India has various festivals that highlight its varied culture. One such event is Gauri Tritiya, commonly known as Gangaur. This colourful religious event celebrates the love story between Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. Additionally, book a flight ticket from Canada to India today with Flyopedia because people celebrate Gangaur on the third day of the bright half of the Hindu month of Chaitra, which follows Holi, the festival of colours. Gangaur is most popularly observed in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, but people also celebrate it in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat.
Detes for Gangaur Festival 2024
Gangaur festival takes place in March or April, starting the day after Holi and lasting for 18 days. People will observe Gangaur on April 11, a Thursday, in 2024. Daily worship will begin on March 25 and last through April 11 of that year. Additionally, Rajasthan widely celebrates the famous festival of Holi. Meanwhile, you can now book cheap business class tickets to India with us, to experience luxury while travelling to India.
Gangaur Puja & Gangaur Festival Celebrations
The Gangaur Festival is primarily about honouring Goddess Gauri and her devotees. On the auspicious occasion of Gangaur, ladies, married or unmarried, fast to honour the sacred connection of love and marriage. While single women beg Goddesses to find them a suitable partner, married women pray for their husbands’ growth and well-being.
Gangaur celebrates grace, colours, traditions, and beauty. One of the most astonishing things about Gangaur is that members of Rajasthan’s royal families join in the festivities alongside the regular population. So, during Gangaur, you will experience the actual essence of Rajasthan.
People in Rajasthan celebrate Gangaur with great excitement and zeal. Thousands of tourists, including foreigners, come to Rajasthan to experience the spectacular Gangaur celebration. If you want to experience the same, make your USA to India flight ticket bookings through Flyopedia.com, as we have the best deals for you.
Significance of the Gangaur Festival
Gangaur symbolizes Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati united. Gana represents Lord Shiva, while Gauri is the name of Goddess Parvati. So now we know how the name mixing began.
The tradition underlying this event is Goddess Gauri’s tremendous devotion and dedication to winning Lord Shiva’s love. When Lord Shiva saw Goddess Gauri’s love for him, he became enthralled and married her.
Later, Gauri visited her maternal house and blessed her friends with married bliss, staying for 18 days. On the day of parting, they held a big party, and Shiva came down to take her home.
Rituals Performed in Gangaur Festival
The initial and essential Gangaur ritual is to gather ash from the Sacred Fire in clay pots and cultivate barley and wheat seeds there. After seven days, ladies create colourful idols of Gauri and Isar (Shiva and Parvati) while singing beautiful Rajasthani folk melodies. Some families keep their idols for years and adorn and paint them on special occasions.
Evening Rally of Unmarried Girls
The unmarried girls organize a rally in the evening of the seventh day, using a diya inside a Ghudlia, a clay pot. While wandering around, people bless girls with tiny presents such as sweets, jaggery, small cash, ghee or oil, clothing, and jewellery.
This continues throughout the rest of the days, and on the final day of the festival, people break clay pots. For all 18 days, newlywed ladies fast for the entire day, whereas other women fast for only one meal every day.
Festive Preparations and Sinjara Tradition
The holiday spirit peaked these past three days. In addition to dressing up, wearing jewellery, and dotting their hands with mehendi (henna), today’s ladies make the most of this Puja by beautifying their idols. Parents of married women send Sinjara, containing sweets, clothes, jewellery, and other ornamental gifts, to their daughters.
Grand Finale – Processions and Immersion
On the last day of the festival, many visitors and residents gather to witness thousands of women bearing Gauri and Isar idols on their heads in a parade to the lake, river, or garden. There, they bid farewell to Gauri and Isar by immersing their idols in the water.
Processions are colourful and filled with Rajasthani ethnic folk songs and dances. Many local bands also participate in the parade. Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner host the most thrilling Gangaur experiences in Rajasthan, although Gangaur is celebrated throughout the state. Last but not least, make your last minute flight to India with Flyopedia and get the most out of your trip.
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