However, the oral tradition of Nuakhai dates back to the 12th Century A.D when this festival became a symbol of Sambalpuri culture and heritage. Customarily, the first crops are harvested and offered to the mother goddess with great reverence before birds or animals eat them. Nuakhai festival traced its origin to the Vedic period when the sages mentioned the five important annual activities of an agrarian society in the Panchajanya. Origin, History, and Significance of Nuakhai The Nuakhai festival 2023 date is 20th September. Nuakhai is celebrated precisely a day after Ganesh Chaturthi in the ‘Panchami tithi’ or the fifth day of the lunar fortnight that mainly falls in August or September. Though celebrated throughout the state, the districts of Balangir, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Boudh, Jharsugudah, and Nuapada observe this festival with great pomp and splendour. This traditional festival has excellent significance for farmers and the agricultural community as it is performed to welcome the season’s newly harvested rice. Nuakhai is one of the unique social festivals which gets its name from the word ‘Nua’, meaning ‘new’ and ‘Khai’, meaning ‘food’.