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Chhath
Hindu festival / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival, native to the Indian subcontinent and of heritage to the Indo-Nepalese.[2] It is celebrated across all Northern Indian regions.[3] In particular, to the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh;[4][5] and the Nepalese Autonomous provinces of Koshi, Lumbini, and Madhesh.[6][7][8][9] In the major northern urban centres in India, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate it in cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Kathmandu Valley.[10][11][12] During Chhath Puja, prayers are dedicated to the solar deity, Surya: to show gratitude for bestowing the bounties of life on Earth and to request that certain wishes be granted.[13]
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Chhath Puja | |
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![]() People gathered at a pond in Janakpur, Nepal to worship Surya, the sun god and his sister Chhathi Maiya | |
Also called |
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Observed by | Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithil ethnolinguistic groups in India and Nepal |
Type | Cultural, Historical, Religious |
Significance | To venerate Surya, the sun god and his sister Chhathi Maiya |
Date | Kartik Shukla Shashthi |
2023 date |
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2024 date | Thursday 7, November |
Frequency | Annual |
Chhathi Maiya, the sixth form of Prakriti and Surya's sister, is worshipped during the festival. It is celebrated six days after Deepavali, or Tihar, on the sixth day of the lunar month of Kartika (October or November) in the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat), and hence why it is called Surya Shashti Vrata.[14][15][16] The rituals are observed over three nights and four days.[17] They include holy bathing, fasting, and abstaining from drinking water (as a vrata), standing in water, and offering prasada (prayer offerings) and arghya to the rising and setting of the Sun.[18] Some devotees also perform a prostration march as they head towards the riverbanks.[19] All devotees prepare similar prasada (religious food) and offerings.[20][21]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Chhat_Puja_at_Inaruwa_06.jpg/640px-Chhat_Puja_at_Inaruwa_06.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Chhath_Puja_at_Basuki_Bihari_North.jpg/640px-Chhath_Puja_at_Basuki_Bihari_North.jpg)
Environmentalists have claimed that the festival of Chhath is one of the most eco-friendly religious festivals in the world.[22][23] Although the festival is observed most widely in Nepal and some Indian states, it is also prevalent in areas where the diaspora and migration from those areas have a presence.