Festivals of Andhra Pradesh

Festivals in Andhra Pradesh follow the farming year of the river deltas and the calendars of its great temples. For Bathukamma, Bonalu and the festivals of Hyderabad, see Telangana Festivals.

Sankranti

Sankranti, the harvest festival, is the biggest festival of Andhra Pradesh, celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of January (Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma). Houses are decorated with rangoli (muggulu), bonfires are lit on Bhogi, cattle are washed and decorated on Kanuma, and families gather in their home villages, especially in the Godavari districts. Haridasus singing in the streets and Gangireddulu (decorated bulls led by their owners) are part of the season.

Ugadi

Ugadi is the Telugu New Year, celebrated in March or April. The day begins with an oil bath and new clothes, and everyone tastes ugadi pachadi, a chutney of new jaggery, neem flowers, raw mango, tamarind, salt and chilli, whose six tastes stand for the joys and sorrows of the year ahead. In the evening, astrologers read the Panchanga Sravanam, the forecast for the year.

Maha Shivaratri

Shivaratri, in February or March, is devoted to Lord Shiva. Devotees fast and keep awake through the night, visiting temples and listening to Vedic recitals. Great crowds gather at Srisailam, Srikalahasti, the five Pancharama temples of the Godavari and Krishna deltas, and at Kotappakonda near Narasaraopet, known for its tall decorated prabhas (festival towers).

Vinayaka Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with great enthusiasm. Families worship clay idols at home with 21 kinds of leaves, and community pandals keep their idols for up to ten days before immersing them in rivers, lakes and the sea. The Kanipakam Varasiddhi Vinayaka temple near Chittoor holds a three-week Brahmotsavam at this time.

Dasara

Dasara (Navaratri) is celebrated for ten days in September or October. The Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri hill in Vijayawada decorates the goddess in a different form each day, and on Vijayadasami the deities are taken out on a decorated swan-shaped boat on the Krishna (Teppotsavam).

Tirumala Brahmotsavam

The nine-day Brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, usually in September or October, is the greatest festival of the temple. The deity is taken around the temple streets each morning and evening on a different vahana (vehicle), among them the Garuda vahana, which draws the largest crowds.

Diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights, in October or November, is celebrated by lighting lamps, bursting crackers and worshipping Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In Andhra the day before, Naraka Chaturdashi, marks Krishna and Satyabhama's victory over the demon Narakasura.

Muslim and Christian festivals

Id-ul-Fitr, Bakrid, Milad-un-Nabi and Muharram are celebrated across the state, with large gatherings in Kurnool, Kadapa, Guntur and Nellore. The Rottela Panduga (festival of breads) at the Bara Shaheed Dargah in Nellore, held during Muharram, is unusual: devotees exchange rotis at the Swarnala Cheruvu tank, praying that their wishes come true. Christmas and Easter are celebrated widely, and pilgrims gather at the Gunadala Mary Matha shrine in Vijayawada each February.

Cultural festivals

Visakha Utsav: a celebration of the arts, crafts and food of Visakhapatnam, held on the beach front.
Rayalaseema Food and Dance Festival: a showcase of the arts and cuisine of Rayalaseema.
Atla Taddi: a women's festival in September or October, when married women fast and offer dosas (atlu) to the goddess Gauri for their husbands' well-being, and girls play on swings in the moonlight.