Gudhi Padhva

Every year, New Years is celebrated in the "new" western world on the 1st of january. But there are quite a "few old" civilizations around the world that follow their own "traditional" calendar and celebrate New Years accordingly.
India is one such country, where people from different communities celebrate the New Years on the 1st of January. But in accordance with the hindu calendar, they celebrate their own New Years day. for eg: punjabis have the Baisakhi, the keralites have Vishu and the Maharashtrians have Gudhi Padhva.
The marathi calendar has 12 months. The first one being Chaitra. The first day of this month is traditionally the New Year.
In old days, when people didnot have Kalanirnay, way before the printing press, even before the marathi calendar was determined, they relied on the sun, the moon and the changing seasons to determine the days in that particular region. with regular observation of the skies came the knowledge that seasons follow one after the other, the sun rises and sets in opposite directions, the tides, the lunar cylce of waxing and waning moon, the eclipses etc. affirmation of the cycle lead to the making of the first calendar.
Gudhi Padhva is celebrated to welcome the spring, after long and dreary winter.it is also the time to determine when the farmers can start farming. maharashtrians celebrate Gudhi Padhva with great joy. People clean their houses (spring cleaning anyone???)., draw rangolis in front of the entrance door, adorn the doorway with a garland of raw rice, mango leaves and marigold. these three signify the onset of spring and nature's bounty.
Gudi Padhva is one of the auspicious 3 1/2 muhurat which is favorable for ceremonies ranging from satyanarayan puja to weddings, naming ceremonies( barse) etc. Some consider it auspicious to buy gold on this day. traditional sweets are prepared and enjoyed by everyone.
I remember, back in India my dad used to hang marigold garlands outside the door. We had to clean the house, my mom used to make shrikhand for lunch . So the special lunch would consist of puri batata-or cauliflower bhaji, varan bhaat, salad, and mango shrikhand.
We never had Gudhi tied outside our house, but many other friends used to have it. The gudhi consists of an upturned silver or copper pot on a bamboo stick, a string of garland around it and some sweets tied around it. a brightly colored cloth is tied around it. this gudhi is tied to symbolize Lord Brahma's flag. it is also used to symbolize the victory. (i dont recall the name of the king).
Here in Chicago, i just made some vermicelli kheer...wore new dress pants to office:) bought a new lipstick (that substitues for gold:) and wished everyone a very happy new year. My husband talked about how much he missed chitaleche mango shrikhanda:) i promised him i would try to make some at home. My mom-inlaw makes the best shrikhand. I get really greedy when i eat it:)
So, sarvanna gudhi padhvachya hardik shubhecha
P.S.: i saw this year that the Gudhi Padhva and the American "first day" of spring were just a day apart on the english calendar. Gudhi Padhva was on the 19th march, first day of spring in USA: 20th March...