Hanuman Jayanti

Culture of origin: Hindu · Cultural

Holiday sources: Hinduism

Hanuman Jayanti celebrates the birth of Hanuman, a vanara and one of the heroes of the Ramayana, an ardent devotee of Rama revered as a symbol of strength. As he is believed to have been born at sunrise, discourses begin at dawn in his temples; devotees read the Hanuman Chalisa and the Ramayana and put vermilion from his image on their foreheads. Most northern states keep it on the Chaitra full moon; the Telugu states, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha keep it at other times of the year.