429.Yugadi: its Significance Customs and Tradition…..

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/mysticism/yugadi-significance-customs-and-tradition-17699

Yugadi is basically a festival signifying the time element of the universe which is celebrated as a New Year day coinciding with the first day of Chaitra Maasa Sukla Paksha Prathama Thithi as per the Lunar Calendar called Chandramana. It is a festival mainly celebrated in the southern part of India and Maharashtra. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka it is celebrated as Yugadi while in Maharashtra it is called as Gudi Padwa. The word Yugadi is derived from the word Yugadi (Yuga + Aadi). Yuga means the period or era and Aadi means the beginning. 

Customs & Tradition:-

Thaila Abhyanjana: 

Lot of significance is given on this day to massage and head bath with Sesame oil called Thaila Abhyanjana for relief from stress and strain. 

Nimbakusuma Bhakshana: 
 

Nimba means Neem and Kusuma means flower. Tradition is that on this day people eat a pickle (sauce) made with a combination of six ingredients that gives six different tastes. The ingredients are Neem flowers, Raw mango, Jaggery, Tamarind, Chillies, and Salt. It is popularly called as Yugadi Pachhadi in Telugu.

It is a mixture of six different tastes viz. bitter (Neem), sweet (Jaggery), sour (Tamarind) salty (Salt), hot/spicy (Chillies/Pepper), and tang (Raw Mango). The philosophy in eating this sauce with six tastes is to say that life is not a bed of roses it is a mixture of sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise which has to be accepted together with equanimity. 

There is also a scientific health message involved in eating this. Neem is good for diabetes, skin diseases, and acts as a blood purifier and anti-oxidant. Jaggery helps in increasing the hemoglobin content of blood that help in curing iron deficiency, Tamarind fights against vitamin C deficiency, raw Mango prevent diarrhea and heat stroke, Salt gives energy, Chillies helps build immune defense system and Pepper is an excellent source of manganese, a very good source of iron and vitamin K, and a good source of dietary fiber.


Panchanga Sravana:
 

Panchanga means an almanac that contains the astronomical/astrological daily details mainly related to Thithi, Day (Vara), Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana called as Pancha Anga (five limbs or five elements) that helps forecasts for eclipses, weather, monsoon, transit of planets etc.

Prapadana: 
 

Donating water starting from this day for 4 months (summer months) is said to be needy for the people to quench their thirst.

Why is New Year in March- April?????
 

In ancient days the first month of the calendar began in March- April. In 45 B.C. Julius Caesar, the Roman Emperor introduced the Julian calendar with a few changes and it is this calendar we use today. 

This explains why September which means “seven” (Septa) in Latin is the 9th month and not the seventh month and October, which means “eight” (Octa) is the 10th month, and not the eighth month. November, which means “nine,” (Nova) is the 11th month, and December, which means “Ten” (Deca) is the 12th month. At that time, January and February were last two months of the year.  April 1 was counted the first day of the year in Europe. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called “April Fools” and were taunted by their neighboring countries.