Ugadi is the festival marking the New Year in the Hindu calendar, celebrated in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka by gifting clothes, doing charity, preparing special food, and decorating the house. The festivities include drawing Muggulu, a type of rangoli, and decorating the doors with mango leaves termed torana.
Ugadi is celebrated in other parts of the country as well. For example, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Sindhis observe this auspicious day as Cheti Chand. For 2023, the Hindu New Year falls on 22nd March. A day marked by a lot of togetherness as communities and families come together to have a good time.
- Marking the beginning of the New Year, starting with a clean and decorated house, is auspicious as it could determine how your year pans out to be.
- It’s a great time for your family and loved ones to get together for this joyous celebration.
- During Ugadi, devotees worship their gods and invoke blessings, denoting a positive start to the year. Thus decorating the house and deities is a pleasant idea.
As we prepare for the festivities, let’s look at some ideas to decorate our homes.
1. Use fresh flowers to decorate your house
One of the essential elements in decorating your home on Ugadi is the use of flowers. There is a variety of them to choose from, with jasmine being one of the popular choices. You can place these petals in your house, especially the pooja room.
2. The tradition of mango leaves
An age-old practice followed during Ugadi celebrations is decorating your home entrance with mango leaves. The mango tree begins flowering during Ugadi, making it holy and fertile. Hanging a thoran of it at the main door is said to invite positivity in the house.
3. Rangoli Designs
Called Muggulu, it is a traditional decorative art drawn using rice flour. Indulge in colourful floral patterns for rangolis inside your house or at the front door. Some ways to do this are buying stencils or using sticker rangolis.
4. Decorate your pooja room
There are a lot of rituals and poojas to be followed on the day of Ugadi, so make sure you keep the prayer room clean and decluttered. Use a steel or bronze pot with coconut and mango leaves, regarded as symbolic, and place it before your idols.
5. Enhancing the dining experience of your guests by preparing Pachadi
A traditional dish made and offered to all gods is the six-flavoured Pachadi, a combination of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, astringent, and piquant. Representing a symbol that life is a mix of all emotions, Pachadi is first offered to the deity and then relished among family and friends.
6. Perfect time to buy furniture and repaint your house
The day of Ugadi is considered a significant day to buy furniture, making it the perfect time to purchase a new sofa set, dining table, or study table for your home while also marking the ideal time to repaint with bright colours if you want to give your dull interiors a makeover, bringing another dimension to your house.
7. Renovate your kitchen
If your kitchen needs an update, Ugadi is the perfect time to do all sorts of upgradation, be it buying appliances like the microwave, refrigerator or even new cutlery. Newly designed cabinets and modern tiles and exhaust systems are also ways.
8. Light up your house
Though not a traditional practice, you can decorate your house with diyas that will enhance the overall look of your home. Install the latest LED lights to give a modern feel, especially for family members and friends visiting.
9. Cleaning using cow dung
If you wish to celebrate as our ancestors did, try getting cow dung from the nearby sheds and mix it with water to clean the front door of your house. Cow dung is a natural disinfectant that kills germs and keeps your home safe. This technique has been used for centuries to clean the floor as part of the Ugadi festival.
10. Cleaning and declutter
Preparations can begin early by cleaning and decluttering the house. You can hire professional cleaners for the job too. Getting rid of clutter is one of the basic and primary ways to make your home look neat and tidy. Get rid of unused or redundant items by donating them or giving them to scrap dealers.
With Ugadi around the corner, these 10 tips will help you decorate your house best. A celebration among Indians worldwide, the Hindu New Year is celebrated in different ways, with the essence being the same. Welcoming it by praying to the almighty, indulging in flavourful food, and spending time with your family.
The other names that Ugadi is celebrated nationwide are Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand, Nyepi, and Sajibu Nongma Panba.
