Meaning: The word “chhath” means sixth in Nepali, Maithili, and Bhojpuri languages. This festival is celebrated on the 6th day of the month of Kartikeya of the Hindu Luni-Solar Bikram Sambat calendar and that’s why the name is Chhath Puja. This word is a Prakrit descent from the Sanskrit word “Sashthi” and this festival is the longest and the most important festival of Hindus after the Navratri. It lasts for 4 days.
4 Day Rituals: The rituals of the festival are arduous and are observed over a period of four days. The rituals are: holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water called Vratta, standing in water for long periods of time, and offering Prasad (prayer offerings) and Arghya to the setting and rising sun. Some followers also perform a prostration march as they head for the river banks.
Chhathi Maiya: Along with the Sun, the Goddess who is worshipped during this Chhath Puja is known as Chhathi Maiya. Chhathi Maiya is also known as Usha in the Vedas and she is believed to be the beloved younger wife of Surya, the sun god. In Mithilanchal region she is also worshipped under the name of “RANA MAI”.
Significance Of Chhath Puja: Now apart from the religious significance of thanking the Sun for providing us a good life, there is some science too attached to the rituals of this festivals. The rituals demand to pray at the river bank or standing at the river bank for long hours and there is an explanation to it. The ultraviolet rays of the sun are at their lowest during sunrise and sunset and that’s why the sun rays are most beneficial at these two times. These sun rays then help in detoxifying the mind, body, and soul by removing all negative energies.
Places of Chhath Celebration: As said earlier, this festival is ornately celebrated among people of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhesh region of India and Nepal respectively. But people who shifted their base from these regions to elsewhere have also not stopped celebrating Chhath. So, one can see Chhath celebration in Northern, Southern, and Central urban centers in India too. Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Bengaluru, etc. also celebrate Chhath. Similarly, people of Indian or Nepalese origin residing in Mauritius, United States of America, Fiji, United Kingdom, South Africa, Republic of Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica, Guyana, other parts of the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Macau, Japan, and Indonesia also celebrate Chhath Puja with dedication.
No Idol Worship: This is the only Hindu festival or perhaps the only festival in the world that signifies the rising and the setting Sun. The most unique feature of this Chhath Puja is that there is no Murti Pujan or Idol Worshipping unlike most of the festivals of the Hindu religion. Some people simply opine that Sun is necessary for the life of possibly every creature on the earth and this festival is a way to pay tribute to it irrespective of caste, creed, gender, race, and social stigmas
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