Ugadi 2024 Date, Tithi Begin and End Time, Foods, Celebration, Significance 

People of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and God celebrate the Ugadi festival, the beginning of the new year according to the Hindu Lunar Calendar. Since all the festival’s dates and times in India come from the Hindu calendar “Panchang” the dates vary every year.

Ugadi 2024 Date 

In the Gregorian Calendar, the Chaitra month occurs during March and April. In 2024, the Ugadi Festival will fall on 9 April 2024. 

The North Indians celebrate Chaitra Navratri in the place of Ugadi, where they worship the Durga Goddess nine avatars for nine days.

According to the Hindu Calendar, the Ugadi or Yugadi festival marks the beginning of the New Year or Nav Varsh. In India, the Hindu Nav Varsh celebration goes by different festival names in different regions, for instance, it’s called Gudi Padwa in Maharastian culture.

On the first day of the new year, Samvatsara begins which is a cycle of 60 years. According to the Hindu Calendar, the beginning of the new year starts with the Chaitra month, the first day of the month is the day we celebrate the Ugadi Festival.  

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What is the significance of the Ugadi Festival?

Ugadi comes from two Sanskrit words – “Yuga” (meaning age) and “Adi” (meaning beginning). According to Hindu beliefs, the day celebrated as the Ugadi festival is the same day when Lord Brahma created this world. In Hindu scripts, Lord Brahma is the god who creates the universe. 

He then created the cycles of the Universe, like weeks, days, and all. Hence, people believed Ugadi day was the day when the Universe was created by the Lord Brahma. The festival also marks the upcoming spring season. The farmers also welcome the harvest season with this festival. 

Astrological Significance

• The festival also holds astrological aspects. According to ancient texts, on this day a new astronomical cycle begins. The northern hemisphere gets the maximum amount of sunlight as the Earth gets tilted on its axis. 
• This marks the beginning of spring when nature blooms and gets energized with sunlight.

Ugadi Celebration

The people of  Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and God celebrate the beginning of the New Year with full enthusiasm and zeal. 

• The people start the preparation for the festival a week before the day of Ugadi.
• They clean the house, decorate it with mango leaves, and draw different rangoli patterns at the entrance, backyard, and anywhere in the house. 
• On the day of Ugadi, people wake up early and take the customary and ceremonial oil bath.
• People worship gods and goddesses, give them baths and chant mantras, and welcome the new year with the blessing of the god.
• For the day of Ugadi, they buy new clothes and wear them. They make various delicacies and celebrate with their neighbors. 
• People consider Ugadi day as an auspicious day, so starting new shops or buying new vehicles is common on this day.
• Many people hear the Panchang from the pandits or astrologers to know about their horoscope or any auspicious day, which they call Panchang Shravanam. 
• On the day of Ugadi, many cultural events are organized by people to gather and celebrate the festival with each other.

Special Dishes of the Ugadi

The festival brings lots of light and a positive vibe to the household. People prepare various delicacies like Bevu Bella or Pachadi. 

Bevu Bella is cooked on this day in almost every household, where people mix neem leaves with mango, tamarind, salt, jaggery, and chili. 

Each ingredient of Bevu Bella signifies a different aspect of life. For instance, neem’s bitterness represents the difficulties in life, jaggery signifies the sweet and happy moments of life, raw mangoes represent the surprises, chili represents the spiciness of life, and the sour taste of tamarind signifies the new challenges and adventure of life.

Pachadi is a chutney-like dish that has all six flavors in the dish. These are some notable dishes of the Ugadi festival that people relish with their family on the occasion of the Ugadi.

Ugadi is a festival that signifies the new beginning of the year, and people celebrate this day with positive energy and spread that happiness and joyfulness with others.