Nuakhai Juhar: Odisha’s harvest festival celebrated

Nuakhai Juhar, a harvest festival welcoming the newly harvest crop of the season was celebrated in Odisha. It is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in Odisha to welcome new crop of the season. It is an important social festival of Western Odisha and is an agricultural festival.

About Nuakhai Juhar

It is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat.

Observed on: It is observed on Panchami Tithi of month of Bhadraba.

Nuakhai is derived from two words- ‘nua’ means new and ‘khai’ means eat, therefore it signifies “eating of new rice”. Celebration: On this auspicious day, people worship food grain, prepare special meals and everyone eats it together. Farmers offer the 1st produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari, the famous mother goddess of Sambalpur district of Odisha and then consume it personally.

Nuakhai festival is mainly observed in western part of Odisha for possession of welcome newly harvest crop of the season.

It is the harvest festival of Odisha wherein farmers are in possession of new rice of season. It is observed to welcome new rice of season.

It is celebrated across districts such as Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Boudh and Sonepur also across several areas of Jharkhand.

Several cultural programmes- folk songs and dances are organised on this day to display state’s local culture and tradition.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2019