Ugadi is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in India. People usually get up early in the morning, take an oil bath and dress in fresh new clothes, do the prayer and pooja at home. Since it is a festival, the house is decorated and cleaned with flowers and mango leaves at the front of the main doors of the house. Without the mango leaves, it’s impossible to imagine a great festival, all these rituals symbolize prosperity and peace for the coming years for all the household members of the family. It is a ritual that people use to eat neem leaves and jaggery, this signifies the sweet and sour moments that we should be prepared in life. The term Ugadi comes from “yug” meaning “era” and”Adi” its meaning is “beginning”. This festival comes on the first day of the first month of the ” Chaitra masa” of the Hindu calendar. Ugadi festival celebrated to symbolize the beginning of a new year. There are various other legends relating to the Ugadi festival. According to Hindu sculpture and astrological calculations, it is considered that Lord Krishna’s Nirvaana was commenced on Shukla paksha of Chaitra masa. (month). This day also considered as the beginning of the kali yuga. It is believed that Kali Yuga began on the day Lord Krishna left the earth.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HINDU AND WESTERN CALENDAR.
There is a lot of difference between the western calendar and the Indian Hindu calendar, in calculating days, months, and a year. September, October, November, and December should be the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months of the year according to the Roman calendar, it is not the same in the western calendar. This roman calendar system constituted only 304 days in a year. The extra winter days come between the end of December and the beginning of the following March.
The gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted calendar, it is commonly referred to as the western or Christian calendar. The western calendar is a result of several reforms of the Julian calendar system. The western calendar is based upon the basic unit of time and groups them into 12 months that form a year containing 365 or 366 days.
But whereas Hindu calendar referred to the saka calendar. The lunar year of the Hindu calendar consists of 12 months. One lunar month comprises of the two fortnights, which begin with the new moon and end with a full moon. Since Vedic times the people of Hindus have been following the Hindu calendar, according to it, there are six seasons in India Spring, summer, Mansoon, Autumn, pre-winter, and winter. The Hindu calendar is completely based upon even the natural seasons wherein springs when the leaves of the trees fall, new leaves emerge according to the Hindu calendar this is called as Chaitra masa. So, Ugadi festival comes in Chaitra masa, in all ways, it is considered the year’s first festival. In the spring season nature itself starts its new beginning. Man depends upon nature for his survival. Spring decorates Nature, it symbolizes the rebirth of Nature even. Therefore Ugadi means birth – the new birth – a new year for Hindus, according to the Hindu calendar. According to Vikram Samvat, the month of Chaitra (usually falls between the months of March and April) marks the New year or the first month of the Hindu calendar.
It is said that the God of creation, Lord Brahma started creation on this day Chaitra shuddha padyami, which is celebrated as Ugadi. This day is very auspicious as Nature looks so beautiful at the incarnation of Goddes of Spring in the month of Chaitra masa.
WHY DOES THE NEW YEAR START ON JANUARY 1ST ON WESTERN COUNTRIES.?
In so many countries of the globe, the new year begins on Jan 1st because when we look back at its history, during the reign of Numa pompilius, he revised the ‘Roman republican’ calendar. Since January was named after ‘Janus’ the roman God of all beginnings. The Romans had a god named Janus. He was the god of doors and gates and had two faces—one looking forward and one looking back. Julius Caesar thought it would be appropriate for January, Janus’s namesake month, to be the doorway to a new year, and when he created the Julian calendar, he made January 1 the first day of the year. In 46 BC Julius caesar introduced more changes, through the Julian calendar with the expansion of the Roman empire, the use of the Julian calendar also spread. Later after the fall of Rome in 5 th century, many Christian countries altered the calendar, it was more reflective of their religion Dec. 25 became common new year days. After Rome fell and Christianity spread through Europe, the celebration of the new year was seen as pagan (the Romans, after all, had observed the new year’s first day by having in drunken orgies), so the first day of the year was moved to a more agreeable date to Christianize it. After Rome fell and Christianity spread through Europe, the celebration of the new year was seen as pagan (the Romans, after all, had observed the new year’s first day by having in drunken orgies), so the first day of the year was moved to a more agreeable date to Christianize it. Some countries started their year on March 25, the day Christians commemorate the announcement to Mary that she miraculously was pregnant. Other countries used Christmas Day, December 25, and others used Easter Sunday, no matter what date it fell on. Often, this change only applied to the government calendars. In common usage, January 1 was still the first day of the year, as regular non-clergy, non-royal folks didn’t t see a need to change it.
