Dev Uthani Ekadashi, the start of the wedding season

What is worn for Dev Uthani Ekadashi, the start of the wedding season

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, also called Prabodhini Ekadashi, falls in the bright half of Kartika, after Diwali. Vishnu is said to wake on that day from his sleep of four months, which began at Devshayani Ekadashi in the monsoon. In those months, called Chaturmas, weddings and other new beginnings are avoided in many Hindu families. With the waking, weddings resume, and the season runs through the winter, with a break at Kharmas, until the spring. Families in north and west India buy bridal sarees and lehengas in the weeks before. Red, maroon and gold are the usual colours of the bride, in Banarasi silk, Kanjivaram and zari brocade. The date is the ekadashi tithi and may be a day earlier or later, depending on the almanac.

The sarees

Banarasi sariA red or maroon silk brocade, the north Indian bridal saree.Kanchipuram sariWorn by brides in the south and bought in the same season.