Various colourful fairs and festivals are celebrated in Uttar Pradesh. Kumbh Mela is the most famous fair which is celebrated in Haridwar and Allahabad. Some of the other fairs and festivals which are celebrated in Uttar Pradesh are Magh Mela, Yoga Week, Jhansi Mahotsav, Taj Mahotsav, Holi, Ram Navmi, Ganga Dussehra, Mango Festival, Moharram, Janmashtami, Ganga Mahotsav and Diwali.

Magh Mela is held in Allahabad every year in the month of January for 15 days. During this fair, the people take a bath in the Sangam where the waters of the three holy rivers meet.

The Yoga festival is celebrated along the banks of the Ganga at Rishikesh, a picturesque town at the foothills of the Himalayas in the month of January. This festival is organised by Uttar Pradesh Tourism to popularise Yoga. During the Yoga week, lectures and demonstration of asanas (exercises) by prominent exponets of Yoga are held throughout the week. The fascinating water sports on the Ganga are some of other attractions of the Yoga Week.

Jhansi Mahotsav is celebrated in the month of February or March, every year. This festival is celebrated in Jhansi that reflects the arts and crafts of Bundelkhand. 

Taj Mahotsav is a ten day festival which is celebrated in Agra. The Taj Mahotsav is a culturally vibrant platform that brings together the finest Indian crafts and cultural nuances. It is a festive introduction to India and Uttar Pradesh. Folk music, shayari (Poetry), and classical dance performances as well as elephant and camel rides, games and food festival are the part of the festival.

Holi is the most famous Hindu festival that is observed all over the North India. Holi, also known as the colour throwing festival is celebrated in the month of March. This festival marks the end of winter and and the beginning of the spring. This festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Mathura and Barsana. Barsana is known for the Lathmaar Holi. In the northern region, the people celebrates the joyful raasleela of Krishna and the gopis on Holi. They play phag which is a game of many colorful hues. On the night before the full moon, crowds of people gather together and lit huge bonfires to burn the residual dried leaves and twigs of the winter, to symbolise the destruction of evil. On the next day, the people throw coloured water and powders (gulal and kumkum) at each other and make merry. Singing and dancing add to the gaiety of the occasion.

The Rama Navami is celebrated mainly in Uttar Pradesh in the month of April. This festival is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Rama. During the eight days preceding the birthday it is considered auspicious to read or listen to the epic Ramayana. So, the celebrations involve reading and staging of the Ramayana in various folk forms.

The Ganga Dussehra festival is celebrated in Uttar Pradesh in the month of June. In this festival, the people worship the River Ganga for ten days. According to the legends, Gangavataran or the descent of the Ganga, happened at this time. The devotees touch the river clay home to venerate. In Haridwar, aartis are performed at twilight and a large number of devotees meditate on the serene banks of the river Ganga.

Mango Festival is held in Saharanpur, in Uttar Pradesh in the month of June. This unique mango festival is held every year in the mango season where innumerble varieties of the mangoes are displayed. It is a ‘mango-ful’ affair.

Moharram is really not a festival but a period of mourning. This festival commemorates the martyrdom of the Imam Hussain, the grandson of the holy Prophet Mohammed. This festival is celebrated with great splendour in Lucknow. This festival is observed by the Shia Muslims who take out the procession of the colourfully decorated huge Tazias (replicas of tombs of the son-inlaw and grandsons of the Prophet) through the streets where men beat their chests and distress. These Tazias are the paper and bamboo replicas of the martyr’s tomb at Karbala in Iraq. The tazias of Lucknow are famous all over the world. In this festival, the pageantry of the Nawabi days is re-enacted and fire-walking takes place on one of the nights.

Janmashtami is the most famous festival which is celebrated in the month of August. Janmashtami is celebrated as the birth of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu with great fervour at Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna spent his childhood. This festival is celebrated till the midnight in the temples of Lord Krishna. Night long prayers are offered and religious hymns are sung in temples. Various scenes are also enacted from Lord Krishna’s early life. The main celebrations are held at Mathura, his birthplace, where at the temple his birth is symbolically reenacted. At Vrindavan, colourful Raslilas, song and dance dramas depicting the life of Lord Krishna are performed all day and night. 

Ganga Mahotsav is the annual tourism festival which is celebrated in Varanasi. This festival is every year from Prabodhini Ekadashi to Kartik Purnima in the month of October or November. It concludes with the festival of lights, “Deo Deepavali” when more than a million earthen lamps are lit on the ghats of Ganga and one can see festivity all over the place. The festival celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Varanasi with excellent cultural programmes and local martial arts. 

Diwali, the festival of lights is one of the most beautiful Indian festivals which is celebrated in the month of October or November. This festival is celebrated on the occassion of the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after his 14 years exile. It is said that the people illuminated their houses and streets with earthen oil lamps to welcome the Lord. This is done even today when almost every one illuminate their houses with oil lamps, candles and electric lights. On this day, the people decorate their homes with rangolis (designs on the floor) with coloured powder and also decorate their doorways with torans (a decorative garland for the door) of mango leaves and marigolds. The people also distribute sweets to each other, illuminate their houses with oil lamps and candles and burst fireworks. The people also worship the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth on this day.