festivals

The major festivals celebrated in Patiala include:

• Holi – Festival of colours, celebrated in March every year.
• Patiala Heritage Festival – An annual festival in Patiala, that commenced from the year 2003. It is organized by the Patiala Heritage Society and is celebrated in the month of February every year. This is a cultural festival of this city and provides a platform for showcasing the art, music and culture of its people.
• Navratri and Dussehra – A 10-day festival where people here fast for the first seven days worshipping Maa Shakti (goddess Durga) and devotees gather every evening to sing Jaagrans (religious hymns) in the honour of the goddess.
• Diwali – The festival of lights, celebrated in October-November each year (people worship goddess Lakshmi during this festival, and light lots of lamps and burst crackers).
• Baisakhi – This is a festival that marks the first day of the month of Vaisakha and is usually celebrated annually on 13 or 14 April as Punjabi New Year Day; it is also a spring harvest festival in Punjab state.
• Guru Purab – Also known as Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab or Guru Nanak Dev Ji Jayanti, this is a festival to celebrate the birth of the first Sikh guru (spiritual master) and founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.