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The Indian festival calendar mentions several important dates in a month. Some festivals are a ritual while others have a huge significance. The exuberance felt by all Hindus during Navratri is splendid. Dressed as a dancer, all women partake in the garba dance which is a form of dance to celebrate the nine days of glory of Ma Durga. The Saraswati Puja which is more famous in Kolkattta has the beautiful ritual of sindoor kela which is characteristic with the kichdi and payas that is distributed as Prasad.
The month of Shravan has several varieties of food displays. Maharashtrians follow the shravan chart and partake in Shravan Mondays where typical delicacies are cooked and served after placing it before the deity. The coming of Ganesh chaturthi is celebrated with lot of happiness all around India. The south Indians prepare a special rice dumpling stuffed with coconut and jaggery filling. This is a sumptuous sweet dish. Identically the echo of dance and arti is felt in the eleven day long festival of Ganesh utsav in Maharashtra.
Most of our Indian festivals are celebrated as a family gets together. It becomes important as a family to spend time together during festivals as mostly it a marked as a holiday. The joy of lighting diyas and bursting crackers is felt by each Indian irrespective of his caste. Some monthly festivals like Sankashti or Ekadasi mark as auspicious days. People fast and pray in front of their deity. The best part of any occasion is dressing up for all Indians. The traditional kurta pajama comes in cottons and choicest silks. The sari changes the color and thread as per the choice of the festival.
Another major part of the festival is the fervor that makes us feel very Indian. In India, the religious tolerance is very high. Hence the Muslims celebrate Rakhi, Hindus dress up a Xmas tree and everybody prays irrespective of caste or religion. It is a great sight to visualize the shops having discounts and sale close to Diwali and Xmas. Indians love festivals and believe in their tradition.
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