Nuakhai in Odisha in 2022, When is Nuakhai, traditional of nuakhai- NB Inspire

 Nuakhai in Odisha in 2022, When is Nuakhai, traditional of nuakhai- NB Inspire

When is Nuakhai...?

Nuakhai is a regional public holiday in the Indian of Odisha on the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. This the Panchami tithi (fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba. This means it falls in either August or September in the western calendar.

Nuakhai 2022 

Date	Day	Celebrated in
01 September 2022	Thursday	Odisha

Traditional Of Nuakhai 

This is an agricultural festival of the people Odisha. The festival is observed across the state, but it particularly in the life and culture of Western Odisha. It also celebrated in the neighboring area of Simdega in Jharkhand, where Odia culture is predominant.

Nuakhai is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat. The word 'nua' means 'new' and khai means food, so this a harvest festival to celebrate the gathering of the rice crop.

In the eastern coastal area, the Nabanna festival is observed instead of Nukhai. Nabanna also means 'new rice' but this time in Bengali.

The festival is celebrated at a particular time of day which is called ' Lagna' ( propitious moment). A traditional rice cake called area pithaa is prepared to celebrate this festival. At the lgna time, the new rice is offered to the Goddess Samaleswari.

Nuakhai is thought to date back to Vedic times, about 3,000 years ago, when the sages recorded pachayajna, the five important activaties in the anuual calendar of an agraian society. These activaties are sitayna , pravapana yajna , and pralambana yajna , khala yajna and prayayana . Nuakhai evolved out  khala yajna, which involved cutting the first crop and reverntly offering it to the mother goddess.

Celebrations of the Nuakhai festival

The date of the festival was not fixed in old times but nowadays date of the festival is decided in advance by maa in priest of the community according to the Hindu calendar. People celebrated the festival on previously set date whether crops are ripened or not.

The date of Nuakhi is fixed,since 1991 on Bhadraba Sukla Panchami Tithi. Currently blessingspeople worship Goddess Laxmi on the day of Nuakhai. People wear new and traditional attires. Elders of the family first offer Nua to the deity and later distribute it among the family members. All family members take blessing from the elders for happiness and prosperity in their life.