Cakes, Flowers, Mango Cakes, New Year, Occasions

Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu, Poila Boishakh, Puthandu: The Many New Years of India

Baisakhi – Punjab’s harvest festival

Baisakhi Festival falls on the 14th of April and marks the beginning of the solar year. Festival of Baisakhi is celebrated with a lot of love, joy, and enthusiasm in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. Baisakhi also marks the time for harvest of rabi crops. Prosperous with the bountiful produce they look forward to celebrating Baisakhi with all eagerness. Baisakhi is also considered as a Thanksgiving Day by farmers. Farmers are rejoiced over the festival and thank God for a good harvest. In the evening, people exchange greetings with friends and family members and celebrate the festival with the rhythms of dhol and bhangra.

Bihu – Assam’s harvest festival

Bihu is one of the most important cultural festivals in Assam state of India, celebrating the change in the seasons. Bihu is actually a set of three festivals, namely: Rongali celebrated in April, Kongali celebrated in October and Bhogali celebrated in January. Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three as it celebrates the Assamese New Year.

Vishu – Vibrant garnering festival of India

Vishu is the new year festival celebrated by Hindus in the Indian state of Kerala and the nearby regions of Southern India. It is the first day of the Malayalam calendar and is celebrated with much ceremonial splendour among all family members, relatives, and friends. The festival follows the solar cycle of the lunisolar as the first day of the month usually falls in the month of April. The start of the month in which this festival is celebrated is known as Medam in the Malayalam calendar.

Puthandu – Tamil Nadu New Year

Puthandu, also known as “Puthuvarsham” and “Varsha Pirappu”, is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry as the traditional new year. It is believed that Lord Brahama, the supreme creator, began creation on this auspicious day. People visit temples during the day to pray and seek blessings for a successful and prosperous year ahead. On the night before Puthandu, a tray with fruit, betel leaves, gold and silver jewellery, money and flowers are arranged. It is believed that seeing these auspicious things first in the morning will bring prosperity and happiness during the year. This festival of joy and oneness is the harbinger of new beginnings.

Poila Boishakh – Bengali New Year

Poila Baishakh or Bangla Nabobarsho is the first day of Bengali Calendar. The word Poila means ‘first’ and Baishakh is the first month in the Bengali calendar, which falls around mid-April. Bengalis living across West Bengal, Tripura, and Bangladesh celebrate the new year on this day. The Bengali calendar was introduced by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and is a mixture of the lunar Islamic calendar and solar Hindu calendar.

So, Wish your Punjabi, Haryanvi, Tamil, and Bengali friends and family members on 14th and 15th April with beautiful Gifts for these festivals. You can choose from a wide variety of gifts like online online flowersonline chocolates online cakesonline cupcakes, and  online personalized gift items from HalfCute.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.