Festivals in Palanpur

The city Palanpur in Gujarat is a place which has a unique culture. Unlike other states in India, throughout the year, lot of festivals are celebrated with great pomp and fanfare. During festivals people can be seen wearing their colorful traditional attires and during most of the festivals ras and garba, which are dance forms, are held since the people in Palanpur take lot of interests in dance and music. The various events and festivals that take place here represent the ethnicity and rich culture of Palanpur.

Festivals in Palanpur

Various festivals that are held in Palanpur are mentioned below:

Janmasthami in Palanpur

This festival is celebrated in almost every household each year on the day Lord Krishna was born. There is no fixed date as the day is decided as per the Hindu calendar. Not only in Palanpur, the festival is celebrated throughout Gujarat and India till late at night. On this day an infant idol of Lord Krishna is worshiped.

Navratri in Palanpur

Celebrated for a total of nine days at a go, this festival is happens twice a year once at the beginning usually in the months of March/April and the other one during September/October. The former one is celebrated to mark the birthday of Lord Rama and the latter is celebrated when Lord Rama had killed the Demon Ravana.During these nine days several goddess of Hindu community are worshiped. Many people keep fast for these nine days especially the young unmarried girls.  It is believed that in order to get suitable husbands it is important to keep fast on these days. Apart from the other celebrations, one of the most exciting and the much awaited parts of the festival by the young and the old alike is the garba, which is a famous dance form of Gujarat. Though it is now performed throughout the country but the Garba that is performed in Palanpur and also throughout Gujarat is special, unique and remains untouched. The dance is held at various places and you will be left bewildered at the colorful traditional attire and also the energy with which it is performed for long hours.

Ganesh Chaturthi in Palanpur

In the honor of Lord Ganesha, Ganesh Chaturthi is held in Palanpur and also the rest part of Gujarat and India. God Ganasha is worshiped so as to remove any obstacle and also for gaining wisdom and for good beginnings. It is usually held in the months of August/September. Huge images of Lord Ganesha are kept in pandals and worshiped for the betterment of society and people for 10 days.

Sharad Purnima in Palanpur

Celebrated at the end of monsoon and during a full moon day, Sharad Purnima is a harvest festival. Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped at night. It is believed that due to the proximity of moon and earth, the rays of the moon are said to have healing properties for the soul and the body.

Diwali in Palanpur

Celebrated in autumn and an important festival of the Hindus, Dipawali is also known as the "festival of lights". Like most parts of India, during diwali, Planpur also comes to life with the city getting lighted up in diyas, candles and electronic lights. The festival's spiritual significance is victory of good over evil, good over bad, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. People clean, renovate and decorate their entire house before the festival. All wear new cloths and sweets are exchanged after the puja of goddess Lakshmi is done.

Apart from the various main festivals stated above, there are other festivals that keep happening throughout the year. Many fairs like the trade fair etc are also organized in the city. During such fairs and festivals, the tradition and culture of Palanpur comes alive.