Chhath Puja Date2016 to 2021
Chhath Puja Date Year 2017: October 24 to October 27
Chhath Puja Date Year 2018: November 11 to November 14
Chhath Puja Date Year 2019: October 31 to November 3
Chhath Puja Date Year 2020: November 18 to November 21
Chhath Puja Date Year 2021: November 8 to November 11
About Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja is an Indian thanksgiving festival dedicated the Sun god.During the celebrations of Chhath Puja, people gather on the banks of river Ganges to bathe in its sacred water, pray and make ritul offerings to the Sun god.Chhath Puja is a highly significant festival noted for its impressive display of colorful costumes, music, singing and extravagant rituals.
It takes place, sometime during the months of October and November, on the 6th day of Diwali.Chhath Puja lasts for almost 3 days.There is also a 'Chaiti Celebrated just after Holi.
Chhath Puja is celebrated mainly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand but now a days, it has begun to be celebrated in other parts of the country.The festival takes place,on the banks of the river Gangas, at people's homes and at the Sun Temple of Baragaon, two Kilometers outside nalanda, in Bihar.
Chhath Puja Celebration
On the day before before the festival of Chhath Puja, it is customary for participants to gather on the riverbanks and clense themselves, ritually, in the water of the river Ganges.After cleansing, a token amount of sacred water is retained for use as offerings during the festival of Chhath Puja.Before Chhath Puja, people fast throughout the day and till early evening.The fast is followed by worship at homes.Festive fare consisting of freshly harvested rice, puris, and fruit such as bananas, t coconuts and grapefruit are then served to the family.
On the second day of Chhath Puja, a strict 24 hour fast is observed not even water is consumed.Cooking utensils are purified by the senior women of th household as part of the celebration of Chhath Puja.
At sunset, worshippers proceed to the riverbank bearing their offerings in baskets, held high to avoid the impure touch of human hands.The participants then pay homage to the Sun God, at the precise moment of the setting sun.Further celebrations take place at nightfall under temporary canopies made from sugar cane stalks, where oferings are laid out as a tribute to the god of fire.Well before sunrise, when the sky is pitch dark, worshippers return to the riverbank to pray to the rising sun, this ritul is considered the focal point of the ceremony of Chhath Puja.Following prayers and the purifying bathing ritul, the fast is ended with the offering of prasad to the Sun God.Prasad is, then shared with families, friends and fellow worshippers, accompanied by the chanting of the Rig Veda's Gayatri Mantra.
Chath Puja Pictures
