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Vasant Panchami
Vasant Panchami is a festival of welcoming spring season, which is called Vasanthathil in Indian calendar. This festival is celebrated in the month of Magh as per Hindu calendar, which falls between the months of January and February.
Vasant Panchami occurs on the fifth phase of the progressing moon, which is referred as Shukla Paksha, and this day is also celebrated as Saraswati Puja or Shree Panchami, in certain parts of India; also as the Festival of Kites, which is a Sikh and Hindu festival observed on the fifth day of Magha marking the commencement of spring and the Holi season. On this day members of Hindu faith worship Saraswati, the Goddess for knowledge, art and culture.
It is on this very day Chinese  celebrate their New Year and the Christians observe their Candlemas, which is followed by a 40-day Lent season, which fact is something of cultural significance, since here again Hindus observe 40 days penance till the day of Holi from Vasant Panchami.
History
In earlier times Vasant Panchami was more associated with Kamadeva, as the 40-day period between Vasant Panchami and Holi is said to be the 40 days penance that Rati observes to save her husband, Kamadeva who was reduced to ashes for shooting Shivji’s eye of with his love spirited arrows. Between Vasant Panchami and Holi, people secure material like twigs for burning the effigy of the demon Holika during Holi festival.
Ancient days, love enticing group of dancing girls, dhol players, and other figures would visit the royal Bakshi's palace assembling an informal durbar. The visitors would be clad in a specially made Vasanti clothes consisting of a skirt, blouse, with pink or saffron sari with red squares or circular dots. This attire would further be having designs  with gold and silver borders and some brocade work. On the Vasant day celebrations the dancing girls would pick up the flowers from the garden and leaves from mango trees in Bakshi’s palace premises. The flowers and mango leaves would be arranged in brass vessels to mark the commencement of the informal durbar. The girls and also the men who assemble there would render songs of romantic themes, all in traditional folk music, some of them describing Krishna Leela. At the end of the function, the Royal ladies would give gifts to the dancing girls for their visit and see them off.
Today this kind of function is not held, however, Kamadeva remains to be a principal figure in all the festivities around Vasant Panchami.
Vasant Panchami Day Celebrations
Vasant Panchami day is more associated with Maa Saraswati, nowadays laying emphasis on learning and knowledge seeking, particularly in fine arts, apart from general education.
In places like Nepal, the day before Vasant Panchami day, people rush in with food items in plenty to Saraswati's temples are so that she can join the devotees in the traditional feasting the following morning. Commencement of education on Vasant Panchami day and organizing processions for Saraswati Devi are common features of the day.
Another important sentiment is that associating color yellow on all the activities of Vasant Panchami, right from adorning the deity with yellow cloths, devotees too wearing yellow attire and all decorations with yellow flowers.
Other associated rituals performed on Vasant Panchami day include receiving Brahmins to one’s home to join in the lunch feast and rendering prayers to ancestors through them. Some communities have specific rituals done on this aspect, called ‘darpan’.
In some regions, and places like Firozpur, children fly kites ceremoniously to mark auspicious occasion. Because of this, the festival is also called the Kite Festival.
Purvahna Kaal, being the auspicious time to celebrate Vasant Panchami, which mostly comes in the late morning through midday, Vasant Panchami to be celebrated on the day when Panchami Tithi occurs or sometimes celebrated on the Chaturthi Tithi, which is the fourth day of the Moon’s flourishing phase, instead of five.
Many astrologers prescribe Vasant Panchami, which is an Abujha day, as auspicious to commence all activities so that these activities achieve good results.
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