Today’s festivals

Gods celebrate Diwali — Tripura Nasini (Shiva destroys Tripura); grand lamp festival at Varanasi ghats

• River bathing at Varanasi
• Diyas on river
• Boat puja
• Pushkar Fair

Birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469 CE) — founder of Sikhism; the most sacred Sikh festival; observed on Kartika Purnima across the Sikh world

• Akhand Path (48-hour continuous Guru Granth Sahib reading)
• Nagar Kirtan procession
• Langar (community feast)
• Prabhat Pheri (pre-dawn kirtan walks)

Odia maritime heritage festival on Kartika Purnima — miniature boats (boita) of banana stem or paper are floated on rivers at dawn, commemorating ancient Odia merchant sea voyages to Bali and Southeast Asia

• Pre-dawn floating of miniature boita (boats)
• River-side offering
• Traditional Odia songs
• Community gathering

Full Moon — auspicious for charity, Satyanarayan puja and river bathing

• Satyanarayan Puja
• River bathing
• Lamp offering

Karthigai Deepam — Mahadeepam year: Krittika nakshatra + Purnima in Karthigai solar month. Grand fire lit atop Arunachala (Tiruvannamalai), visible 30+ km.

• Mahadeepam fire on Arunachala
• Temple lamps
• Home lamps (Karthigai Vilakku)
• Pori urundai (puffed rice balls)