Assamese Bihu 2016 Dates : Harvest Festival of Assam

The dates of Bihu in 2016 are here at AstroSage. Main Bihu of Assam is on January 16, 2016. There are few types of Bihu festivals that are celebrated ie: Bhogali Bihu, Rongali Bihu (also known as Bohag Bihu), and Kongali Bihu.

• Bhogali Bihu (also known as Magh Bihu) is from January 16, 2016 on Saturday
• Rongali Bihu (also known as Bohag Bihu) is from April 14, 2016 on Thursday
• Kongali Bihu is from October 18, 2016 on Tuesday

Read further to know the details about this beautiful festival of Assam:

About Assamese Bihu

While celebrating Bihu in 2016, let us understand the concept behind this festival. The term Bihu is given to a set of three festivals of Assam. Assamese people celebrate Bihu all around the world. Wherever is an Assamese, there is the Bihu celebration. Though Bihu is a traditional festival, but it has been modified with the changing world and urbanization. All Bihu festivals are celebrated as national festivals of Assam. Irrespective of caste, creed, religion, belief and faith; Bihu is celebrated with great fervor in Assam. In other words, Bihu is a secular festival which signifies feeling of brotherhood, humanity and peace.

Meaning of Bihu

The word Bihu has been derived from the language of Dimasa people. These people are agrarian since the ancient times. Dimasa people are the devotees of Brai Shibrai (Father Shibrai). As they are agrarian, they offer their first crop to Brai Shibrai and wish for peace as well as prosperity. Now, we will focus on the meaning of Bihu.

'Bi' means 'to ask' and 'Shu' means 'peace as well as prosperity'. Therefore, originally the word is Bishu, but it is pronounced as 'Bihu'. Hence, people know it as 'Bihu'. Some other descriptions say that 'Bi' means 'to ask' and 'Hu' means 'to give'.

The Three Festivals of Bihu in 2016

Bihu in 2016 is being celebrated thrice like most of the years. Rongali Bihu is celebrated combining different traditions from Austro � Asiatic, Sino � Burmese and Indo � Aryans. Celebrations of Rongali Bihu begin in the middle of April and goes on for a month. In Assam, it is celebrated as the traditional New Year. As per Hindu calendar, Rongali Bihu is celebrated in the month of Baisakh, which is known as Bohaag in Assam. Amongst all three Bihu festivals, Rongali Bihu is the main one. Also, it is the most colorful festival of the year and is celebrated with great zeal and gusto. Along with New Year, it is also celebrated as the beginning of the new agricultural year.

Second, Kongali Bihu is celebrated in October and is associated with the equinox of September. According to the traditional Hindu calendar, Kongali Bihu is celebrated in the month of Kartik, which is also known as Kaati in Assam.

On the other hand, Bhogali Bihu is celebrated in January as the time of January solstice. From Hindu calendar, Bhogali Bihu is celebrated in the month of Maagh.

As India is known for agriculture, most of its festivals are harvest festivals. Bihu is also the harvest festival of Assam. Festival of Bihu is being celebrated in Assam since ancient times. All three Bihu festivals remark the beginning of new agricultural season.

Bihu Celebration

Bihu is celebrated with great fervor by all Assamese. Basically, we know Bihu by Assamese folk dance Bihu. Assamese people perform beautiful folk dance in traditional attires at the time of Bihu. Women wear traditional Assamese dress called Mekhala, which looks quite similar to Saree. Apart from this, women wear all the adornments and beautiful jewelry. Men wear Dhoti � Kurta and Gamchha. Live stage programs are prepared and performed by the traditional folks. The entire festival of Bihu seems quite energetic and beautiful. Special sweets and dishes are prepared; one of them is Assam special Peetha. Peetha is made up of rice and sesame. It is the main sweet of Bihu festival.

How to Cook Peetha?

Here we are telling you to cook one type of Peetha. This Peetha is made using sesame and rice. A special type of rice is grinded with water. Further it has to be spread on a heated pan. It changes to a form of chapatti made using granular dough. After that a paste of black sesame seeds with sugar is made. This paste is intended to be very sugary. Further the paste has to be spread over the rice chapatti and this chapatti is then rolled to its tightest form. It becomes tough sugary Rice � Sesame roll then. Apart from this, many other delicious dishes and sweets are cooked.

Bihu is an incredible festival. One should experience it. With this brief article on Bihu 2016, we hope you will cherish the most of it and fetch the immense blessings of Brai Shibrai. Happy Bihu 2016!