India is a land of festivals and her people celebrate almost all the festivals with high spirits and much enthusiasm. There are festivals of religious importance and also there are other festivals which are of social importance. Most of these festivals have a significance and each festival is linked to a mythological story. Dussehra is one of such festivals which has religious importance and is celebrated with much fervor throughout the country.
Dussehra is a festival which falls in the Hindu month of Aswayuja / Aswin and mostly it falls in the month of October. This festival is celebrated for nine nights continuously when Goddess Durga Devi is worshiped by the people in different forms / avatars. The last day of the festivals is called ussehra or Vijaya Dasami which is the most auspicious day. As the festival is celebrated for nine nights it is called Dussehra Navaratri. The festival symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil as it is believed that on this day Goddess Durga Devi killed the buffalo-headed asura named Mahishasura.
Dussehra festival is celebrated in different ways in different regions of the country in a grand way. The burning of huge effigies of Ravana - the king of Lanka - in the Ramlila grounds is the highlight of the festival. The grand procession of the Royal elephants heavily bedecked in the streets of Mysore in Karnataka has also gained much popularity. Similarly, the festival is celebrated in a grand way in West Bengal in the name of Durga Pooja. The big idols of the goddess are beautifully and colorfully decorated and worshiped for five days continuously and on the day after Dussehra, these idols are immersed in the water resources.
Almost all the schools and colleges across the country remain closed for a week and so children enjoy the holidays and the festival as well. And on the Vijaya Dasami day most of the offices in the govt of the public and private sectors and even govt offices remain closed on this day.
Dussehra is a festival which falls in the Hindu month of Aswayuja / Aswin and mostly it falls in the month of October. This festival is celebrated for nine nights continuously when Goddess Durga Devi is worshiped by the people in different forms / avatars. The last day of the festivals is called ussehra or Vijaya Dasami which is the most auspicious day. As the festival is celebrated for nine nights it is called Dussehra Navaratri. The festival symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil as it is believed that on this day Goddess Durga Devi killed the buffalo-headed asura named Mahishasura.
Dussehra festival is celebrated in different ways in different regions of the country in a grand way. The burning of huge effigies of Ravana - the king of Lanka - in the Ramlila grounds is the highlight of the festival. The grand procession of the Royal elephants heavily bedecked in the streets of Mysore in Karnataka has also gained much popularity. Similarly, the festival is celebrated in a grand way in West Bengal in the name of Durga Pooja. The big idols of the goddess are beautifully and colorfully decorated and worshiped for five days continuously and on the day after Dussehra, these idols are immersed in the water resources.
Almost all the schools and colleges across the country remain closed for a week and so children enjoy the holidays and the festival as well. And on the Vijaya Dasami day most of the offices in the govt of the public and private sectors and even govt offices remain closed on this day.