पंजाबी त्योहार

The tradition & historical record

Punjabi festivals are various festive celebrations observed by the Punjabis, originating in the Punjab region. The Punjabis are religiously a diverse and that affects the festivals they observe. According to a 2026 estimate, ~55% percent of the Punjabi population is Muslim, accounting for about 120+ million people, with 97% of Punjabis who live in Pakistan following Islam, in contrast to the remaining 40 million Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus who predominantly live in India. The Punjabi Muslims typically observe the Islamic festivals, do not observe Hindu or Sikh religious festivals, and in Pakistan the official holidays recognize only the Islamic festivals. The Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus typically do not observe these, and instead observe historic festivals such as Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi as seasonal festivals. The Sikh and Hindu festivals are regional official holidays in India, as are major Islamic festivals. Other seasonal Punjabi festivals in India include Teejon (Teeyan) and Maghi. Teeyan is also known as festival of women, as women enjoy it with their friends. On the day of maghi people fly kites and eat their traditional dish khichdi. The Punjabi Muslim festivals are set according to the lunar Islamic calendar (Hijri), and the date falls earlier by 10 to 13 days from year to year. ¹

Punjabi Buddhists are a minority in Punjab, India. In the Punjab province of Pakistan, the Buddhist population is negligible. Punjabi Buddhists celebrate festivals such as Buddha Jayanti. ¹

Christians are a minority in Pakistan, constituting about 2.3% of its population in contrast to 97.2% Muslims. In Indian state of Punjab, Christians form about 1.1% of its total population, while the predominant majority of the population being Sikh and Hindus. Punjabi Christians celebrate Christmas to mark the birth of Jesus. In Punjab, Pakistan, people stay up late singing Punjabi Christmas carol services. People attend churches in places such as Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts in Punjab, India that have a higher Christian population, to be part of Christmas celebrations. Christians also celebrate Easter by engaging in processions. ¹

Punjabi Hindus celebrate a number of religious festivals. ¹

Bavan Dvadasi is a festival dedicated to the Hindu God Vamana. The festival is held during the lunar month of Bhadra. Singh writing for the Tribune in 2000 states that "Tipri, a local version of dandia of Gujarat and a characteristic of the Patiala and Ambala districts, is losing popularity. Its performances are now limited to the occasions of Bavan Dvadsi." According to Singh (2000) "Bavan Dvadsi is a local festival celebrated only in the Patiala and Ambala districts. Anywhere else, people are not aware of it. Now, tipri is performed during this festival only." Singh then states that Bavan Dvadsi "is to celebrate the victory of Lord Vishnu, who in the form of a dwarf, had tricked Raja Bali to grant him three wishes, before transforming into a giant to take the Earth, the sky and Bali's life". Tipri competitions are held during the festival. Dancers dance in pairs, striking the sticks and creating a rhythm whilst holding ropes. ¹

Raksha Bandhan, also Rakshabandhan, or Rakhi, is a popular, traditionally Hindu, annual rite, or ceremony, which is central to a festival of the same name, celebrated in India, Nepal and other parts of the Indian subcontinent, and among people around the world influenced by Hindu culture. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care. Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha Bandhan", Sanskrit, literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care", is now principally applied to this ritual. Until the mid-20th-century, the expression was more commonly applied to a similar ritual, also held on the same day, with precedence in ancient Hindu texts, in which a domestic priest ties amulets, charms, or threads on the wrists of his patrons, or changes their sacred thread, and receives gifts of money; in some places, this is still the case. In contrast, the sister-brother festival, with origins in folk culture, had names which varied with location, with some rendered as Saluno, Silono and Rakri. A ritual associated with included the sisters placing shoots of barley behind the ears of their brothers. Of special significance to married women, Raksha Bandhan is rooted in the practice of territorial or village exogamy, in which a bride marries out of her natal village or town, and her parents, by custom, do not visit her in her married home. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Punjabi festivals”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Punjabi festivals is About various festive celebrations observed by Punjabis in Pakistan and/or India, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²