Olgia

Like the rest of India, Uttaranchal celebrates all its festivals with a great deal of ceremonial elegance and splendor. The festival of Olga is celebrated to rejoice for the flourishing harvest and the consequential economic prosperity of the land.

Earlier it was customary for the sons in laws and the nephews to give presents to their father in laws and maternal uncles on the occasion of Olgia. The tradition is no longer prevalent. It has faded with the passage of time.

Do you know about this festival?

When the festival is celebrated, the agricultural fields are full of ripened crops, there are plenty of fruits and vegetables in the trees and the milch cattles are very productive.

As a token of gratitude, the agriculturists give presents to the owners of the land. The artisans also gift presents to the purchasers of their tools and are given gifts in return. Binai (oral harp), datkhocha (metallic tooth pick), metal calipers, axes, ghee, vegetables and firewood are exchanged.

This is popularly also known as Ghee Sankranti and people put ghee tilaks on their foreheads. They also eat ghee and chapattis stuffed with urad dal. The general belief is that walnuts ripen only after the celebration of this festival.

People put ghee (clarified butter) on their foreheads and eat special chapattis stuffed with ghee and ‘Urad Dal’ (a type of lentil). This festival is also celebrated by the people of Tripura who believe that walnuts become sweeter after this festival. In olden times the sons-in-law and nephews would give presents to fathers-in-law and maternal uncles respectively but these days this ritual is seldom followed.