Festivals
Holi Gaura
Purnima Jhulan Yatra
Krishna
Janmasthami Srila Prabhupada's
Appearance Day
Radhastami Kartika
Govardhana Puja and Anakuta Srila
Prabhupada's Disappearance Day
There are numerous festivals
throughout the year celebrating the Lord’s appearance and various pastimes as
well as the lives of great saints. The major festivals are described below. The
dates given are for the year 2003/4 for Vrindavana.
Holi
(Dates:
2004 March 5th)
| Holi is celebrated for several
days, at different places around Braja, before the actual day of Holi. People
throw colored powdered dye and colored water on each other. This is joyfully
celebrated in Vraja, especially at Varsana, Nandagram and Dauji. In Varsana the
festival includes colorful processions with music, song, dance, and some
boisterous scenes around the temples. If you go to these festivals you should
expect to be totally covered in dye and never able to use the clothes you are
wearing again, at least until next year’s festival. |
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This is an major Gaudiya
Vaishnava festival that falls at the same time as Holi (Feb.-March).
Many temples in Vrindavana were established by followers of Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, and His appearance day is
regarded as an important festival.
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Jhulan
Yatra Mahotsava (Swing Festival)
(Dates: 2003 August 8th –12th)
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During Jhulan Yatra the Radha-Krishna
Deities in the temples are swung on a swing. This is one of the biggest
festivals of the year in Vrindavana. It is very crowded at this time. Often the
swings are made of gold or silver. Some of the main temples for this festival
are the Banke Bihari, Radha-Raman, Dwarkadisha Temple (Mathura) and the Larily
Lal Temple (Varsana).
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| This celebrates the appearance
day of Lord Krishna in Mathura. It is celebrated in an elaborate way in Vrindavana. The temples are beautifully decorated. Dramas are performed, which
depict the pastimes of Krishna. There is a elaborate arati
at 12 midnight in temples all over Vrindavana.
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Appearance
Day of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Date: 2003 August 21st
)
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This is the appearance day of
Srila Prabhupada, who is the Founder-Acarya
of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. There is a festival held
in the morning at the Krishna Balarama Temple. This event is also observed at
some other temples in Vrindavana. |
Radhastami
(Date: 2003 September 3rd)
| This is the appearance day of
Srimati Radharani. It is 15 days after the appearance of Lord Krishna. There is
an all night kirtan held the night before Radhastami at the Larily Lal Temple in
Varsana, ending with an ecstatic mangala
arati. Many people go the Varsana on this day for this very popular
festival. Temples throughout Vrindavana celebrate this major festival. |
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Kartika
(Date: 2003 October 11th – November 23rd)
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This is a very auspicious
month in Vrindavana. Every night lamps are offered to the Deities in many
temples. This month is also known as the month of Damodar. There is a special
program of worshiping the Lord in His Damodar form. Damodar refers to
Krishna’s being bound with rope by His mother, Yasoda. Thousands of pilgrims
come to Vrindavana during this holy month. |
Govardhana
Puja and Annakuta (Dates: 2003
October 26th)
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This festival is celebrated
the day after Dipawali, during Kartika. This popular festival celebrates
Krishna’s lifting Govardhan Hill and the offering of a mountain of food items
to Govardhan Hill by Nanda Maharaja and the residents of Vraja. In most of the
temples in the area, huge quantities of food are prepared in this ceremony and
then distributed to the general public. On this day Govardhan Hill is worshiped.
Govardhan Puja is also known as the Annakuta festival. On this day there is a
continuous stream of visitors to Govardhan Hill. Manasi Ganga and Jati Pura are
especially crowded. |
The
Disappearance Day of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Date:
2003 October 28th)
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This festival to remember and
glorify Srila Prabhupada is held during the day at his Samadhi Mandir at the
Krishna Balarama Temple. Srila Prabhupada is the one who “introduced Vrindavana
to the world” and spread Krishna consciousness around the globe. |
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