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Nuakhai or Nuankhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Odisha in India. Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the calendar it is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. This is the most important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand, where Odia culture is much predominant. Its coastal counterpart is Nabanna, observed in Coastal Odisha.
Nuakhai one of the most pious festivals celebrated with cheer and zeal in odisha. Celebrated throughout the state, the festivity is observed with a lot of pomp and gaiety in western region of the state. This festival reinforces the bonds of brotherhood since family members and relatives pray together and celebrate the new harvest. People celebrate Nuakhai as a welcome gesture to the new crop. As a harvest festival, farmers offer the first crops to the household deity on this occasion.
According to tradition, all members of the family get together to celebrate the festival and eat the dishes prepared with the first grains of the harvest after they are offered to the family goddess or Ishta Devi. During the festival, the head of the family worships the household deity and offers her the rice and other food items. He then distributes prashad among the family members. According to the age-old tradition, family members would sit and take their food together on this occasion. There is a tradition to cook the new rice in new earthen pots. In this age of aluminium and steel utensils, people here buy the earthen pots to cook the food during Nuakhai. The sacred rice is cooked in the new earthen pots. Even in the urban areas, people buy new clay pots
Apart from the rituals of offering the new crop to the deity, the Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival. At this time, people exchange greetings with friends, relatives and well-wishers. The elders are wished Nuakhai Juhar and they give blessings to the younger ones for long life, happiness and prosperity.
Not only do people express their gratitude to the almighty for the food grain on the occasion, but also the festival is also considered a symbol of friendship, love and affection. Nuakhai in western Odisha is not a festival of any particular group, caste or creed. It is a festival celebrated by all people of the region with great enthusiasm. The festival promotes harmony, help, co-operation and equality.
Special prayers are offered to Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding goddess of western Odisha on this occasion. Similarly Patneswari in Balangir, Sureshwari in Sonepur, Sekharbasini in Sundargarh and Manikeswari in Kalahandi are also worshipped.
In the evening, various socio-cultural organisations organise Nuakhai Bhetghat in various places to celebrate the occasion. A number of cultural programmes are also organised in the evening such as Sambalpuri folk dances and songs in the evening. People dance to the tune of foot-tapping Rasarkeli and Dalkhai.
Fairs & Festivals in Odisha (Orissa) - With numerous religions, ancient temples, local shrines, tribes and an array of sacred places, Odisha (Orissa) observes uncountable number of festivals and fairs round the year. Major Odisha(Orissa) Festivals of Odisha is Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra and Durga Pooja. Three different religions flourished on the holy land of Odisha (Orissa) thus making it mandatory to celebrate various religious Odisha festivals with great fanfare. Odisha Cultural & Religious Festivals are very famous in india.
A land of varied cultures and traditions, Odisha (Orissa) automatically serves to be a land of festivals. Religion or folklores, tradition or agriculture and seasonal variations or ethnic dance forms; all serve to be a setting for the celebration. Odisha (Orissa) celebrates one or other festival every month giving an opportunity to the visitors and natives both to enjoy and have real fun.
With some of the special rituals attached to each, these festivals add bright colors to the landscape of Odisha (Orissa)'s cultural heritage. Some of the festivals of this land of Lord Jagannath are dedicated to His holy self. Some other festivals celebrated in Odisha (Orissa) find a close resemblance to a lot of festivals of North India; however they are called by different names and are even celebrated in a different fashion. But amazingly, every festivity centers around the prayer sacraments to seek the blessings of gods, exchanging goodwill, distributing sweets, decorating houses, wearing new clothes, music, dance and feasting. Whatever is the way, each festival really makes the country come alive throughout the year.
Apart from popular festivals in Odisha, these are many other regional festivals and tribal festivals are celebrated by Odia people at different regions, as example in Sambalpur (a district of Odisha) NuaKhai parab is very popular, and many other festivals are celebrated at different villages of Odisha. Tourist most of the time demand to include festivals tour in their tour packages, so Odisha Tourism created special Odisha Festivals Tour Packages for tourist.
