Basant Kite Festival (Punjab)

Basant
Official name	Basant Panchami
Observed by	All faiths
Liturgical Color	Yellow
Observances	Kite flying. Eating sweet dishes. Decorating homes with yellow flowers.
Date	Magha Shukla Panchami
2016 date	13 February 2016 Punjab region between Jan-Feb
2017 date	1 February 2017 Punjab region between Jan-Feb

The Basant Kite Festival of Punjab has been a historic spring time kite flying event during the Basant Panchami festival in the Punjab region in India and Pakistan. It falls on Basant, also called Basant Panchami Punjabi: ਬਸੰਤ ਪੰਚਮੀ; Urdu: بسنت پنچمی; Hindi: बसन्त पञ्चमी) and Vasant Panchami). According to the Punjabi calendar it is held on the fifth day of lunar month of Magha (in late January or early February) marking the start of spring.

Amritsar, Lahore, and Kasur are the traditional areas where kite flying festivals are held. A popular Basant Mela is held in Lahore (see Festivals of Lahore). However, the festival has also been traditionally celebrated in areas such as Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gurdaspur.

Historically, Maharaja Ranjit Singh held an annual Basant fair and introduced kite flying as a regular feature of the fairs held during the 19th century which included holding fairs at Sufi shrines. Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his queen Moran would dress in yellow and fly kites on Basant. The association of kite flying with Basant soon became a Punjabi tradition with the centre in Lahore which remains the regional hub of the festival throughout the Punjab region. Indeed, Maharaja Ranjit Singh held a darbar or court in Lahore on Basant which lasted ten days during which time soldiers would dress in yellow and show their military prowess. Other traditions of the Basant in Lahore included women swaying on swings and singing.

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