Festivals are celebrated with great gusto in Delhi, the capital of India. With its multi-ethnic and multi-religious background, Delhi is quite simply the place to be during peak seasons of colour and festivities.

This section of DelhiIndia.com gives you a calendar of events and festivals that would allow you to catch a glimpse of these festivals and become part of the glorious culture of the land and its people.

JANUARY

Lohri
13th January
During the ‘Lohri’ festival, the climax of winter is celebrated with renewed spirit, singing around bonfires, traditionally marking the end of winter.

Kite-Flying Festival
Held on Makar Sankranti day on the green lawns above Palika Bazaar & Connaught Place, this colourful extravaganza of kites adorning the skies attracts national as well as international participants.

FEBRUARY

Basant Panchami
2nd February
Basant Panchami is the vibrant Spring Festival that welcomes the fresh and blossoming season of spring. The Mughal Gardens behind Rashtrapati Bhavan (The residence of the President of India) is opening for a month to the public, during this season. Also, Hindus honour Saraswati - the Goddess of Learning during this season.

Thyagaraja Festival
This festival is celebrated in reverence of the South Indian Fine Arts and there is usually a display of the South Indian forms of music and dance at the Vaikunthnath Temple opposite Jawaharlal Nehru University.

MARCH

Maha Shivratri
Maha Shivratri is celebrated on the 'Amavasya' (No-moon) night of 'Phalguna'. It is said that Lord Shiva danced the 'Tandava Nritya' (cosmic dance) on this dark night. He is worshipped at temples with all-night vigils and prayers and unmarried women keep day-long fasts so that Shiva may grant them good husbands. Mantras are chanted and Shiva Lingams are anointed and then carried in a procession to the temple.

Holi
Holi is perhaps one of the most boisterous of Hindu festivals. There is a splash of colours all over the place. People throw coloured water or powder on each other, whether friends or strangers. The festival is celebrated in jubilation of the victory of the good over the evil.

Ramnavami
This festival is a celebration of the birth of Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Several local theatres enact the epic of Ramayana during this season.

APRIL

Amir Khusrau's Anniversary
Amir Khusrau's Anniversary is celebrated in April, with a fair in Nizamuddin and prayers and 'qawwali' singing. The event also sees the National Drama Festival, staged mostly at the Rabindra Bhawan.

Baisakhi
13th April
This is a ‘Sikh’ festival celebrated to honour Guru Gobind Singh who created the Khalsa or the Sikh brotherhood. Punjabis are a joyous, fun-loving people and during Baisakhi, besides reading the Granth Sahib (the Sikh Holy Book) at Gurudwaras (Sikh temples), there will be much feasting and dancing. Baisakhi also marks the beginning of the harvest season in North India.

MAY

Buddha Jayanti
The first full moon night in May marks the birth of Lord Buddha. Prayer meetings are held at Buddha Vihar, Ring Road and Buddha Vihar, Mandir Marg. Buddha Purnima is the month of 'Vaisakha', and commemorates not just Lord Buddha's birth, but also his 'Enlightenment' and his attainment of 'Nirvana'.

Mahavir Jayanti
The birth of Lord Mahavira, who founded Jainism, is celebrated around this time of the year with prayers and processions.

JULY

International Mango Festival
This is an extravagant festival that showcases over five hundred types of mangoes, usually at Talkatora Stadium. Free tasting sessions apart from cultural programmes mark the festival.

Naag Panchami
The snake festival is held to honour this slithery reptile on whose scales it is believed Lord Vishnu took a break between universes. All the good snake charmers come out at this time and if you're not feeling squeamish already, this is a great time to take a few pictures. You will find people making offerings of food and drink to snakes.

Raksha Bandhan (Narial Purnima)
Raksha Bandan is a festival to strengthen the bond between siblings. Sisters will tie 'rakhis' (blessed threads) on the wrists of their brothers (and close friends who they look upon as brothers) on full moon day. This is to protect them from harm and bestow only good luck in the coming year. In return for these good wishes, brothers present their sisters with gifts. It is also the time when a few people worship the Lord of the Oceans - Varuna.

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

Janmashthami
Lord Krishna's birthday is celebrated the way he is said to have lived his life... having a lot of fun and being naughty. A good place to witness the celebration in its essence would be at the Lakshminarayana Temple. The Lakshminarayan temples are especially busy during this season.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Ram Lila (Dussera)
Dussera is a week-long festival celebrating Goddess Durga’s victory over the buffalo-headed demon Mahisasura. You will see people lighting up effigies of the demon king Ravana and his accomplices, in a triumph of good over evil. Also called Ram Lila (life story of Ram) you can catch a theatrical recreation of the Ramayana at the Ram Lila Grounds near Turkman Gate.

OCTOBER

Phoolkwalon-ki-Sair
In early October, a festival specific to Mehrauli, in Delhi, takes place. This is the Phulwalon-ki-Sair or the Flower Sellers’ Procession, which is said to have originated in the 16th century.

During the time of the Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah, flower sellers of Mehrauli honoured the emperor with fans that were adorned with flowers. Also called the Pankha (fan) festival it is colourful and sweet-smelling.

The highlight is a procession of people carrying decorated floral fans, which are blessed at the shrine of the 13th century Sufi saint, Khwaja Utb-ud-din Bakhtyar Kaki and at the Hindu temple of Jogmaya, both in Mehrauli. The procession ends with a formal ceremony at the Jahaz Mahal, a 16th century pleasure resort by the side of a lake.

Qutub Festival
Delhi Tourism organizes the popular Qutub Festival in October. Musicians and dancers perform at night by the city's 12th century landmark, the Qutub Minar. This festival gives tourists a glimpse of the cultural grandeur of India.

Diwali
Diwali or Deepavali, meaning “The Festival of Lights” is a season to have a cracker of a time, with diyas (oil lamps) lit at night and decorated along the passages as a symbolism to welcome the return of Lord Rama after 12 years in exile. The festival is celebrated over 5 days, with sweets and crackers doing the rounds. Day one begins with cleaning up the house and decorating the courtyard with Rangoli (floor design with colored powder or salt crystals). Day two is dedicated to Krishna’s victory over Narakasura, a tyrant. South Indians wear new clothes on this day. Day three is dedicated to worshipping Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. For companies, it marks the beginning of a prosperous financial year. Day four commemorates the visit of friendly demon Bali, who was believed to be the King of good times. On the fifth day men visit their sisters to have a tilak put on their forehead. The Jain Community celebrates their New Year’s Day during Diwali.

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER

Guru Purab
Guru Purab is the celebration of the birth of the first of ten Sikh gurus, Guru Nanak. 'Nagar Kirtans' are taken out through the streets and in the Gurdwaras. 'Granthees' recite verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. 

Christmas
25th December
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. On the eve of 24th December, the capital witnesses special entertainment events at all major hotels and restaurants, apart from the midnight mass and services at all churches. Institutions organize tableaus to symbolize the birth of Jesus. Most houses are decorated with Christmas tree, star, bells, etc and some of them create miniature manger/crib to mark the birth of their Lord and Saviour.

New Year's Eve
31st December
The culmination of the Indian festive spirit is celebrated on the 31st of December, with most hotels and restaurants offering special food and entertainment, with some parties lasting all night long to welcome a whole new year.