Vasant Panchami, Saraswati Jayanti (05/02)

This holiday celebrates Saraswati — goddess of knowledge and education. Vasant means Spring, and Panchami — is the fifth day of the two-week cycle of the waxing moon in January or February of the month of Magh. It is believed that the goddess Saraswati was born on this day, and at the same time the spring season of — Vasant Ritu began.

Saraswati is the daughter of Shiva and Durga. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, each of them, have a consort — Shakti. Saraswati — is Shakti Brahma. She — is the very embodiment of wisdom, knowledge and education. Saraswati controls wisdom and arts, she invented writing. Therefore, Saraswati is believed to endow a person with the power of speech, wisdom and education.

Saraswati is depicted as a white woman in a white dress, sitting on a blooming white lotus. It is decorated with white pearl beads and flowers. Saraswati has four arms representing four aspects of the human personality in cognition: mind, intelligence, awakening and ego. With both hands she plays the music of love and life on a stringed instrument called Veena, which is like a sitar, a multi-stringed Indian musical instrument with a rich, orchestral sound.

Vasant Panchami is not a national holiday in India, but schools are closed and students take part in decorating and arranging places of worship. And a few weeks before the holiday, various music competitions, discussions and round tables, sports and other competitions are organized in schools. Prizes are handed out on the day of the Vasant Panchami festival.

One of the popular sports in India — paper snake flying — is also associated with Vasant Panchami.

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