Festivals in India: Indian New year

Happy New Year!!

Indian New Year!!

Vikram Samvat 2069, Indian New Year will start on March 23, 2012, Friday. I would like to take opportunity to greet all of you a very happy and prosperous New Year. Emperor Chandragupta alias Vikramaditya was a great emperor of ancient India. He ruled India from his capital Ujjain in Malwa, Madhya Pradesh.

India remembers him for his greatness and Indians celebrate New Year remembering him. Vikram Samvat is named after him.

Updated on March 22, 2012.

Happy New year ! Shubh Nava Varsh!

This is time to greet all Happy New Year. People have started sending New Year greeting cards to their friends and family members. People are greeting each others on New Year eve. They are preparing for New Year celebrations.

Shop keepers and hotels are in celebration mood. They are also sending New year cards with New Year messages of best wishes for New Year to their customers.

New Year parties will be organized at various places all over the world. People all over the world celebrates new year on first of January. People are ready to welcome New Year 2011 and to say good buy 2010.

This is not only the first day of a new year but first day of a new decade. We are entering into a new decade, second decade of this 21st century.

Chinese New Year

Happy New Year 2012 !!! Happy New Year 2012 !!! Happy New Year 2012!!!

I wish all Hubpages readers, their family and friends a very Happy and prosperous New Year! May the year 2012 bring you joy and happiness in your life. May heaven bless you with health, wealth and peace of mind.

Best of luck.

New Year in India is different from New Year in other parts of the world. However, Indians also send New Year messages, New Year cards and New Year wishes. They also organize New Year parties at different levels.

New Year day in India according to most followed Vikram Samvat falls on March 16 in the Year 2010. Indians will celebrate this day as Nav Varsh or Bharatiya Nava Varsh..Telegu people in India say this day Ugadi.

India is a multilingual and multi-culture country. India celebrates several days as her New Years. There are various calendars in India depending upon regional, cultural and religious back grounds. New Year eve of India is little different from that of New Year celebrations on first January.

Indian New year follow lunar calendar like Chinese New year.

Indian scientists and mathematicians were excellent in astronomical calculations since ancient time. They could calculate subtle movements of celestial bodies even before western countries learned counting. India had developed both astronomy and astrology of its own.

India has both Solar and lunar calendars. Indians celebrate New Years according to both systems. Vikram Samvat is the main year in Indian system according to lunar calendar . Vikram Samvat is mainly followed in north and eastern India. Veer (Vir) Samvat is another main lunar system. Followers of Jain religion and people of Gujrat mainly follow this calendar.

There are solar calendars too. Bengal follows a solar calendar namely Bangla San. Vikram Samvat starts from (New year day) Chaitra Shukla Pratipada where as Veer Samvat starts from Kartik Shukla Pratipada. This is the day next to Deepavali or Diwali. Diwali festival is part of Veer Samvat, New Year celebration. Diwali best wishes are accompanied with New Year greetings and best wishes.

Bangla San starts from first day of solar Vaisakh usually falls on 14 th April. The day is called Poila Vaishakh in West Bengal. These are the New year days of India. There are few other Samvat and San in Indian system of calendars such as Shak Samvat. India also follow Gregorian calendar to keep pace with the globe. First January is also a New Year day for Indians.

Nepal is also a Hindu country and follows same Vikram Samvat and celebrates its New year on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada as Indians. New year eve of Nepal is similar to New year celebrations in India.

Solar calendars are similar to that of Gregorian calendar. Lunar calendars are little different. These calendars are based on subtler calculations of movement of the moon. The moon moves round the earth in about 29 days. Hence, a lunar month is of approximately 29 days. A lunar year consists of 355 days. Not all the months are equal, however, months vary between 28 to 30 days according to the movement of the Moon.

Lunar calendars do not have fix day system like solar systems. For example, January has 31 days and April has 30 days. These are fix in solar calendars except the month of February that used to change in Leap years.

Both solar and lunar Indian calendars have twelve months. Names of the months are same in both the systems. Names of Indian months are related to Nakshatra (Stars). The twelve Indian months are

1. Chaitra
2. Vaishakha
3. Jyestha
4. Ashadha
5. Shravana
6. Bhadra Pada
7. Ashwina
8. Kartika
9. Agrahayana or Margasheersha
10. Pausha
11. Magha
12. Falguna

All of these months are generally start on 14th day of Gregorian calendar in solar calendars of India. The month of Chaitra starts on 14th day of March. There may be an adjustment of a day. Hence an Indian solar month can be started on the 13th or 15th day of Gregorian calendar.

Lunar months do not start on a fix solar day. It has its own system and starts on the first lunar day. India uses two types of Lunar month system. A lunar month either starts from the first day of the bright half or it can be started from first day of dark half or fortnight.

If an Indian lunar month starts from first day of bright half it ends on a no moon day and full moon day falls in the middle of the lunar month

If an Indian lunar month starts from first day of dark half it ends on a full moon day and no moon day falls in the middle of the lunar month.

Both New year days of Vikram Samvat and Veer Samvat falls on Shukla Pratipada i.e. first day of bright fortnight in the months of Chaitra and Kartika respectively. Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the New Year day of Vikram Samvat (Nav varsh) is also the first day of Chaitra Navratri.

Lunar days are called Teethi. Pratipada or Ekam is the first day of lunar month or lunar fortnight. Dwitiya or Dooj is the second day. Tritiya or Teej is the third day of lunar system. Chaturthi or Chouth is the fourth day among fifteen. Panchami is the fifth day and Shashthi or Chhath is known as sixth day. Saptami or Satmi refers to seventh day and Ashtami or Atham is the eighth day. Ashtami falls in the middle of a fortnight.

Navami alias Naumi falls on ninth day and Dashami on the tenth. Ekadashi or Gyaras is the eleventh day and Dwadashi or Baras the twelfth. Trayodashi or Teras falls on the thirteenth day of a fortnight where as Chaturdashi or Choudas is the fourteenth. It is a day before the end of a fortnight. The fifteenth or last day of a fortnight is either a full moon day or a no moon day. Full moon day is called Purnima or Purnamasi or Punam. The no moon day is Amavasya or Amavas.

Bright fortnight isreferred as Shukla Paksha and dark is Krishna Paksha. The days of both fortnights are referred accordingly as Shukla alias Sudi or Krishna alias badi. Hence first day of a bright fortnight is Shukla Pratipada or Sudi Ekam and so on.

All Indian religious and social festivals are calculated on the basis of Lunar days and months. For example, Diwali falls on the no moon day of Kartika and Dhan Teras on the thirteenth day of no moon fortnight of the same month. Navratri comes in Chaitra and Ashwina and Akshay tritiya in the month of Vaisakha. Navpad Oli also comes in Chaitra and Ashwina. Shraddha Paksh or Pitri Paksh covers the whole no moon fortnight of Ashwina.

Indian people celebrates their New year days as per their religious, cultural and ethnic belief. There are regional aspects of new year celebrations. It is Nava Varsha in north India, where Nava or Nav means New and Varsha means year. Varsh is also referred as Samvatsar.

Telegu new year eve is referred as Ugadi that means starting of an era. Tamil new year is different from Telegu new year. People in north India,Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala send new year messages and best wishes for new year. They also use new year cards for new year greetings. New year party of India is slightly different. New year parties in traditional India is mixed with cultural events of the region and generally amalgamated with offerings to gods.

Indian calendars are called Panchang. Panch means five and Anga or Ang means parts. Hence, a Panchang is consist of five parts or ingredients. These five ingredients are Teethi (Date), Vaar (Days), Nakshatra (Star), Masa or Mas (Month) and Samvatsar (Year). India had a well developed and established astronomical and astrological systems since ancient time which are reflected well in Indian Panchang (Calendar).

India is a big country and there are varieties of Panchang in India. Longitude and latitude are different in different regions. Hence Panchang varies slightly according to longitudinal and latitudinal differences.

Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the lunar day for Indian New Year falls on April 4, 2011 this year. Lunar days varry year to year on solar calendar. The day is different from last year.