Seeing how farming is one of the most important and widely popular occupations in rural India, there are many harvesting festivals across the country. From Makar Sankranti and Baisakhi to Basant Panchami, Pongal, and Onam, various parts of India celebrate their harvest season with different festivals. But have you ever heard about the Phool Dei Festival in Uttarakhand? This is a folk festival celebrated in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions to welcome spring and pray for a good crop year! Read on to know more about this festival!
What Is Phool Dei Festival In Uttarakhand & What’s Its Significance?
Celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month of Chaitra, Phool Dei is a harvest festival in Uttarakhand. This folk festival celebrates the spring season and is widely celebrated by young girls in the region around March-April. This year, the festival will be observed on April 9. What’s to be noted is that in some parts of Uttarakhand, this festival is observed for a month, while in some areas people celebrate it for a week or three days.
Phool Dei is all about new blooms and breezy spring. The festival is celebrated in full gusto with carnivals and fairs. The word ‘Dei’ in its name comes from the ceremonial pudding which is one of the most important parts of the festival. It is mainly made with jaggery, flour, and curd. It is offered to everyone during this festival as it signifies a good omen.
This festival is quite significant for people in the hills as it brings forward their connection with nature and as a community. People come together to sing, dance, and eat together. Young girls pluck flowers together and scatter them around their homes and that of people in town as a sign to welcome spring.
Also Read: At A Height Of 3680m, Uttarakhand’s Tungnath Temple Is The World’s Highest Shiva Temple
A Few Things To Know About This Festival
Traditionally, young girls in Uttarakhand come together and visit every house in their area. They visit these houses with plates filled with rice, jaggery, coconut, green leaves, and flowers. They sprinkle the items on the plate in each house and sing traditional songs. The most popular one is, “Phool Dei, Chamma Dei, Deno Dwar, Bhur Bhakar, Vo Dei Sei Namashkar, Puje Dwar.” It means they hope that your Dei will be filled with flowers, good luck, prosperity, and filled with food. The people in turn give them sweets, money, or some crops as a token of gratitude for their good wishes.
Festivals like this make us realise just how culturally diverse India is! Did you know about this folk festival from Uttarakhand before? Let us know in the comments!
Cover Image Courtesy: Tour My India & Canva
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