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 India is a secular democracy, a state without a single religion, and with the right guaranteed by the Constitution to every citizen to practice his or her own religion. In the larger Indian society, a major role of the festivals is to promote unity in diversity, with emphasis on communal harmony. Some religious festivals mark the passing of the seasons, while some can be termed as cultural events. Some are celebrated in isolated corners of the country, while a few transcend barriers of creed and are joyously celebrated all over the country.
Indian festivals mainly have a religious note. Apart from rituals and prayers, festivals are accompanied with fasts or feasts. In urban areas, festivals attract large crowds from neighboring areas. Fairs and amusements for children add to the festive atmosphere.  The most popular festival of Kerala, Onam, includes a magnificent boat race where teams of oarsmen compete against each other.
Festivals are also celebrated to mark changes in the season, such as the advent of spring or the beginning of a rainy spell. One can find traces of religion as well as magic in these attempts to seek nature's munificence. Some of the seasonal festivals include the Baisakhi in Punjab, Uthran in Gujarat and Bihu in Assam. The Hindu festivals vary from the purely magical to the highly sophisticated metaphysical levels. Compared to the Hindus Muslims and Christians have closely-knit rigid religious festivals and practices. Apart from religious festivals, India has some very important secular festivals, like Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. They evoke participation of the entire population of the country. |
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