Nuakhai Juhar

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About Nuakhai Juhar:

It is an important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand.
The word nua means new and khai means food.
Objective: It is an agricultural festival which is observed to welcome the new rice of the season.
It is observed on the fifth day of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhaadra (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
What are the rituals ?
- Nuakhai is understood to have nine colours and as a consequence nine sets of rituals are followed as a prelude to the actual day of celebration.
- People offer the newly harvested crop called Nabanha to their respective presiding deities.
- After offering the Nabanha, people relish different types of delicacies prepared from the newly harvested crop.
- The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival.

Q1) What is Bhadrapada?

Bhadrapada is a month in the Hindu lunar calendar, which is used for both religious and civil purposes in India and some other Hindu-majority countries. It typically falls in August or September of the Gregorian calendar, depending on the specific year because the Hindu calendar is lunar-based.

Source: Prime Minister greets people on Nuakhai