Vasant Panchami

Culture of origin: Hindu · Cultural

Holiday sources: Hinduism

Vasant Panchami marks the preparation for the coming of spring and honours Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, language, music and the arts. People wear yellow and eat yellow food, for the blooming mustard fields linked with her favourite colour, and many families encourage young children to write their first words. In West Bengal, Assam and the east she is worshipped at home and in temples (Saraswati Puja); in Punjab it is a festival of kites. Drik Panchang keeps it on the day the fifth lunar day covers the morning (purvahna).