Equinox, the Greeks celebrated it in
winter. According to the ancient Roman calendar, the New Year was celebrated on the 1st of March. In
46 B.C. Julius Caesar, the Roman Emperor, officially declared the 1st of January as the New Year. During
the medieval period, 25th March was declared as the New Year. In later times, the King of England
announced 25th December that is Jesus' birth as the New Year. Almost after 500 years, the Gregorian
calendar came up whereby the ancient Julian calendar was abolished by Pope Gregory XIII and the
Gregorian calendar was introduced. In the year 1582, New Year began to be celebrated on the first of
January every month, following the Gregorian.
- Bikaner Camel Festival (11 January,2025 to 12 January, 2025 - A chief attraction of this festival is the procession of richly decorated camels. Apart from several competitions that are held during the day, music and festivities also mark the festival. Camel Festival in Bikaner will be celebrated for two days,
January 11 and January 12, 2024.
- National Youth Day (12 January 2025 (Sunday))- National Youth Day, also renowned as Vivekananda Jayanti, is
observed on January 12th, Swami Vivekananda's birthday. This day was named National Youth Day by
the Government of India in 1984, and it has been commemorated in India every year since 1985.
- Lohri (13 January 2025 (Monday))- Lohri signifies the celebration of a season that marks the end of the cold
winter and the arrival of warmer days. Bonfires are lit around which people celebrate with music and
food. This is the name by which Makar Sankranti goes in North India. Lohri will be observed on 13th
January in the northern region of India.
- Makar Sankranti (14th January 2025 (Tuesday))- This is the celebration of the onset of the harvest season in India. This festival is celebrated all over India and is known by different names. It is celebrated with sweet preparations and new clothes. Makar Sankranti will be observed on January 14 in 2022.
- Pongal (14 January 2025 17 January 2025) - This is the name of the harvest festival in South India. It is celebrated for three days during which the newly reaped Pongal or "Rice" is offered to the Sun god.
As it is a three-day festival, it will be starting from January 14 in 2022 and will end on January 17.
- National Kite Festival (08 February 2025) - The beginning of the harvest season is marked by the
National Kite Festival in Gujarat. Thousands of colourful kites fill the horizons of the sky. There are
competitions too that are held for flying kites; one such competition is the National Kite Festival. This
Kite festival attracts a lot of tourists every year and is monitored by Gujarat Tourism. The official
celebration of the Kite Festival or Uttarayan will begin on January 11, 2025, and will end on January 14,
2025.
- Army Day (15 January 2025 (Wednesday))- Every year on January 15, India commemorates Field Marshal Kodandera
M. Cariappa taking charge as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army replacing General Francis
Roy Bucher, the final British Commander-in-Chief of India, on that date in 1949.
- Republic Day (26 January 2025 (Sunday))- Republic Day is one of the 3 national holidays celebrated in India. It is celebrated on the 26th of January every year. The day is celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm,
especially in the capital city of New Delhi. Spectacular of all the celebrations is the Republic Day Parade
that is held in New Delhi near Rajpath. It comprises March past by 3 armed forces, folk dances from
different states in India, massive parades. The cultural unity of India is beautifully reflected in the
republic day celebrations. It was on 26th January 1950 that India's constitution came up and India thus
became a Sovereign, Democratic and Republican state. The patriotic passion of the people in India on
Republic Day gathers the entire nation together even with the embedded diversity.
