Hindu New Year:- Hindu  New  Year  is  celebrated at different times of the year by people of different states. Many regions have different calendars with some starting in March while others begin at the time  of  Diwali, the
festival of lights in autumn. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and  Maharashtra  states  celebrate  New  Year  on  the different days called ugadi in andhra pradesh. Hosavarsha in Karnataka, but West Bengal, Assam, Tamil  Nadu and some parts of coastal Karnataka celebrate the New  Year  at  different  time  (April 14). The names of  the new year vary also. For example Bengali people call their new year as Poila Boishak and Assamese people call it Bihu. Marathi  people  call  new  year  Gudi Padwa while Kannadigas & Telugu people call new  year  Ugadi. Tamil people call their new year as Varusha Pirapu. People  from  coastal Karna (14th  of  April). People  from other northern states celebrate Holi as their New Year day which is first day of first month Chaitra according  to Hindu calendar. The Hindu new year is also celebrated in Nepal in the month of April, usually falling on the 14th of the month. Nepal is the only  Hindu  country (now  a  secular  nation) where  the  Hindu  calendar, known  as Bikrama Sambat, is the official calendar.

Fasting:- Fasting  is  very  common among most Hindus. They Fast on certain days of the week based on their belief and to appease certain deities. Most fasting Hindus abstain from eating meat  and only  live  on  fruits  and milk. Some people refrain from using edible salts in the preparation of the meal and have it only one time on  the day. There is a month called Shravan or Savan when Hindus fast for the whole month  and  abstain  from  eating any form of meat. Also they fast during the holy days like Ganesh Chaturthi (Chauth), Shivaratri, Rama  Navami and Navaratri. Some people view fasting as a form of penance (tapasya) or alternatively as a means  to develop a close bond with the Supreme Being. The purpose for fasting (tapasya) was instituted  into  the  religion  with a twofold purpose. The first purpose was to instill a sense of discipline in the followers, since disciplined  lives  are believed to be most productive. The second reason was to use these fasting days as a form of  'body cleansing'. For instance, on certain fasting days, people usually eat only fruit throughout the day, followed by one meal thus leading to a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, in the early centuries when Hindus were beginning  to  gain  identity  in the religion, there was disparity among the rich and the poor (which continues  to exist  in  cultures  all  over  the world) and fasting was a way for 'resource sharing' and to  ensure  that  no  one  was  claiming  more  rights  on scarce resources like grains and other crop, merely because of  their  economic  advantage. The  Hindu  religion does not require or mandate its followers to fast, it only proposes these suggestions as a way of life.

Marriage:- Wedding ceremonies and rituals  vary  in  Hinduism. Most  Hindu
parents  look  for  a   prospective  match   for  their  children  from  their  own
community or  caste. The ritual  of  matching   the  prospective's  jathakam  or
janampatri (Hindu horoscope) with  the  help of  a  holy  priest  is  also widely
practiced by many Hindus. Modern  day  couples usually approve each  other
before getting the elders of the family approve their  'arranged'  marriage.  The
important difference between a Hindu marriage and other types of marriage  is
that, Hindu marriage is a 3-party contract, as much as  it  is  a  2-party  contract  in  the western civilization. The third party that needs to approve the marriage is essentially the elders of  the family representing  the  interest  of the clan. In today's India, with the social evolution, the approvals of  elders  and  family  are  slowly  becoming a formality. Also, the  marriages  between  different  community  and  castes  are  becoming  quite  common   and frequent. Hindu marriage ceremonies are very colorful and elaborate. Families of the bride and  the groom  hold numerous festivities to celebrate the wedding. Marriage without a Brahmin priest was traditionally not  regarded as a "religiously accepted marriage" in Hindu society. In  contemporary  times, lower  caste  priets  such  as  the "Pandaram"  order  have  performed  marriage  ceremonies  that   are   acceptable  in  society. Saptapadi  is  an important ritual performed during the weddin g in which the bride and the groom circumambulate  a sacred  fire, known as agni, seven times. As the inheritance of the family  wealth  was  by  the  males  only, girls  who  would move out to live with another family after marriage, were  given  a  fair  share  of  the  family  wealth  as  dowry. However, it  should  be  noted here that there is nothing in the Hindu scriptures that makes references to dowry. This is a man-made tradition and is not  condoned  by  the  religion. With  the  modernization  of  Hindu society, some eligible bachelors started to see this as a demandable contribution from the bride's father. The  practice of demanding a dowry is still prevalent in some parts of India and sometimes  the  bride's  family or  the  bride gets harassed by the groom's family for this. Dowry formed an integral part of Hindu marriage until  it  was  rendered unlawful by the Indian government in 1961. This happens more in south  India  basically  Andra  Pradesh, Tamil Nadu states. Dowry is legal if it represents "stri-dhana" i.e. a girl's share of the parents' wealth, given  voluntarily by the parents. In some parts of  Indian society, the  dowry  system  is  getting  phased out  and  regarded  as  a disgraceful act. Education programs, women's outreach groups  and  media-based  awareness have contributed to the reduction of dowry related issues, making the practice of mandatory dowries in marriages  less  significant in contemporary Hindu society.
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