The first day of the month is celebrated as the Hindu New Year's Day, known as
Gudi Padwa in Gujarat and
Maharashtra,
Puthandu in Tamil Nadu,
Vishu in Kerala, and
Ugadi in Karnataka,
Telangana, and
Andhra Pradesh. In
West Bengal, Basanti Puja, Annapurna Puja, Ram Navami, Neel Puja, and Chorok Puja are held consecutively before the beginning of Bengali New Year on
Poila Baishakh. The month is also associated with the departure of spring.
Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours, is celebrated on the full moon day (
Purnima) of
Phalguna, the month before Chaitra, exactly six days after which the
Chaiti form of the
Chhath festival is observed.
Ram Navami, which commemorates the birth of the Hindu god
Rama, is celebrated on
Navami (ninth lunar day)
thithi of the
Shukla Paksha (
waning moon) of the month.
Hanuman Jayanti, dedicated to
Hanuman, is observed on the Purnima day of the month.
Chitra Pournami is observed on the full moon day (Pournami) of the Tamil month of
Chithirai (April–May) and is dedicated to
Chitragupta, the divine accountant for
Yama. People take a holy bath in rivers or temple tanks on this day to cleanse the sins of the past. Other rituals include special pujas to
Indra, offerings of rice, and
Kavadi Attam dedicated to
Murugan. In
lunar calendar, Chaitra begins with the
new moon day and is the first month of the year. The first day of Chaitra is marked as the
Chaitra Navaratri, the lunar new year.
Navadurga (nine forms of the goddess
Durga) starts from Chaitra Shukla
Pratipada. According to
Jain texts,
Mahavira was born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra in 599 BCE (Chaitra Sud 13).
Jains celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak commemorating the same. ==See also==