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On the full-moon day of chaitra exactly at sunrise a festival is arranged in the temple of Hanuman to celebrate his birth.

Thirty-three Crore Gods
Hindus believe in ten avatars of Vishnu. They also believe in many other avatars. It is said that there are 33 crore gods and goddesses. In order to destroy Ravan Vishnu took birth as Rama. At the same time Brahmadev commanded all the gods, gandharvas and rishis to take birth (avatar) to help Rama. So all the gods and goddesses and rishimunis decided to take avatar in the form of "vanaras" (monkeys). The apsaras (courtesans of heaven) and the wives of the gandharvas became female monkeys and the rishis and the gods became male monkeys.
Vali was the avatar of Indra (king of heaven), Sugreeva was the avatar of Surya (sun god), Tara was the avatar of Devguru Bruhaspati (Jupiter), and so all the other gods. The avatar of Vayu (wind) was Hanuman, who was of all the monkeys the cleverest and the most powerful. He had the ability of flying with the speed of the eagle.

The Birth of Hanuman
In heaven there was a very famous apsara (courtesan, dancing girl) named Punjikasthala. On a certain occasion she insulted one of the rishis. As a result she got a curse that she would be born as a female monkey. After her birth she was named Anjana. Her husband's name was Kesari. Because Anjana had no son, she began to do penance. She gave up eating and drinking. She prayed to god Vayu not only to get her a son, but that he should be powerful and swift, just like god Vayu himself.
Vayu answered: "Tathastu", "Amen", "Let it be as you desire."
In the morning of the first 14th day of Chaitra in a cave on the Rushyamuk mountain, Anjana gave birth to her son Hanuman. Soon after his birth Hanuman came out of the cave and, as the sun was rising, he flew towards the sun to eat its reddish rays.
As he flew towards the sun, Rahu stood in his way. But with a stroke of his tail he pushed Rahu aside. Then came Ketu, but he also was removed, and Hanuman flew ahead towards the sun. Then heaven became worried. Indra mounted his elephant "Airavat", and wondered in his mind, "Who is this extraordinary child going out to eat the sun?" Indra became angry and flung his weapon "vajra" (thunderbolt) on Hanuman, who was caught unawares. He was hit on his left knee, and fell on the top of a high mountain.

Vayu's Anger
Vayu came to know about Hanuman's fall. In his anger Vayu stopped the wind ("vayu"). The very life of the gods became imperilled. The condition of all living beings became extremely precarious. All began to pray to Vayu to give up his anger. Then Indra went to meet the unconscious Hanuman, praised him for surviving the stroke of his weapon, and called him "Maruti" or "son of the wind". As a boon Indra said, "You will not be afraid of death" ("Ichchamarni"). Brahmadev also said: "Nobody will be able to kill you with any weapon in war." With this Hanuman became almost invincible. Then Vayu was pleased and the wind began to blow gently, and life returned to all living creatures.

Rama's Devotee
Saturday is the day of Hanuman, and some people fast on Saturday in honour of Hanuman. Maruti is the god of power. He was one of the chief warriors of King Sugreeva. Maruti went flying all over Lanka and found the palace where Sita was kept in captivity. Eknath in his "Bhavartha Ramayana" describes one of Hanuman's great exploits. In the fight against Ravan, Lakshman was wounded by a poisoned arrow and fell unconscious. To save him four herbs had to be brought very urgently from the Himalayas. Hanuman offered himself for the task. He flew at full speed towards the Himalayas. But as he could not recognise the needed herbs, he picked up the whole mountain in his hand and flew back to Lanka, just in time to save Lakshman. With the help of Maruti Rama defeated Ravana and rescued Sita. Maruti remained ever since the faithful devotee of Rama. He is the ideal devotee of Rama. Maruti, or Hanuman, is also known as "Bajrang" or strong like "vajra" ("thunderbolt").
Maruti was a brarnhachari or celibate. He is also believed to be an avatar of Shankar (or Shiva) because his heroic deeds are like those of Shankar.