Known as the harvest festival of the state Uttarakhand, Phool Dei is an auspicious folk festival which welcomes the spring season in the state. The festival is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month, Chaitra. Young girls are the most enthusiastic ones to participate in the festival. Phool Dei is all about flowers and springtime. In some places, the festival is celebrated as carnival and the celebration goes on for a month. The term 'Dei' refers to a ceremonial pudding which is the key food in this festival that is made from jaggery. White flour and curd are also offered to everyone.
Young girls gather together and go to every house in their village/towns with plates full of rice, jaggery, coconut, green leaves, and flowers. Moreover, these girls put forward their wishes for the prosperity and well being of households while singing "Phool Dei, Chamma Dei, Deno Dwar, Bhur Bhakar, Vo Dei Sei Namashkar, Puje Dwar." In return, they are presented with blessings and gifts like sweets, jaggery, and money. The wishing and blessing part also include placing flowers and rice on the doorsteps of the houses by the young girls. People of village sing and dance on their folk songs to celebrate the festival of spring along with exchanging wishes for well being and prosperity of their family and relatives.
Highlights:
- A pudding made from jaggery is the key dish of the festival.
- This festival showcases the inner connection between the communities who all are living in the hills.
- Young girls of the villages/towns pluck the first flowers of the season and scatter these flowers on the threshold of their home and other houses of their village/town.
- Folk singers welcome the spring with their music and are given rice and gifts.
