Chhath 2017: Glory of Chhat Pooja

Chhath Puja is a typical Indian festival generally celebrated by the people of Bihar. Amongst all Hindu festivals, Chhath Puja is quite unique, as it offers gratitude toward the cycle of life. Apart from this, it is one of the most attractive festivals in India. Ladies wearing colorful apparels, carrying decorated Puja plates, creating an ecstatic ambience in the environment, Chhath Puja is simply amazing! Let’s read more to know in detail about Chhath Puja.

Chhath Puja 2017 is commencing from 24th of October and will be celebrated till October 27th. A very auspicious festival with a chance of fetching blessings, Chhath Puja is incredibly special. In India, it is mainly celebrated in Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh regions and Jharkhand. Apart from this, many people from North – East India, say, Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Chhatisgarh, Chandigarh, whole Uttar Pradesh as well as Madhya Pradesh don’t stand behind from fetching the blessings of Lord Sun, the God of nature and reason of our existence.

Importance of Chhath Puja

Chhath Puja starts from the sixth day of month Kartika from Hindu calendar. As per Gregorian calendar, month of Kartika falls between the days of October and November. Festival of Chhath Puja is then celebrated till next four days. Chhath Pooja is purely dedicated to the Hindu Lord Sun. Along with Sun, Goddess Chhathi also known as Chhathi Maiyya is also worshipped during this festival. The main purpose of this festival is to pay tribute to the Sun, who is the cause of the sustenance of life on Earth. Sun is considered as the God of energy, who can bestow us from good health, inner peace, progress as well as prosperity. There is another belief hidden behind the ritual of worshipping Lord Sun is that he can cure ailments like ‘Leprosy’.
Not only this, Chhath Puja has got many reasons for being important. People follow proper procedure to shower their love over Lord Surya (Sun) for blessing them with many good things.

Rituals of Chhath Puja

As we know that Chhat Puja is of actually four days. There are certain customs and rituals associated with this festival. During Chhat Puja, the devotees sleep on floor over a single blanket. They consume strict vegetarian food. All of these four days have their unique names as per the rituals performed on these days. Following are the names of each festive day:

1. Nahai Khai
2. Kharna
3. Chhath
4. Paarun

The strict rituals of this festival signify the tremendous devotion and purity of heart of the believers.
Each day of Chhath Puja festival has its own specialty. Let’s now know the value of each day below:

Chhath Puja Day I (Nahai Khai)

As this is the first day of auspicious Chhat Puja festival, the rituals are typically related to the purification and greetings. So, worshippers take bath in holy river Ganga at the time of absolute sunrise, and if river is not available then they consider other water bodies. After that, they carry some water of that particular water body to bring back to home. With this water, they cook the holy food. So, this is basically the day for taking bath and cooking food. Hence, it has been termed as ‘Nahai Khai’ that literally means ‘bathing and eating’.

Chhath Puja Day II (Kharna)

‘Kharna’ is the second day of the four day Chhath Puja festival. This is basically the day before actual Chhat Puja day. On this day, believers observe fast for the entire day. This fast is followed by a Puja commemorated to mother Earth after sunset and devotees have some food then. Further, a special treat is prepared for family and friends that includes Kheer, Puri and many other delicious dishes. From this day only, a continuous fast of 36 hrs begins. This fast is taken with vow of not having even a single drop of water. It is a very strict fast and it is believed that it should only be observed with complete honesty.

Chhath Puja Day III (Chhath)

Throughout the entire festival of Chhath Puja, third day is the most important one. It is the main day of the festival Chhath Pooja. Devotees prepare Prasad (the holy food) on this day to offer the settling Sun with regional songs and other celebration methods dedicated to Lord Sun. The day of Chhath Puja is celebrated with great zeal and gusto. Believers gather on the bank of river or any other water body to fetch the blessings of Lord Sun. At the end of this day, believers follow a ritual called ‘Kosi’. In this ritual, worshippers light earthen lamps under the carved house from sugarcane sticks.

Chhath Puja Day IV (Paarun)

‘Paarun’ is the closing day of Chhath Puja festival. This day is dedicated to the rising Sun and hence the offerings are made to the Lord Sun. As per the custom, worshippers have to be available at the river bank during sunrise. So, they gather at the site few minutes before sunrise. At the end, worshippers break their fast in a traditional way by having Prasad (the holy offerings made for God).

So, this is how the grand four day festival of Chhath Puja is celebrated. This article on Chhath Puja must have given you a general idea on the celebration process of this beautiful and colorful festival. With this, we hope this Chhath Puja brings prosperity and blessings from Lord Sun to the lives of you.