Vasant Panchami
This is the Hindu spring festival dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Saraswati has four hands, representing mind, intellect, alertness and ego. In one hand she holds the sacred scriptures, in another, a lotus, which is a symbol of knowledge. The other two hands are playing a stringed instrument called a veena.
Hindus often wear yellow on this day, and eat yellow sweets. Vasant Panchami is thought to be an auspicious day to start learning to read and write. As spring brings new life – green shoots emerging from the ground, buds on the trees – Vasant Panchami brings the promise brought by learning, of intellectual growth and hope for the future.
