August comes on a happy note with delightful weather and a lot of festivals. Every year, Indians rejoice festivals with joy and lustre. Events also get lined up as festivities come around and people look for various plans to extend their weekends. And traversing across India in August can be a good decision as one can observe loads of festivities and culture on exhibit.
Nativeplanet brings you the list of festivals and events that is commemorated in August 2020 in India. Have a look!
1. Ganesh Chaturthi
This is one of the prominent festivals of India which is observed with much vigour for around 12 days. This festival honours the birth of Lord Ganesha. This festival starts on a monumental scale where massive statues of Lord Ganesha are adorned and revered. Even statues of Lord Ganesha are carried back home for 10 days and by the end of it is immersed in the water.
Date: 22 August to 1 September
2. Onam
This is a 10-day long harvest festival which is celebrated in Kerala with much vigour. The festival is known for celebrating the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. During this festival, the locals decorate the entrance of the houses with flowers arranged beautifully. Alongside that, it is celebrated with other festivities like buying new clothes, and a plethora of dishes served on a banana leaf.
Date: 22 August - 2 September
3. Athachamayam Festival
Celebrated along with the Onam festival, Athachamayam is one of the most iconic cultural festivals in August 2020, India, that rejoices the heroic triumph of the royal king of Kochi. This is one of the most vibrantfestivals in August in India, actually, Kerala, where local people wear a traditional outfit and participate in folk dance and music. Elephant rallies and colourful tableaus showcasing local tradition, art forms, and culture are also seen during the festival.
Date:22 August
4. Nag Panchami
Among the age-old Indian festivals in August, Nag Panchami holds a special significance. This is one of the most unique and courageousfestivals in August in Indiawhere snakes are worshipped. On an auspicious day of the lunar month of Shraavana, Nag Panchami is observed in full glory and pomp in rural parts of India and Nepal. This festival is followed by Japan Mela- a tribal festival, where Goddess Manasa is worshipped. Jhapan Mela is a rural fair demonstrating various tricks with snakes and is observed in the interior parts of Vishnupur and Bankura districts of West Bengal.
Date:25 July
5. Raksha Bandha
On every full moon day of the month of Shraavana, which corresponds with August, the glorious festival of Raksha Bandhan is celebrated throughout India. Undoubtedly, this list of Indian festivals in August is not complete without talking about Raksha Bandhan. It is rejoiced to honour the love and bonding between a brother and a sister. The sister ties the rakhi- a sacred thread around the brother's wrist and prays for his long life and well-being while the brother takes an oath to protect her lifelong.
Date:3 August
6. Teej
Festivals celebrated in August in India are incomplete without Teej, where Goddess by the same name is worshipped by Rajasthani women with full enthusiasm. This is one of themusic festivals in August 2020 in India. Featuring absolute grandeur and glory, Teej is rejoiced in every part of the pink city, with traditional songs, dance, music, carnivals and local food. Here, native woman dress-up in green traditional outfits, wear bangles and mehndi and carry Goddess Teej in golden palanquin across the city. The rally is accompanied by decorated elephants, camels, and horses.
Date: 6 August
7. Madras Week
22 August is the foundation day of the city of Madras, now Chennai. To honour and celebrate the same, the entire week rejoices with grandeur and pomp in the city. The entire city is decorated with lights and flowers and various tours, fairs, shows and recreational events are organized for tourists and locals.
Date: 22 August
8. Tarnetar Fair
Another spectacular August festival is Tarnetar fair, held near the temple of Triniteshwar Mahadev in Gujarat. The fair was originally organized as a searching place for a spouse for tribal communities. This is a typical rural fair, where one can see and experience brave stunts, magic shows, tribal dance and music, camel rides tattoo stalls, merry go rounds and local food and handicrafts shops.
Date: 21 - 23 August
9. Krishna Janmashtami and Dahi Handi
This festival is celebrated on a grand scale in India and some parts of the world to commemorate the birthday of Lord Krishna. The day is also called the Gokulashtami in some places and Maharashtra, it is known as Govinda. This is one of the joyous occasions celebrated with much vigour and some kids dress up like Krishna to narrate his life story.
Date:11-12 August
10. Bonderam Festival
This is an annual festival which is celebrated every year on the fourth Saturday of August. It is a traditional flag festival which started from the disputes over the property in various parts of the village. There were flags used to mark boundaries until the rival groups knocked them down. In the present day, they make a representation of that incident by hosting mock fights and street parades.
Date: 22 August