Harela
हरेलाKumaon region · Kumaon
What Harela marks
Harela means 'day of green' and marks the arrival of the monsoon and the new sowing season. It is tied to the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and is above all a festival of nature, treated in recent years as a day for planting trees across the hills.
How it's celebrated
Ten days before the festival, families sow seven or nine grains in baskets of soil indoors. By Harela the shoots have grown into a small yellow-green tuft that elders cut and place on the heads of younger members with a blessing. Saplings are planted, and homes make festive food.