Festivals and the turning seasons
Six seasons, two Navratris, a new year that falls on different days in different states — the Hindu festival year is woven from the sun, the moon and the harvest. Understand why each festival falls when it does.
Six seasons, not four
[Traditional account]
The Indian year has six ṛtus, each about two months: Vasanta (spring), Grishma (summer), Varsha (monsoon), Sharad (autumn), Hemanta (early winter) and Shishira (late winter). Festivals mark the joints between them, the turning of the sun and the cycle of sowing and harvest. Kalidasa wrote a whole poem, the Ritusamhara, on the six seasons.
Moon festivals and sun festivals
[Historical scholarship]
Most Hindu festivals follow the lunar calendar — tithis of the waxing and waning moon — which is why Diwali or Holi move between dates each year. A few follow the sun, and fall on nearly the same date every year. The most famous of these marks the day the sun begins its journey north…
The journey continues for members
- Makar Sankranti — the sun turns north
- Two Navratris at the season's turning
- Many new years
- Harvest and gratitude
- What we can learn
Sources
- Ritusamhara — Kalidasa
- Dharmasindhu and Nirnayasindhu — festival rules
- Surya Siddhanta — calendar