Festivals of India – Important List for Competitive Exams

 

India is known for its diverse culture, religions, traditions, and regional customs. Festivals are an important part of Indian culture. The following list covers important religious, national, cultural, and regional festivals of India that are useful for competitive examinations such as ADRE, SSC, UPSC, Banking, Railways, and other government exams.




Major Festivals of India


Festival| State/Region Mainly Associated

Diwali (Deepavali)| All India

Holi| North India / All India

Dussehra (Vijayadashami)| All India

Navratri| Gujarat, Maharashtra, North India

Durga Puja| West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Tripura

Janmashtami| All India

Ram Navami| All India

Maha Shivaratri| All India

Ganesh Chaturthi| Maharashtra, Karnataka

Raksha Bandhan| North India / All India

Makar Sankranti| All India

Basant Panchami| North and Eastern India

Eid-ul-Fitr| All India

Eid-ul-Adha| All India

Muharram| All India

Christmas| All India

Good Friday| All India

Easter| All India

Guru Nanak Jayanti| Punjab / All India

Buddha Purnima| Buddhist communities / All India

Mahavir Jayanti| Jain communities / All India





Important Regional Festivals


Festival| State

Bihu| Assam

Hornbill Festival| Nagaland

Wangala Festival| Meghalaya

Chapchar Kut| Mizoram

Ningol Chakouba| Manipur

Losar| Sikkim and Himalayan regions

Mopin| Arunachal Pradesh

Onam| Kerala

Pongal| Tamil Nadu

Vaisakhi (Baisakhi)| Punjab

Gudi Padwa| Maharashtra

Ugadi| Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Vishu| Kerala

Nuakhai| Odisha

Rath Yatra| Odisha

Lohri| Punjab and North India

Teej| Rajasthan and North India

Pushkar Fair| Rajasthan

Hemis Festival| Ladakh

Losoong| Sikkim





Important National Days


These are not festivals in the traditional religious sense, but they are important for competitive examinations:


- Republic Day — 26 January

- Independence Day — 15 August

- Gandhi Jayanti — 2 October

- National Youth Day — 12 January

- National Science Day — 28 February

- National Sports Day — 29 August

- Constitution Day — 26 November

- National Unity Day — 31 October





Important One-Liners for Competitive Exams


- Bihu is the major festival of Assam.

- Hornbill Festival is celebrated in Nagaland.

- Onam is the famous festival of Kerala.

- Pongal is the major harvest festival of Tamil Nadu.

- Baisakhi is closely associated with Punjab.

- Rath Yatra is particularly famous in Puri, Odisha.

- Wangala Festival is associated with the Garo community of Meghalaya.

- Chapchar Kut is an important festival of Mizoram.

- Ningol Chakouba is a traditional festival of Manipur.

- Losar is associated with Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

- Hemis Festival is celebrated in Ladakh.

- Gudi Padwa marks the traditional New Year in Maharashtra.

- Ugadi is celebrated as the traditional New Year in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

- Vishu is an important festival of Kerala.

- Nuakhai is an important harvest festival of Odisha.





Exam Tip


For competitive exams, focus especially on Festival → State, Festival → Community, Festival → Season/Purpose, and Festival → Famous Place. These combinations are frequently useful for General Knowledge and Current Affairs sections.

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