Makara Sankranti 

falls on a freezing january day, yet all they ghats are crowded with worshippers as it is a particularly auspicious day to bathe in the Ganga. Local People celebrate the festival by eating khhichri (a rice and lentil dish) and a special sesame seed sweet. And the sky is dotted with colorful flying kites by late morning, every available open space is taken over by young men and boys excitedly  battling over each others kites. from the muddy river hank near Assi  Ghat to the wide steps of the ghats, now  almost emptied of the early morning bathers, to the many terraces in the Pukka Mahal. all ring with shrill cries of  Bhokatta, as someone's kite is downed. 

 Basant Panchami 

Celebrates the arrival of spring or Basant. Women and children  wear yellow clothes and offer yellow flowers, especially the first  blossoms of the mango tree, to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and music.  

 Maha Shivaralri 

 is, literally, the Great Night of Shiva. Celebrated on a moonless night in the month of Phalgun (February-March), it is the most important of all Varanasi's festivals, It celebrates the marriage of Shiva to goddess Parvati and a huge wedding procession called shiva  baraat winds its way through the city's streets. People fast all day and keep vigil all night.
Every shiva temple, wayside shrine and solitary linga is covered with flowers bilva leaves and sandalwood paste. the crowds are deepest at Vishwanath and Kedareshwar temples and the narrow lanes leading to these temples are a  solid mass of people from dawn to midnigh. 

Rangbhari Ekadashi 

  is lord Vishwanath's day for shringara or dressing . the linga is decorated with a four-faced silver covering, decorated with flowers, leaves, sandalwood paste, and vermilion powder.

Holi 

 is the day when the city is caught up in a bacchanalia of colour, intoxicants, music and dance. This is the day to drink Thandai and eat sweets and savories laced with bluing, a derivative of cannabis. it is safer for visitors not to venture out on holi as the revelry often gets out of hand On this day, there is also a fair at Chausatti Ghat to honour the  64 yogini or female divinities particular to Varanasi.