Vasant Panchami
Vasant Panchami festival is celebrated mainly in North India. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that ‘Vasant’ is one of his forms. Basant Panchami is purely a festival of nature and there is no major scriptural story associated with it as is the case of most Hindu festivals. Vasant Panchami is essentially welcoming the blossoming nature after the harsh winter. ‘Vasant’ means spring and ‘Panchami’ is the fifth day after Amavasi in Magh month when it is celebrated Saraswathi Pooja, Hindus worship Saraswati Devi, the goddess of knowledge, music, art and culture. Vasant Panchami is the first and more minor of two spring-themed festivals in Hindu culture. Vasant Panchami initiates the spring festive cycle and heralds its summation that occurs with Holi. The seasonal aspects of the festival are more significant in Northern India due to the sharper contrast between the winter and the spring, however the festival’s religious and cultural significance are emphasized across all celebrating regions.
The color yellow plays an important role in Vasant Panchami as it is related to the bloom of mustard flowers during this period. Celebrants usually wear yellow garments, Saraswati is worshiped in a yellow dress,[3] and sweet saffron rice and yellow sweets are consumed within the families.
Maa Saraswati, the goddess of learning, wisdom, knowledge, fine arts, refinement, science and technology. The Goddess Saraswati is worshipped and the day is treated by celebrants as Saraswati’s birthday. People worship Goddess Saraswati to attain enlightenment through knowledge and to rid themselves of lethargy, sluggishness and ignorance. The festival is celebrated by the Indian diaspora based at Nottingham, UK, every year under the aegis of the socio-cultural group Jhankar-NICA
