Basant Panchami is a festival of Hindus, which holds a very special religious & cultural significance. This year, it will be celebrated on 24th January 2015, Saturday.
The term Basant Panchami originally comes from Vasant Panchami, where Vasant means the spring season and Panchami means the fifth day. This festival marks the onset of the spring season which is celebrated on the fifth day in the month of Magha and hence it is named so.
Basant Panchami is also named as Shree Panchami or Saraswati Puja. The colour – Yellow is very closely associated with festival of Basant Panchami, since it is the colour of the mustard flowers that bloom in the spring season.
Traditional Celebrations of Basant Panchami
On the day of Basant Panchami, it is considered auspicious to wear bright yellow coloured dresses. People make yellow sweets like Kesar Ka Halwa at home and share and distribute them amongst friends, neighbours and families. Many people worship Goddess Saraswati – the Goddess of wisdom, knowledge and different facet of learning, like art, music and culture. In temples and educational institutions, statues of Goddess Saraswati are dressed in yellow and worshipped for her blessings of enlightenment and keeping ignorance away.
One of the popular rituals which are performed on Basant Panchami is that of Akshar-Abhyasam or Vidya-Abhyasam indicating the initiation of education. In this ritual, little children are often taught their initial alphabets and how to write their first letters or words. Students at many places take this day to clean their pens, pen-cases, ink pots and keep their pens, pencils, notebooks etc. near the feet of Devi Saraswati’s idols. They also avoid reading or writing on this day, since it is considered better to worship the things of education on this day rather than using them.
Employ these tips to celebrate Basant Panchami with your family:
- Arrange for bright yellow dresses for the entire family beforehand and make sure everyone wears them on the day of Basant Panchami.
- Surf the internet, watch videos of Saraswati Vandana and learn some of the prayers to perform a puja at home.
- Involve your children in the preparation of special sweets and distribute them among the needy.
- Teach your children about the value of Education and how they can keep their books, notebooks, geometry boxes and bags clean and organized.
- Tell your children about the significance of Goddess Saraswati and visit the nearest temples with family.
Enjoy the blossoming of flowers this spring season and celebrate a pleasant Basant Panchami!
