(The Gist of PIB) Spring harvest festivals in India [APRIL-2020]

(The Gist of PIB) Spring harvest festivals in India

The President of India greeted people on the occasion of Vaisakhi, Vishu, Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsha, Vaisakhadi, Puthandu, Pirappu, which are being celebrated in different parts of the country on 13th and 14th April 2020.

Baisakhi: Baisakhi, also known as Vaisakhi, Vaishakhi, or Vaisakhi, is celebrated with much fanfare in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. Baisakhi is a spring harvest festival for the Sikhs. Baisakhi also commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
Rongali Bihu: Assam celebrates Bihu thrice in a year but Rongali Bihu is the biggest and most popular. Rongali or the Bohag (spring) Bihu starts on the last day of the Assamese calendar month of Chot, which normally falls on April 13 or 14 annually.
Poila Boishakh: Poila Boishakh also known as Pahela Baishakh or Bangla Nababarsha is the first day of Bengali Calendar.
Mahabishuva Sankranti: On the same day, Odisha celebrates Mahabisuha Sankranti, better known as Pana Sankranti.
Puthandu: Puthandu in Tamil Nadu marks the first day of the Tamil New Year.
Vishu: Vishu in Kerala marks the completion of the spring equinox. But unlike Onam, the other harvest festival, Vishu is a quieter affair, with Lord Vishnu in his Krishna avatar, the presiding deity of the festivities. Malayalis observe the ritual of ‘Vishukanni’.
Bikhoti: The Bikhoti Festival of Uttarakhand involves people taking a dip in holy rivers.
Jurshital: In the Mithal region of Bihar and Nepal, the new year is celebrated as Jurshital.