Vasant Panchami is one of the special Indian festivals celebrated. It is commonly called as Shri Panchami or Sarwasati Panchami. The festival of Vasant Panchami takes place in India around the beginning of spring when mustard flowers bloom. The color yellow is associated with the festival which signifies happiness, excitement, and positivity of new beginnings.

According to the Hindu calendar, this popular Indian festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Magh, which also foretells the arrival of Holi forty days later. Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, is honored on Vasant Panchami. On Saraswati Puja, young children take their first steps toward education, as the day is considered the most auspicious for beginning of learning. This ritual is called Akshar Abhyasam or Vidya Arambham.

People all over India celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami by wearing yellow clothes, eating and distributing sweets, decorating their homes with yellow flowers, and doing a variety of other activities.

In Punjab, the day is marked by the release of kites. In Maharashtra, newlyweds go to a temple to pray. People in Rajasthan wear jasmine garlands, and children in West Bengal worship their books in front of Goddess Saraswati.

Best Places to Celebrate the Indian Festival of Vasant Panchami are:

• Punjab
• Haryana
• Bihar
• West Bengal
• Uttarakhand

Listen to the podcast, "Indian Festivals at a Glance" to know more about this glorious Indian Festival.