The Month of Festivals

The festive season is here — although every day holds its own significance, the current time and the coming months are filled with many celebrations, which bring a vibrant energy into the entire atmosphere of the home. After a long break of several months, it feels truly wonderful to return to NutriNirvana.

This break wasn’t just due to my numerous responsibilities and work but also because of my home and family. As I’ve written in my blog, ‘I am a homemaker’; if work is important, then spending time with family and taking care of them is equally important. Over the past few months, I celebrated many festivals with my family—like Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Raksha Bandhan, Hartalika Teej, and Ganesh Chaturthi. These events make the air feel holy, and every street, home, and corner is full of life and happiness.

So come, today I’m going to write everything I know about these festivals and how I celebrated them.

Shri Krishna Janmashtami: A time for worship and celebration.

We celebrated Shri Krishna Janmashtami at home. On that day, I cleaned and decorated our home temple. I put Laddu Gopal (baby Krishna) on a small swing, gave Him a holy bath, dressed Him in new clothes, and put a crown of peacock feathers on His head. Then I performed the puja, offered laddu as prasad, and gently swung Him in the jhula. Honestly, it was a truly unique experience—celebrating Lord Krishna’s birthday at home brings a special kind of joy and devotion.

It feels no less like meditation, as our entire focus becomes centred on celebrating Kanha’s birth. On this day, the festival is celebrated in every household, with arrangements for dahi handi pots everywhere. This festival is not just a ritual—it’s an emotional connection and a shared experience that fills every home and every street. Little children are dressed as Kanha, and I too dressed my son as Krishna. For me, it was an intensely devotional and enchanted moment.

Now, let’s take a quick look at the birth story of Lord Krishna and its significance, which provides us with a great deal of motivation in life: Vasudev and Devki were the parents of Lord Krishna. In a jail cell in Mathura, he was born. Even in the worst situations, light may shine, as his birth serves as a reminder.

Raksha Bandhan: The Unbreakable Bond of Love and Trust Between Brother and Sister:

This festival is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Sawan. It is a special occasion where a sister ties a rakhi—made of silk threads—on her brother’s wrist and prays for his well-being and prosperity.

Let’s understand briefly how this day of unbreakable love and trust between brother and sister is celebrated: Raksha Bandhan is a very special festival. On this day, a sister applies a sacred tilak on her brother’s forehead, lights a lamp and performs aarti, then ties a rakhi—made of silk threads—on his wrist. She offers him sweets and prays that wherever he may be, he remains happy, safe, and healthy.

In return, the brother promises to protect his sister and stand by her in every situation. At our home, the children celebrated with great enthusiasm. Brothers also give gifts to their sisters. I sent a rakhi to my brother by post since he lives in another city.

This festival is filled with joy and emotion. It also includes a bit of playful teasing and mischief between siblings, which beautifully reflects their deep and unbreakable bond of love.

Hartalika Teej is celebrated on the third day (Tritiya Tithi) of the Bhadrapada month. On this sacred day, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are worshipped with devotion. Women observe a nirjala fast (without water) to pray for the long life of their husbands and seek blessings from Goddess Parvati for an unbroken and blissful marital bond.

This festival is celebrated with deep faith and enthusiasm. Women adorn themselves with full solah shringar (sixteen traditional embellishments), apply mehndi (henna) on their hands, wear beautiful sarees and jewellery, and dress up gracefully.

In our home too, this fast was observed with great devotion. I celebrated it with my entire family and kept a nirjala fast. We prepared offerings for the deities at home, including a sweet dish called ‘pirakiya’ or ‘gujhiya’, which is a traditional delicacy. Along with this, we offered various fruits, flowers, dhatura, and belpatra to Lord Shiva during the worship.

On this day, every household performs rituals, worship, and aarti for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Devotees stay awake all night, singing devotional songs, creating an atmosphere filled with purity, devotion, and love.

Let us now understand the brief story and significance of Hartalika Teej:

According to the legend, Goddess Parvati performed intense and difficult penance to attain Lord Shiva as her husband. Her unwavering devotion and determination led to her union with Shiva, symbolising eternal love and togetherness.

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the Bhadrapada month. Lord Ganesh—also known as Ganpati, Gannyak, Vinayak, and Ekdanta—is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He is worshipped on every Chaturthi of the month, but the Bhadrapada Chaturthi holds special significance.

On this day, Ganesh idols are installed in homes, streets, and temples everywhere. Grand pandals (decorated tents) are set up, and temples are beautifully adorned. The worship and rituals continue for ten days, filled with devotion and celebration. On the tenth day, the idol of Lord Ganesh is immersed in a river, marking a deeply sacred and emotional moment.

Lord Ganesh is always worshipped first in any religious ceremony. He is the giver of happiness and the remover of all obstacles. In our home too, we installed Ganpati Bappa and performed morning and evening prayers. Since Ganesh loves modak, we offered him modaks, laddus, fruits, and flowers during the worship.

Throughout the house, neighbourhood, and community, there is an atmosphere of peace, joy, and harmony. Ganpati Bappa brings prosperity and happiness into our lives. And on the day of immersion, the heart truly feels heavy with emotion. We all pray with devotion that Ganpati Bappa returns to our home again next year.

Conclusion: As I’ve said before, every day is special in its own way. We should live each day to the fullest—whether it’s bitter or sweet. Believe me, every day truly holds its own significance. Keeping the mind happy and adapting to every situation is nothing less than meditation, because mental nutrition is just as important as physical nutrition.

In the coming months, many festivals are on their way—Navratri, Diwali, Chhath Puja, and many more—which I’ll be sharing with all of you.

Keep smiling, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay connected.

~Preeti 😊