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About Phool Dei

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About Phool Dei

Phool Dei is the spring festival of Uttarakhand, held on the first day of the month of Chaitra, in mid March. It welcomes the new season, when the hills turn red with buransh (rhododendron) and yellow with fyonli and mustard flowers.

Early in the morning, children go out with small baskets and pick fresh flowers. Then they go from house to house and place the flowers on each doorstep, singing "Phool dei, chhamma dei, deni dwar, bhar bhakar": may this door be full of flowers and the store full of grain.

Families thank the children with rice, jaggery, sweets and coins. In many homes a sweet dish called sayi, made of rice flour, jaggery and curd, is cooked for the day. In parts of Garhwal the children keep their flower rounds through the whole month of Chaitra.

Phool Dei is also known as the children's festival of the hills. It teaches kindness and care for nature, and it is kept with love by Kumaoni and Garhwali families in Uttarakhand and in their homes across India.

How people celebrate Phool Dei

  • Children picking buransh, fyonli and mustard flowers at dawn
  • Placing flowers on every doorstep in the village
  • Singing "Phool dei, chhamma dei"
  • Rice, jaggery, sweets and coins for the children
  • Sayi, a sweet of rice flour, jaggery and curd
  • Welcoming spring and the Hindu month of Chaitra

How to wish well

  • "Phool dei, chhamma dei" is the happy line the children sing; you can use it in your wish.
  • Send wishes in the morning, when the flowers are placed on the doorsteps.
  • It is a children's festival, so wishes for little ones and their blessings suit the day well.
  • Friends from Uttarakhand living away from home will love a wish that reminds them of the hills.

Questions about Phool Dei

When is Phool Dei?

On the first day of the solar month of Chaitra, which falls on 14 or 15 March. The date for each year is shown on this page.

Why is Phool Dei celebrated?

It welcomes spring and the new season. Children place fresh flowers on doorsteps to wish every home joy, plenty and good luck.

What does "Phool dei, chhamma dei" mean?

It is the festival song. It asks that the doorstep be blessed with flowers and that the home be full of grain and good things.

Which flowers are used on Phool Dei?

Mostly buransh (rhododendron), yellow fyonli, mustard flowers and the blossoms of peach, plum and apricot trees.

What food is made on Phool Dei?

A sweet dish called sayi, made of rice flour, jaggery and curd, is popular. Children are given rice, jaggery and sweets.

Is Phool Dei a children's festival?

Yes. Children are the heart of the day, and Uttarakhand also marks it as a festival for children.

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