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The
Maharashtrians are vibrant, vivacious people for whom life itself is a
celebration. All the fairs and festivals in Maharashtra
are celebrated with abundant fervour and enthusiasm and reflect the
Maharashtrian culture, with all its colourful customs, rituals and
traditions. The Kumbh Mela at Nashik, celebrated
once in twelve years is attended by a large number of devotees and is
considered to be very scared. Maharashtrians have great belief in Lord
Ganesh and the Ganesh festivals at Sangli and
Pune are celebrated
with great fun and fervour. Some of the important temple fairs include
Changdeo fair at the Markandeya temple near Edlabad, Kiran Utsav at the
Mahalaxmi temple at Kolhapur, Rathyatra at the Kalaram temple in Nashik,
and the Shrirama Rathotsava fair and the Navaratra Mahalaxmi fair at the
Navaratra Mahalaxmi temple in Jalgaon. The Khuldabad Urs celebrated for
five days is very famous and gathers a large number of Muslims. Mount Mary
Festival, a weeklong fair is held annually in the month of September in
the precinct of Mount Mary Church in Bandra, Mumbai. Paithan fair is held
annually during the months of March-April to commemorate the saint Sant
Eknath. The Snake festival at Battis Shirala town attracts large number of
tourists, from India and aboard too.