Chhattisgarh Festivals

Chhattisgarh is famous for its festivals. Pola, Nawakhana, Dussehara, Deepavali, Holi, Govardhan Pooja are celebrated with gaiety and festivity.

Pola

Pola follows Hareli. It is celebrated by worshipping bullocks. Children play with idols of Nandi bull (the vehicle of Lord Shiva) made of clay and fitted with clay wheels. A bull race is a major event of the festival.

Nawakhana

This  festival is observed in Chhattisgarh in the Shukla Paksha or the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadon, which coincides with the month of September.
The Gonds offer newly harvested food grains and liquor to their ancestors on this day. The festival is celebrated in various forms in different districts.

In the Kondagaon tehsil of the district, Buddha Deo is worshipped on this particular day, while in the Jagdalpur tehsil, the festivities are observed by taking sweets and gifting new clothes to the members of the family.

Dussehara

The most important festival in the region is a ten days event in total. The tribals celebrate Dassera as a congregation of Devi Maoli, and all her sisters. Hundreds of priests bring flower-bedecked local deities to the Danteshwari temple in Jagdalpur, arriving with all pomp and show. This festival is believed to have been started, in the 15th century, by Maharaj Purushottam Deo, the fourth Kakatiya ruler.

Govardhan Pooja

The  Govardhan Pooja is performe in the state of Chhattisgarh with lots of gaiety and festivity and has its origins in the legends of Hindu mythology. On the day of this festival the people of Chhattisgarh build cow dung hillocks and then decorated them with flowers after which they worship them. In some regions this day is also observed as 'Annakoot' meaning 'mount of food' . After the traditional worship comes to an end, an assortment of sweets is offered to the deities also known as 'bhog', following which the people consumes the prasad themselves.

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