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.
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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGrihapraveshगृहप्रवेश (Gṛhapravēśa)
A Hindu housewarming ritual to purify a new home and invite blessings.Home
🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 2 moreMudik
Indonesians head home to family before Lebaran, in the year's biggest journeyHome
🇨🇳 China and 5 morePostpartum confinement
A period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.Rite of passage
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreNakshi kanthaনকশি কাঁথা
A traditional embroidered quilt from Bengal, made by stitching layers of old cloth into colourful, patterned textiles.Craft
🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house
A small roofed shrine on a pillar, kept in homes and villages across Southeast Asia to honour protective spirits.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Goa, India and 2 moreBhai Doojभाई दूज
A Hindu festival of sibling bonds marked by forehead markings, feasts and blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, Nepal and 4 moreDashainबडादशैँ
A fifteen-day festival of family gatherings, blessings, and feasts across NepalFestival
🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreTiharतिहार
A five-day Nepalese festival honoring animals, deities, and the bond between siblingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmi Pujaलक्ष्मीपूजा
A Hindu festival of lamps, prayers and offerings welcoming the goddess of prosperitySpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluபொம்மை கொலு
An autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 IndiaVat PurnimaVaṭapūrṇimā
An annual Hindu festival where married women fast and pray around a banyan treeSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreRemoval of footwear indoors
The widespread custom of leaving outdoor shoes at the door for cleanliness and respectEtiquette
🇮🇳 Diu, IndiaDashama Vrataદશામા વ્રત
A ten-day Hindu vow kept at home with a clay shrine, mostly by women in Gujarat and DiuSpiritual
🇮🇳 Chabbi (Chebbi), IndiaChabbi Ganapathi
A three-day Ganesha festival kept by seven households in a Karnataka village since 1827Festival
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaVadhu Praveshaवधूप्रवेश
A Hindu ceremony welcoming a bride into her new husband's homeRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dashain: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Bhai Dooj: SandeshLamsalNepal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Mudik: Arie Basuki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lakshmi Puja: Subharnab Majumdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Postpartum confinement: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Vat Purnima: Kiran Gopi, CC BY-SA 2.5 in, source
- Grihapravesh: Aruna at ml.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
- Nakshi kantha: A junaid alam khan ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dashama Vrata: Athwartmisunderstand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Removal of footwear indoors: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Vadhu Pravesha: Shounak Ray, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
- Chabbi Ganapathi: Reema Jalihal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source