Hindu traditions

Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain.

Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain. They include daily puja, the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Navratri and Pongal, pilgrimages to the Ganges and Tirupati, the sixteen samskaras that mark life from birth to death and a great many regional and village customs. Hinduism has no single founder or text, and practice varies by family, region and community. These pages describe the traditions as those who keep them do.

Home and temple

Worship begins at home, with a shrine, a lamp and a morning prayer, and continues at the temple, where a priest offers the deity water, flowers, food and light on behalf of devotees. Visitors take darshan, receive prasad and walk around the shrine. Festivals bring the whole street into the temple or the pandal, with processions, music and communal meals, and the cycle of the year is marked by fasts and feasts.

Rites of life

The samskaras include the naming, the first rice, the sacred thread, marriage and the funeral. The wedding, with its seven steps round the fire, is the best known, while funerals involve cremation and offerings to the ancestors. Every region adds its own customs, such as the kolam in Tamil Nadu, the rakhi in the north and the Durga Puja of Bengal. The diversity is part of the tradition.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Hindu (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome

🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi) A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival

🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 2 moreMudik Indonesians head home to family before Lebaran, in the year's biggest journeyHome

🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa) A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast

🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 4 moreKrishna Janmashtamiकृष्णजन्माष्टमी A Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna with fasting, singing and night vigilsSpiritual

🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 5 moreRama Navamiराम नवमी A Hindu spring festival marking the birth of Rama with prayer, fasting and processionsFestival

🇮🇳 India and 5 morePongal Three or four days of boiling rice, garlanded cattle and thanks to the sunSeasonal · Sweets given and shared

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUgadiఉగాది A South Indian New Year feast celebrating life with sweet, sour, and bitter tastesSeasonal

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGuru Purnimaगुरुपूर्णिमा A sacred South Asian festival honouring spiritual guides, teachers, and mentorsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLohri A northern Indian midwinter festival of evening bonfires, folk songs and harvest foodsSeasonal

🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreChhath Pujaछठ पूजा A four-day Hindu festival honouring the sun and Chhathi Maiya along riverbanksSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNyepiᬜᬾᬧᬶ A Balinese Hindu day of silence, fasting and stillness marking the Saka new yearSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇳 IndiaHanuman Jayantiहनुमानजयंती A Hindu festival marking the birth of Hanuman with prayers, readings and offeringsSpiritual

🇮🇳 Gaya, India and 1 moreShraddhaश्राद्ध Rituals of faith for the ancestors, kept yearly and through Pitru PakshaSpiritual

🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThingyanသင်္ကြန် A four-day water festival marking the Myanmar New Year, celebrated in April with merit-making and playful splashing.Festival

🇮🇳 IndiaVishuവിഷു The Malayali new year, kept on 14 or 15 April with an auspicious first sightingSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHolika Dahanहोलिकादहन A Hindu ritual bonfire lit on the eve of Holi to welcome the spring.Spiritual

🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRoyal Ploughing Ceremonyព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល A royal agricultural rite opening the rice season across mainland Southeast AsiaCeremony

🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahaतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha) A ritual wedding of the tulasi plant to Vishnu, kept in homes and temples across IndiaSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSharad Purnima A Hindu autumn full moon festival of night vigils, moonlit sweets and sacred dancesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 Jaipur, IndiaGangaurगणगौर A North Indian spring festival honouring Shiva and Gauri with clay idols and processionsFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNaraka Chaturdashi The dawn festival of oil baths, ancestor lamps, and harvest foods during DiwaliFestival · Breakfast 🇮🇳 IndiaUttarayanaउत्तरायण (Uttarāyaṇa) The Sun's six-month journey north, kept as an auspicious Hindu season and festivalSeasonal

🇮🇳 Tiruvannamalai, India and 1 moreKarthika DeepamKārtikai Tīpam A Tamil and Malayali Hindu festival of lights honouring Shiva, Kartikeya and ParvatiSpiritual · Sweets given and shared

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCheti Chandچيٽي چنڊ The Sindhi New Year festival celebrating the arrival of spring and JhulelalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 IndiaChaturmasyaचातुर्मास्य A four-month sacred monsoon season of fasting, vows, and monastic retreat in IndiaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 1 moreBon Om Toukបុណ្យអុំទូក A three-day Cambodian festival of dragon boat races, floating lanterns and moon offeringsFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇮🇳 IndiaBathukammaబతుకమ్మ A nine-day floral festival celebrated by women across Telangana and Andhra PradeshFestival

🇮🇳 IndiaAyudha Pujaआयुध पूजा A Hindu festival blessing the tools, vehicles, books and instruments of daily workSpiritual

🇮🇩 IndonesiaGalungan A Balinese Hindu festival welcoming ancestral spirits and honouring good over evilSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDol Purnima A Hindu spring festival honouring Radha and Krishna with swing processions and colourFestival

🇮🇳 Sambalpur, IndiaNuakhai An agricultural festival in Western Odisha welcoming the first rice of the seasonSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaAmbubachi Melaঅম্বুবাচী মেলা An annual gathering at Kamakhya Temple marking the earth's seasonal fertility.Spiritual

🇳🇵 NepalMha Pujaम्हपुजा A Newar New Year ritual of self-worship, mandalas and renewal in NepalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 Haridwar, IndiaKumbh MelaKumbha Mēlā A major Hindu riverside pilgrimage held across four rotating holy cities in IndiaSpiritual

🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual

🇮🇳 Ujjain, India and 1 moreVikram Samvatविक्रमसंवत् A lunisolar Hindu calendar of Nepal and India, its years counted 57 ahead of the GregorianSeasonal

🇮🇳 IndiaPushkaram A river worship festival rotating across twelve sacred Indian rivers over twelve yearsSpiritual

🇮🇳 IndiaGanga Dussehra A ten-day Hindu river festival celebrating the descent of the Ganges to earthSpiritual

🇮🇳 Kanchipuram, IndiaPanguni UthiramPaṅkuṉi Uttiram A Tamil Hindu festival celebrating divine weddings and the virtues of married lifeSpiritual

🇱🇰 Anuradhapura, Sri LankaSinhala New Yearඅලුත් අවුරුද්ද The April solar New Year and harvest festival celebrated across Sri LankaSeasonal

🇳🇵 Bhaktapur, NepalBiska Jatra𑐧𑐶𑐳𑑂𑐎𑐵𑑅 𑐖𑐵𑐟𑑂𑐬𑐵 An annual solar new year festival in Nepal with chariot pulls and tall wooden poles.Festival

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal

🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์ The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Bon Om Touk: Codas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vikram Samvat: Westindischer Maler um 1400, Public domain, source
Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rama Navami: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pongal: Saral Shots, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
Chhath Puja: Steffen Gauger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ugadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source
Thingyan: Pagan era painter(s), Public domain, source
Lohri: Karen Sandhu, CC BY 2.0, source
Royal Ploughing Ceremony: Xiengyod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Guru Purnima: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hanuman Jayanti: Haha sugarr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dol Purnima: Satyabrata sahoo369, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Galungan: Davidelit, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kumbh Mela: Yosarian, CC BY 3.0, source
Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
Mudik: Arie Basuki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Biska Jatra: Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sinhala New Year: Anna Anichkova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sharad Purnima: ShotgunMavericks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gangaur: Avinashmaurya, CC BY 3.0, source
Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Naraka Chaturdashi: India (Delhi Agra area), Public domain, source
Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
Cheti Chand: Coolross ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Karthika Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
Bathukamma: Randhirreddy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nuakhai: Mamata Padhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ayudha Puja: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
Ambubachi Mela: Kunal Dalui, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pushkaram: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ganga Dussehra: Barry Silver, CC BY 2.0, source
Panguni Uthiram: Krithika.R.S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Shraddha: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vishu: Vishnu Kunnathully, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tulasi Vivaha: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
Lunar New Year: Flying Pharmacist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Krishna Janmashtami: Nvvchar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Holika Dahan: Banswalhemant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source