The festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated on 14th day of Krishna Paksha of the month of Phalgun, according to Hindu calendar. According to the English calendar this falls somewhere in the month of February or March.

Maha means huge, Shiva means auspiciousness and Ratri means night.

According to Puranas, during the time of Samudra Manthan a pot of poison came out from the ocean. Both, Gods and demons were frightened and they went to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva drank the poison in order to save the world. However, he did not swallow it but held it in his throat. Since the poison turned his throat blue, he is known as ‘Neelkantha’ after that. It is believed that Mahashivratri was the day when all this happened and so people celebrate it by worshipping Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva was formless until the night of Mahashivratri when he appeared in the form of huge Ling. This was actually to end the ego clash between Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The Ling is said to be extremely huge and neither Lord Vishnu nor Lord Brahma could find the end or beginning of this Ling. From that day onwards people worshipped Ling as Lord Shiva and celebrated Mahashivratri every year.

The birthday of Hinduism's favourite Lord Krishna is a special occasion for Hindus, who consider him their leader, hero, protector, philosopher, teacher and friend all rolled into one.

Krishna took birth at midnight on the ashtami or the 8th day of the Krishnapaksha or dark fortnight in the Hindu month of Shravan (August-September). This auspicious day is called Janmashtami.

The devotees of Lord Krishna observe fast for the whole day and night, worshipping him and keeping vigil through the night while listening to his tales and exploits, recite hymns from the Gita, sing devotional songs, and chant the mantra Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Krishna's birthplace Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate this occasion with great pomp and show. Raslilas or religious plays are performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.

The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year.

Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemmoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story centres around an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king's sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

Diwali or Deepavali, popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and
mid-December for different reasons. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is
celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes.
The festival of Diwali is not only significant to Hindus, but, has importance in Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
For Hindus, it is associated with the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya, after his 14 years of exile and victory over
the demon Ravana. Lord Rama was welcomed to Ayodhya by lighting rows of oil lamps that symbolize the victory of
 good over evil and freedom from spiritual darkness.

Hindus, also make preparations to welcome goddess Lakshmi by drawing rangoli, and footsteps (Paduka) on the entrance that would allure goddess Laksmi to visit one’s home and bring prosperity along with her.

Ramanavami celebrates the birth of Rama or Ramachandra. On the ninth day of the first fortnight of Chaitra the birth of Rama is commemorated. The story of Rama was first written by Vaalmeeki in about the 4th century B.C. Rama is supposed to have lived during the 8th or 7th century B.C.

The epic known as the Ramayana. In some parts of India, it is a nine-day festival, coinciding with the Vasanta Navaratri (see also Navaratri). The public worship starts with morning ablutions, chanting Vedic mantras dedicated to Vishnu, and offering flowers and fruit to the god.

People keep a fast throughout the day, breaking it only at midnight with fruit. In some parts of India, especially Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, public gatherings called satsangs are organised to commemorate the birth of Rama. Excerpts from the Ramacharitamanas, extolling the glory of Rama, are recited.