Holi

• Holi is a spring festival in March, full of joy and color. Celebrating creation and renewal, Holi honors Lord Krishna, and is now more a secular than religious celebration. Singing, dancing and roasting grains on bonfires are elements of this celebration, but the high point is throwing powder, paint and water over people to make them, literally, more colorful. Lord Krishna was very mischievous as a boy and engaged in practical jokes, and this festival celebrates his youthful exploits.
  
  

Ganesh Chaturthi

• Held in August or September, this festival celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesh, the lord of power and wisdom. Ganesh is the elephant-headed deity, the son of Shiva and Parvati, and praying to him during this celebration brings good luck and prosperity to the family. The celebration starts with people bringing statues of Ganesh into their homes or to specially built temporary structures called pandals. Both homes and pandals are decorated brightly with flowers and lights, and Ganesh is worshiped here for 10 days. At the end of this period, people take the statues in a procession to the sea or a body of water to immerse them there in a ritual sendoff for Ganesh.
  
  

Dussehra

• Dussehra is a 10-day ceremony of fasting, rituals and celebrations to honor the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana. This festival follows the 10-day celebration of Navrati, which honors Durga, the wife of Shiva, and seeks her blessings. In northern India on the final day of Dussehra, worshipers burn effigies of the demon, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil
  
  

Diwali

• Diwali is the festival of lights that marks the end of the Hindu year in October or November. Diwali means "rows of lighted lamps," and homes, businesses and shops display small earthenware lights during the five days of this celebration. The festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and plenty, and is a time for exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes and cleaning the home. The celebration is of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.