• Source:JND
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NAVRATRI is one of the most auspicious and holy festivals of the Hindu community. It is celebrated every year with great enthusiasm and fervour. Navratri is a nine-day festival that involves fasting and worshipping Goddess Durga in her nine incarnations. Devotees from across the world celebrate this festival with utmost devotion and dedication. This year Chaitra Navratri will begin from March 22 and end on March 30 in India. 

Chaitra Navratri begins on the first day of the Hindu Luni-solar calendar and falls in the months of March and April. Also known as ‘Vasanta Navratri’, this festival is dedicated to nine different forms of Goddess Shakti namely Goddess Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri and Maha Gauri. Every part of the country has their own ways to celebrate this nine-day-long festival. Here’s how India celebrates Navratri in the grandest ways.

Celebrations Of Navratri Across Country

Many people across the country celebrate Chaitra Navratri to commemorate the occasion of Lord Rama’s birth. Lord Rama is known to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu and was born on Earth to save the world from negative energies and demons. During Navratri, places associated with the birth of Lord Rama such as Ayodhya are lit up in diyas and decorations to celebrate the occasion.

Chaitra Navratri is also celebrated as Ugadi or Yugadi, a festival that marks the beginning of the New year as per Hindu beliefs and communities. ‘Yuga’ and ‘Adi’ mean new beginnings. It is a festival mostly celebrated in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Whereas, in the states of Maharashtra and Goa, the Navratri festival is celebrated as ‘Gudi Padwa.’ It signifies the arrival of spring and the reaping of Rabi crops. It is a Hindu festival that marks the beginning of a new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus.

The festival of Gudi Padwa is celebrated with rangoli, a special Gudi flag, enjoying delicacies and street processions. According to popular beliefs, it's the day when In some parts of rural Maharashtra, the Gudi Padwa festival is linked to Shiva's dance and the coming together of the community as they carry the Gudhi Kavads together to a Shiva temple.