According to Hindu Sastra there are four stages of life, of which Grahastha Ashram or married life signifies the second stage. It begins, when a man and a woman come together and marry. In India, marriage is treated as an institution, which teaches the actual values of life. Every stage in life has its own charm and a married life is no exception. In India, a marriage is usually arranged by the respective parents of the bride and the groom and follows various steps. Marriage among Hindus is not only considered a union of two souls, but of two families.

Hindu Marriage Rituals & Customs

A Hindu wedding not only involves the bride and groom but the entire community, friends, family and relatives as everybody participates in their coming together of the to-be couple. The first and the foremost step is the selection of the bride and the bridegroom. While in love marriages, a boy and a girl themselves select their life partner, it is crucial when it comes to arranged marriages. Talking about arranged marriages in the Hindu custom, the parents select the prospective bride/groom for their son/daughter.

After the selection procedure is over, the family members of both the girl and boy ask the priest to suggest an auspicious date for the engagement of the two also known as misri or ring ceremony. Since India boasts of diverse cultures and traditions, the engagement ceremony rituals differ from region to region and community to community. However, the basic of all the rituals, mentioned here, form an indispensable part of Hindu wedding. In the betrothal ceremony, the to-be bride and the groom exchange wedding rings among each other. Sweets and garlands are also exchanged among the couple.

After the festive spirit of engagement, the next important ritual is the mehndi party. It is believed that the color of mehndi signifies the essence of love in a marriage, so it is put on bride’s hand to strengthen that bond of love. The bride’s family and friends mainly celebrate this ceremony. The female friends and family members of the bride rejoice and celebrate this occasion, as henna gets painted on her hands and feet. Apart from the bride, the family members also get their hands painted with henna. Singing traditional songs and dancing to the beat of music forms a major part of this ritual.

Among the other important rituals is the Sangeet party, wherein all the family members and friends of the bride and groom celebrate, by singing and dancing the night away. Along with song and dance there are arrangements for food and drink. A large affair, Sangeet party is most popular among Punjabis, Marwaris and Gujaratis, although most of the regions today also practice this ritual. Ghari puja is also another important religious ceremony, which is performed on the eve of the wedding day at the groom and bride’s place separately.

On the morning of the wedding day, Pithi or Haldi, the cleansing ceremony is practiced during which the bride and bridegroom are pasted with turmeric powder in their respective homes, as a part of their beautification process. Talking about the actual marriage ceremonies, the Hindu wedding mostly takes place in a mandap or a tent, which is beautifully decorated with flowers. The main Hindu wedding ceremony is a long and elaborate affair, which lasts for several hours and is attended by a large number of relatives, friends, acquaintances and so on.

One of the most significant rituals the bride and the groom perform is the Saptapadi or saat phere around a scared fire and light, which is symbolic to God. While the bride and the groom take the seven circles, the priest or purohit recites the mantras and speak of the real essence and significance of marriage. It is also during this time that the groom fills vermillion or sindoor in the center parting of the bride and puts mangalsutra around her neck. Both sindoor and mangalsutra have strong religious implications and are sacred symbols of a married woman. These were some of the rituals and customs, which were generally followed in all the Hindu marriages.

By: iLoveindia

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Indian wedding is a perfect blend of serious rituals and customs along with other fun filled rituals and frothy moments. Wedding marks the beginning of a new relationship not just between two individuals but also between two families and thus, there are various moments in the wedding ceremonies that help to build new relationships. Every caste and community has its own tradition and culture. India with such diverse cultural background showcases variety of rituals and customs. Here are few very interesting facts about various kinds of Indian Wedding:

Interesting Indian Wedding Facts
In many communities in the Hindu Religion, there is a wedding ritual in which the sisters-in-law hide the shoes of their jija or brother-in-law and return them only in exchange for money. It’s a very fun filled and enjoying ritual.
In some communities, there are rituals where the hands of the couple are covered with a sacred cloth to ward off ill omen and evil eye during the pheras.
In Parsee marriage ceremonies, the sisters-in-law take gifts from their brother-in-law during the ritual of Haath Boravanu where the groom puts his hand in water and cannot remove them until he pays money to them, Pag Dhovanu is another such ritual where the groom is threatened with milk on his shoes and chero chorvanu is a ritual in which seven strands of thread tying the couple are removed on payment.
In Gujarati custom the groom’s mother-in-law tries to catch his nose on arrival of the baraat, as a reminder of the fact that he is taking away their daughter and is now responsible for her happiness.
Aeki-Beki is also very fun filled rituals among the Gujarati community. A tray or pot of water is mixed with milk and vermillion. A ring and a few coins are thrown into the mixture. The bride and groom are given seven chances to fish out the ring. The winner is considered as having a dominating personality and it is predicted amidst much laughter that he or she will rule the roost!
In Punjabi custom the bride’s wear a Chuda, this is a set of red and ivory bangles by her maternal uncle. This custom is considered good omen for the bride as it is said to bring good luck to the bride in her new home.
Punjabi brides wear Kaleeres. These are silver or gold plated ornaments tied to the Chudas. It is said that the bride has as many friends as there are leaves in the Kaleere. One interesting ritual related with the Kaleere is the custom in which a bride shakes her Kaleere over the unmarried girls in her family. It is said that if the Kaleere falls on the head of any of them, she is the next one to be married.
Another ritual which is found in almost every community is when the groom brings home his new bride; the groom’s sisters block the entrance to the home and demand money from their brother as a shagun before they let him in. This is a fun filled and amusing ritual.

Festival of Mahashivaratri is the most important festival for the millions of devotees of Lord Shiva. The festival has been accorded lot of significance in Hindu mythology. It says that a devotee who performs sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivratri is absolved of sins and attains moksha.

Significance of Shivaratri in Hinduism
Festival of Mahashivaratri has tremendous significance in Hinduism. According to sacred scriptures, ritual worship of Lord Shiva on Shivratri festival that falls on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalgun pleases Lord Shiva the most. This fact is said to have been declared by Lord Shiva himself, when his consort Parvati asked him as to which ritual performed by his devotees pleases him the most.

Even till date, devotees of Lord Shiva perform the ritual worship of Shivratri with care and devotion. They observe day and nigh fast and give sacred bath to Shiva Linga with honey, milk, water etc. Hindus consider it extremely auspicious to worship Lord Shiva on a Shivaratri as it is believed that worship of Lord Shiva with devotion and sincerity absolves a devotee of past sins. The devotee reaches the abode of Lord Shanker and lives there happily. He is also liberated from the cycle of birth and death and attains moksha or salvation.

Significance of Shivaratri for Women
Mahashivratri Festival is also considered to be an extremely significant festival by women. Married and unmarried women observe fast and perform Shiva Puja with sincerity to appease Goddess Parvati who is also regarded as ‘Gaura’ - one who bestows marital bliss and long and prosperous married life. Unmarried women also pray for a husband like Lord Shiva who is regarded as the ideal husband.

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By: Mahashivratri.org

One of the most celebrated festivals of Gujarat. In the month of January, people in large numbers gather on terraces to fly kites of various colors to celebrate Uttrayana, the welcome to the sun after the cold winter months. The atmosphere at the festival is electrifying-glass strengthened threads of the Indian fighter kites are matched against each other in the air, and the kite fighter who cuts the other thread is the victor.

Lohri marks the end of a long winter with the return of the sun to the Northern Hemisphere and hence the name Uttarayan. It is celebrated all over Gujarat but the excitement runs highest at Ahmedabad, Surat (known particularly for the strong string which is made by applying glass powder on the row thread to provide it a cutting edge) Nadiad and Vadodara. To be in any one of these places during this festival is to feel the heart and pulse of Gujarat and its people.

The day of Uttarayan has special importance and is regarded as very auspicious. It is also believed that the Gods sleep for six months closing the doors of heaven, which open at the entrance of the sun in northern zone, i.e. in the orbit of Makara , when the Gods awake from a long slumber.

Uttarayan also has a significant relationship with the agricultural economy of the state. By this time, the Kharif crops are ready and are brought home. In an economy which is purely agricultural, domestic animals are not forgotten and grass is freely distributed to the village cattle. Uttarayan, thus, becomes a harvest festival in the true sense of the term.

In Gujarat grain from the new harvest is used to cook ‘khichdo’. Typical food like Undiya, sugar cane juice and local sweets are served to celebrate the day. Cows and trees are also offered pujan since man’s existence depends on them. People forget and forgive ill will. For this, they ritually offer each other food balls made of sesame seed and jaggery. This is common in Maharashtra too. In east India, at Gangasagar, thousands of pilgrims throng to Kapil Muni’s ashram on this day for darshan.

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By: Hinduism About

Compared to other religious festivals, Christmas is quite a small festival in India due to the number that are Christians (2.3%) compared to people who belong to other religions. Having said this the population of India is over 1 Billion, so there are over 25 million Christians in India!

One of the largest Christian Communities, in India, is in Bombay. A lot of the Christians in Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) are Roman Catholics.

Midnight mass is a very important service for Christians in India, especially Catholics. The whole family will walk to the mass and this will be followed by a massive feast of different delicacies, (mostly curries) and the giving and receiving of presents. Churches in India are decorated with Poinsettia flowers and candles for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass service.

Many different languages are spoken in India. In Hindi and Urdu Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Bade Din ki Mubarak’; in Sanskrit it’s ‘Krismasasya shubhkaamnaa’; in Bengali ‘Barodiner shubhechha janai’; in Tamil it’s ‘Christhu Jayanthi Nalvaalthukal’ and in Konkani it’s ‘Khushal Borit Natala’. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.

Instead of having traditional Christmas Trees, a banana or mango tree is decorated. Sometimes people use mango leaves to decorate their homes.

In Southern India, Christians often put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to show their neighbours that Jesus is the light of the world.

Christians in Mumbai often display a manger in a front window, (there’s great competition in making the nativity scene). Also families go to great lengths to hang giant paper lanterns, in the shape of stars, between the houses so that the stars float above you as you walk down the road. Every household also makes sure that they have a stock of home made sweets ready to visitors.

In north-west India, the tribal Christians of the Bhil folk, go out night after night for a week at Christmas to sing their own carols the whole night through. They go to surrounding villages singing to people and telling the Christmas story.

In India, Father Christmas or Santa Claus delivers presents to children from a horse and cart. He’s known as ‘Christmas Baba’ in Hindi and ‘Christmas Thaathaa’ in Tamil.

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By: Why Christmas