Today’s festivals

Celebration of Krishna's victory over demon Narakasura

• Abhyanga snan (oil bath) before sunrise
• Lamps lit

Monthly Shiva worship night — fast and evening puja

• Night vigil
• Shiva puja
• Rudrabhishek

Festival of Lights — Lakshmi-Ganesha puja on Kartika Amavasya

• Lakshmi-Ganesha puja
• Fireworks
• Diyas
• Sweets exchange

Worship of Goddess Kali (Shyama) on the darkest night of Ashwina/Kartika Amavasya — in Bengal this is the paramount festival, observed with large public pandals and all-night worship

• Night-long Kali puja
• Pandal celebrations
• Red hibiscus and lamp offerings
• Tantra puja

New Moon — ancestral prayers and Pitru Tarpan

• Pitru Tarpan
• Ancestor remembrance
• Shradh