Gudi Padwa 2023: The Great Hindu Festival

Gudi Padwa is one of the most prominent Hindu festivals in India. Gudi Padwa marks the beginning of the New Year for Marathi and Konkani people and it’s celebrated with great pomp and splendor in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and UT such as Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. On Gudi Padwa, people clean, and renovate their houses, then later decorate the house premises with rangoli. A Gudi Flag is hoisted onto the window or door and decorated with flowers, mango, and neem leaves, along with a saree or piece of silk cloth. The purpose of the Gudi flag is to bring good luck and fortune to people. It’s one of the most popular festivals in India.

Why Do We Celebrate Gudi Padwa Festival?

On this day, Lord Brahma created the universe and therefore, people celebrate Gudi Padwa Festival to wish good luck, fortune, success, health, wealth, prosperity, and happiness. It is also believed that Lord Rama had defeated Ravana on this day, and the victory was symbolized by the – Gudi Flag.

Importance Of Gudi Padwa

How Do We Celebrate Gudi Padwa?

Gudi Padwa is celebrated by placing a ‘Gudi Flag’ outside the house, which is a sign of victory. Where Gudi will denote lord Brahma’s Flag, and Padwa would signify the first day of a new Moon phase. A Gudi flag is made by wrapping a thin & long bamboo stick with colourful cloth and decorated with neem, mango leaves, a saree or piece of silk cloth, and a garland of flowers. On the top of the bamboo stick, a silver or copper conical vessel is placed upturned. The edge of the vessel will be tied up with wrist thread and you need to draw a swastika design on it. The festival marks the beginning of a new season, of happiness, and fortune. So people will clean their homes, maybe renovate or paint, make rangoli, hang mango leaves above the main entrance door – known as Toran, take a customary oil bath, wear new clothes, and most importantly hoist the Gudi.

Other than this, the day is so auspicious that some Hindus plan to buy their new home and step into it on the ‘Muhurat’ as suggested by a Brahmin (pandit). Innovative and smart gift for gudi padwa is distributed amongst friends, family, or employees. People buy gold or silver or vehicle on this auspicious day. Gudi Padwa is even considered an auspicious day for farmers to start sowing seeds.

Nowadays, you can see the rallies ‘Gudi Padwa 2023 Shoba Yatra’ being organized on the streets by various bodies and political parties to show the elegance and richness of Hindu culture and traditions. While men wear kurta-pajamas along with Pheta – the traditional turban, women come on the streets with their best attire including navvari saree, Chandra bindi, Green bangles, and much more.

Gudi Padwa Shobha Yatra

It is customary to eat a bit of neem leaf on this day. Several delicacies are prepared on the occasion of Gudi Padwa such as Shrikhand (a sweet dish), Aamras (Mango Juice), Poori, Pooran Poli, Chana, Son Papdi, and more.

When Is Gudi Padwa 2023?

As per the Hindu calendar, the Gudi Padwa festival is celebrated on the 1st day of the Chaitra month, which falls in late March or in early April. So, this year Gudi Padwa festival will fall on 22 March 2023, Wednesday.

Gudi Padwa Gifts

Gudi Padwa Gifts

When it comes to celebrating an auspicious day, there are a lot of memorable gifts for friends and family. These exquisite Gudi Padwa gifts range from chocolate hampers, dry fruits, earrings, studs, necklaces, perfumes, smartphones, gadgets, home décor and appliances, health & wellness, gourmet collection, and much more. Children enjoy a lot of GudiPadwa festivals since it’s all about rituals, wearing new clothes, decorations, good food, and exchanging Gudipadwa new year gifts. Women are special and it’s one of the prominent days for them to get ready and show their best attire to the world. So you can order specialized gudi padwa gift for wife such navvari saree, gold bangles, gold chains or ornaments, smartphones, electronics, or home décor & appliances, etc. Even corporate sectors come up with customized corporate gifts for employees during the fest.

There are a lot of gifting exhibitions or trade shows in India that can provide the best gudi padwa gift ideas for you. Also, you’ll find an exquisite range of corporate gifts as well as personal gifts in the market before the fest.

Things To Do In Gudi Padwa

Gudi Padwa is the festival that marks the beginning of new life. It is said that this day is auspicious to buy new property or home, start a business, make investments, and start anything that brings good fortune and luck to you. Just like Hindus, even Parsis are gearing up for their new year festival Navroz. Wanna know about Navroz Mubarak 2023? Read More: Navroz Mubarak: A Parsi New Year Celebration

What All You Need To Design A Gudi –

• A medium-sized bamboo
• Green/ Yellow saree or cloth with golden border
• Mango & Neem leaves
• Flowers & Garlands
• Sugar Crystals
• Silver/ Copper Conical Vessel
• Vermillion

The Gudi Making Process

• Tie the Saree or Silk Cloth at the end of a bamboo stick
• Tie mango & neem leaves with the cloth
• Add the garland and the sugar crystals
• Place the conical vessels upturned on the end of the stick
• Draw a sacred Swastik and put some vermillion on the pot along with rice grains
• Hang the Gudi at the entrance of your house or window in a tilted position

Gudi Making Process

Other names for Gudi Padwa include: Ugadi – In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihu- Assam, Baisakhi- Punjab, and Poila Boisakh- West Bengal.

On A Concluding Note –

Gudi Padwa or Ugadi 2023, as it’s popularly known in the southern part of India, is the festival that signifies the beginning of the New Year for Hindus – Marathi & Konkanis. It is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra (March) as per the Hindu calendar. People place Gudi Flags which symbolize victory, success, and wealth. Lord Brahma created the universe, and Lord Rama defeated Ravana on this day. Gudi Padwa is an auspicious day to start something new such as a business, buy gold or silver or invest in property. It is a festival of wishing everyone good fortune, luck, and prosperity in life.

We hope you found the blog informative and intriguing. Do share your questions or comments. Thanks for giving your valuable time to read our blog.

We’ll come up with more interesting ones on the ‘great Indian festivals’. Until then see ya.

Happy Gudi Padwa 2023 To All!