The heart-warming music, unique dresses, traditional culture, and lots of mystical stories behind every popular festival fascinate the tourists deep inside their hearts. All these days when the festival is celebrated, the whole northeast is flaunting with glory and celebration. Most of the festivals celebrated in the northeast reign of India depicts Buddhism, or these festivals are related to agriculture.
Visiting North East India during the celebration of any of the popular festivals will be a great opportunity for the tourist to enjoy. If you want to know more about the Festivals celebrated in the northeast read the blog till the end.
Here is the list of 10 Most Popular Festivals Celebrated in North East India:
The significance behind the celebration of these joyful festivals is to strengthen the bond between the local tribes of that region. Meanwhile, they also celebrate the harvesting season to remark their hard work in sowing crops. Local people and tribes share grains, decorate their houses, and dance together. Some of the famous festivals are listed below
1. Mahakumbh of The East, Assam
This is a very famous festival celebrated in Ambubachi. This region is situated in Assam near Kamakhya Temple. This Mela is celebrated in the month of May with full joy. The significance of this festival relates to the spiritual beliefs of the people. Also, read 10 Most Popular Temples in Assam.
This is the that many Sadhus, religious gurus, priests, and several bhakts visit this spiritual Mela from the distinct regions. Due to such a huge gathering of people this festival is also known as Mahakumbh of The East. Devotees from across the world visit the Mahakumbh Mela to perform Rituals. Read also: 7 Popular Historical Places in Assam.
2. Bihu Festival, Assam
This festival is also popular by the name of Bohag Bihu, Kaati Bihu, Bhogali Bihu, Kaongali Bihu, Magh Bihu, and various other names by the localities. A very prestigious and important festival of Assam, which is celebrated to invite the new year with a warm welcome and joy.
During these festivals, the local tribe offers several traditional foods to the goddess. People give this festival very much importance and wear the red and white color of costumes to decorate their houses, share delicious foods, give a blessing, dance and enjoy a lot with each other. Read: Top 20 Tourist Places to See in Assam.
3. Hornbill Festival, Nagaland
As you can notice that this festival is named after a popular bird. Although it is one of the major festivals celebrated in the land of Nagaland. This huge festival is celebrated in the month of December in Kohima, Nagaland. It is celebrated at the time of agriculture. Read more details on Hornbill Festival Nagaland 2022 – Date, Ticket, Permits, Attractions.
Hence, it becomes a very important agricultural festival. This festival is celebrated from 7 to 10 days regularly. In the village of Kisama Heritage Village. During this festival, you will get an opportunity to watch warrior log Drums, colorful headgear, and a soulful war cry. More info: 10 Best Places to Visit in Nagaland.
Check the package for 4 Nights 5 Days Dzukou Valley Trekking Nagaland Tour Itinerary.
4. Losoong Festival, Sikkim
This festival is celebrated in a very grand manner as this festival comes at the peak time of two important events. First, currently, the farmers are celebrating the joy of their harvesting in the month of December, meanwhile, the new year is also celebrated in Sikkim. The localities perform various traditional rituals and wear cultural costumes. More read Famous Festivals Celebrated in Sikkim.
Although, Losoong Festival is generally celebrated by the Bhutiya Tribe and some other tribes named Lepchas. People celebrate this festival with full joy and zeal. There is a tradition of visiting temples and drinking a famous wine called Chaang. Also, read Top 10 Best Places to See in Sikkim.
5. Nongkrem Dance Festival, Meghalaya
This festival is celebrated in the region named Smit, which is almost 15 km from the popular city called Shillong. An amazing festival enjoyed with full zeal and joy majorly by the tribe named Khasi Tribe. People of these tribes believe in the goddess named Goddess Ka Blei Synshar. Read also: 10 Most Famous Places to Visit in Shillong.
During this celebration, they sacrifice goats as a thanksgiving to their goddess. Every November people of these tribes dress in their traditional dresses, share delicious meals, and enjoy a lot. Check out the Famous Food of Meghalaya – That Is a Must-try.
6. Kharchi Puja Festival, Tripura
The festival Kharchi is a very popular and royal festival. This festival is become very popular and celebrated in almost every house in Tripura. In this festival people majorly worship Lord Shiva, and minorly there are 14 other gods who are instructed by the god Shiva.
This festival is celebrated for 14 days regularly in which they perform traditional rituals, chanting of Mantras, wear traditional costumes, and eat religious meals. The group of people visit the Temple of Lord Shiva and take blessings from their Priests. This festival is celebrated each July near Agartala. Also, read Top 10 Most Popular Places to See in Tripura.
7. Chapchar Kut Festival, Mizoram
This is a remarkable festival of Mizoram as it denotes the planting time of crops in Agriculture. Every year in March this festival is celebrated with full zeal and joy. The very popular thing about this festival is the bamboo dance done by the localities living in the locality.
This major dance style is also famous by the name of Cheraw. There are many other dance styles followed by the people which are named Khuallam, Chheihlam, Chai, and Sarlamkai. During the festival, people decorate the house with colorful flowers filled with fragrance. Find the 10 Most Beautiful Places to See in Mizoram.
8. Wangala Festival, Meghalaya
This festival is also famous by the name 100 Drum Wangala Festival. Each year during the second week of November tourists visits Meghayala to enjoy the eye-catching views of this festival. Wangala Festival is celebrated during the winter season by the famous tribe of that region named Garo Tribe. These tribes live in the Asanang village which is located near the Tura in the Garo Hills. Read Also: Top 20 Places to Visit in Meghalaya.
This festival is celebrated after the harvesting season hence it is known as a post-harvesting celebration. During this festival these people the chief of the village called Nokma performs rituals to their goddess Misi Saljong. During these days the group of people has Brewed rich beer and cooked rice and vegetables. Also, read 7 Famous Historical Places in Meghalaya.
Read also: Plan Your November Trip to North East India
9. Kang Chingba Festival, Manipur
Every year in the month of July this major festival of Manipur is celebrated by the localities. This is estimated to be the largest Hindu festival celebrated in Manipur. An amazing festival filled with true stories and spiritual beliefs. This festival is celebrated for 8 days regularly in with the Rath yatra is also performed.
In this Rath Yatra, Lord Jagannath and his brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra are prayed, and traditional rituals are performed in front of them. The religious yatra is started from the temple Sri Govindajee Temple located in Imphal. The traditional vehicle in which Lord Jagannath Puri is placed is called Kang. Read also: 20 Best Places to See in Manipur.
Conclusion
Festivals in North East are very fascinating and unique and attract tourists from across the world. Many festivals include the Grand Rath yatra carried on by the devotees, some of the festivals are celebrated continuously from 7 to 10 days. Festivals celebrated by the localities contains many traditional rituals, cultural costume, delicious meals, and the gathering of devotees.
The people visit temples, decorate their houses, and take blessings of their Priests. These festivals change the view of the region and give amazing peace to the visitors who visit the place. Visiting these places during the festivals will fill your heart with immense pleasure and joy. We hope this article helped you in finding the best festival celebrated in the North East.
Read more info for North East India:
- North-East India in December: Top 10 Destinations to Visit
- Best Places to See in North East India in July
- Visit in North East India Places in June
- Best Honeymoon Places in North East India
- North East India Places See in January
- Things to Do in North East India With Family
- North-East India Visit in April
