Why is Yugadi / Ugadi Celebrated?:
Ugadi is an important festival for the people of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is the new year according to the Hindu calendar. The first month of the year is called Chaitra and Ugadi is the first day of Chaitra. The festival is called Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra. Ugadi festival usually falls in March or April.
The festival is celebrated with great fervor and people usually clean their homes, buy new clothes for Ugadi day and put mango leave torans on their doors. They also take a bath at dawn and apply hair oil. They also prepare a dish called Ugadi Pachadi that is prepared on Ugadi day with ingredients such as raw mango, neem, tamarind and jaggery.
Celebrations end at night when people gather to hear the religious panchangam or New Year’s Alamanac.
