Table A1.
Characteristics of peri-festive and festive activities during the major festivals observed in India.
| COVID-19 Timeline | Festival and Timeline | Festive/Pre-Festive Activities | Geographical Locations Covered and Number of Articles Reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lockdown | Gudi Padwa (March 2020) |
This festival marks the new year for people in the Maharashtra and Konkan regions. It is celebrated by decorating floors with colorful rangolis, and hoisting a special Gudi flag on the house terrace. People are involved in shopping for new clothes, garlands, and fruits. The festivities include street processions, dancing, and community feasting. | Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chikballapur, Mysuru (28) |
| Lockdown | Ugadi (March 2020) |
It is a festival of social merriment. The preparations begin a week prior, when people buy clothes and new items for their houses, and decorate the entrances of their houses with fresh mango leaves. | |
| Lockdown | Rama Navami (April 2020) |
This festival is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Rama and falls on ninth day of Vasant Navratri. The celebrations involve Rath Yatra in Ayodhya and mass street processions. Devotees flock to temples seeking blessings from Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, and Hanuman in most parts of North, East and West India. In Karnataka, an annual Music Festival has been held on Ram Navami for the last 80 years. |
Kolkata, Mysuru, Ayodhya, New Delhi, Bhadrachalam, Bundi (6) |
| Lockdown | Good Friday and Easter (April 2020) |
Carnivals are organized along with processions. Sunday mass is conducted to mark the culmination of the three days of festivities and reverence to Lord Jesus Christ. | Lucknow, Kochi, Kottayam, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Kohima, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jammu (24) |
| Lockdown | Baisakhi (April 2020) |
It is a harvest festival which is accompanied by the organization of feasts and fairs to celebrate good crop yields. People go to local gurudwaras and seek prayers. Street processions are also organized by Gurudwaras for the celebration | |
| Lockdown | Vishu (April 2020) |
This festival involves the tradition of buying new clothes and items for the decoration of houses. Elders give money and presents to young children and contribute to charity. Children enjoy firecrackers and sweets. Community feasts are also organized. | |
| Lockdown | Ramadan and Eid (May–June 2020) |
Namaz and prayers are organized, and a full-day fast is observed by Muslim families. Two meals are served in each household, Sehri (morning time) and Iftaari (evening), where families gather and celebrate for a feasting tradition. Shopping for clothes and food items, and social gatherings for prayers and feasting are common sights. Women prepare celebratory dishes and apply henna, and all family members acquire new clothes for the festival. After the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan, a festival of the breaking of the fast, known as Eid al-Fitr, is celebrated. | New Delhi, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata (28) |
| Unlocking phases 1–2 | Bonalu (July 2020) |
A festival for thanksgiving to Goddess Yellamma after the fulfilment of vows. Teenage girls dress up in half sarees, adult women visit temple, some women go into a trance where they dance to rhythmic beats to please the Goddess. Street processions are held, following which feasts are organized to serve the Goddess; these feasts are then shared with families and guests. | Hyderabad (6) |
| Unlocking phase 3 | Raksha Bandhan (August 2020) |
Pre-festive shopping for clothes, rachis and gifts is a common occurrence. Movement on the day of Raksha Bandhan is observed as sisters visit their brothers’ homes to celebrate this festival | New Delhi, Rohtak, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Gautam Budhha Nagar, Ahmedabad, Raigarh, Berhampur, Kolkata (16) |
| Unlocking phase 3 | Janmashtami (August 2020) |
This festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in various parts of India. In Mumbai, the Hindu communities have a tradition of dahi handi, in which human pyramids are formed to break handis scaffolded at a height. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, boys dressed as Krishna climb on oiled poles, on which are pots filled with money. In parts of Northern India, children dress up as Radha and Krishna, and devotees visit temple, pray, and sing devotional songs in groups, and celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna at midnight. | Ludhiana, Mathura, Rajkot, Mumbai, Thane, Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, Nadia, Mayapur (18) |
| Unlocking phase 3 | Ganesh Utsav (August 2020) |
Ganesh idols are installed in houses or in community pandals for three, five, or ten days. The festival culminates with the immersion of the Ganesh idol, and large processions are conducted in which people dance and sing while the immersion ritual takes place at a nearby body of water. | Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Surat, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pudducherry (26) |
| Unlocking phases 3–4 | Onam (September 2020) |
Onam celebrations include boat races (Vallam Kali), tiger dances (Pulikali), flower rangoli making (Pookkalam), tugs of war, mask dances (kummattikali), and martial arts (Onathally), and music and folk-dancing programs are organized. Families visit their relatives with gifts, and feasts are a common sight. | Trivandrum, Kottayam, Thrissur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Agartala, Kozhikode, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kolkata (6) |
| Unlocking phase 5 | Navaratri (October 2020) |
Sharada Navratri is observed in honor of Devi Durga and is celebrated for a period of nine days; the period is characterized by variety of festivities and celebrations in different parts of India. In the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, a traditional Garba raas is organized with feasts, where people socialize and dance to thematic community songs and/or live music. | New Delhi, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ambala, Panchkula, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Gurugram, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Kullu, Manali, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Surat, Mumbai, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Nagpur, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Patna, Prayagraj (94) |
| Unlocking phase 5 | Dusshera/Mysore Dushera/Vijayadashami (October 2020) |
Dusshera is a major festival in North India, which is celebrated by the organization of pandals and fairs, community gatherings, the recitation of scriptures, the enactment of verses from Ramayana, and full-day or partial-day fasting rituals; it culminates on the 10th day with the burning of Ravana effigies. In Mysuru, the Mysuru Dussehra involves street processions with folk dances and depictions of fight scenes on a mass scale. | |
| Unlocking phase 5 | Durga Pooja (October 2020) |
Celebrated to worship the Hindu deity Devi Durga. Pandal hopping, family and social gatherings, shopping, gifting, and feasts are usual features. | |
| Unlocking phase 6 | Deepavali (November 2020) |
The celebrations include worshipping Hindu deities, family and social gatherings, shopping for utensils, ornaments, decorative items, and gifts, feasting, community gatherings, bursting crackers, and fairs. | New Delhi, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Mumbai, Madurai, Chennai, Ludhiana, Kanpur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Mohali, Coimbatore, Tuticorin, Erode, Simla, Faridabad, Jaipur, Bhopal, Gurugram, Ernakulam, Thrissur (32) |