Chhath
Puja is known as Lok Festival or Peoples festival
because no bookish ritual is followed in it.
No cast, creed, race, religion matters in this festival, which is a
big thing. People are free to celebrate this festival without any hindrance.
Most important thing about this festival is that this is the most ECO Friendly Festival.
No plastic
or anything which can harm our environment and Eco – System is used in this Festival. Seasonal fruits, Goods made
from green bamboo, seasonal fruits, goods of Earth, Water etc are used to
celebrate Chhatha puja or to worship God Sun.
Environmentalists claim that
Chhath is the most eco-friendly Hindu festival.
Chhath puja is performed on Kartika
Shukla Shashthi, which is the sixth day of the month of Kartika from the
Vikram Samvat calander.
This falls typically in the month of October or
November in the Gregorian English Calendar.
It is also celebrated in the month
of Chaitra in the English month April or May.
The word chhath means sixth
in Bhojpuri, Maithili and Nepali languages and the festival is celebrated on
the sixth day of the month of Kartika of the Hindu lunar-solar calendar Vikram
Samvat.
The word chhathi is a corruption, derivation
from the Sanskrit word ṣaṣṭhi, means sixth. It is the longest and
most important festival after Navratri.
Four days of Chhath festival or Worshipping God Sun –
Nahay Khay: The first day
of Chhath Puja, devotees take a dip, preferably in the river and carry home the
holy water to prepare the offerings.
This
day the people who observe fast take bath at a river, pond, Well or in Bathroom
and prepare lunch (consisting of Rice, Pulses (dal) mixed with pumpkin, made in
pure ghee).
Lohanda: The second day,
the devotees observe a fast for the whole day, which ends in the evening a
little after sunset.
After worshiping the Sun and the Moon, they prepare
offerings of kheer, bananas and rice for their family.
(5th day from Diwali) is known as kharna or kheer (Rice
pudding - Rice boiled in milk with sugar) – Bread (roti).
In which the kheer (An Indian
recipe where rice is prepared with sweetened milk instead of water)
and Bread or chapati (called roti in many Indian provinces).
The people observe
fast for the full day without taking even water and eat this kheer-roti as
dinner after offering it to the rising moon and before setting of Moon and
Goddess Ganga and take Water.
This is the only time when they eat or drink
anything from the starting of the day till the last day of chhath worshiping
Rising Sun.
After
consuming the offering, they fast for 36 hours without water.
Sandhya Arghya (evening offerings):
After preparing the prasad, the devotees take a dip in the holy water body in
the evening and worship the Sun god and Chhathi maiyya.
The third day is the main
festival day (exactly 6th day from Diwali) of chhath.
The devotees maintain
fast without water (‘nirjal vrat - Fast without even taking a drop of water) on
the third day.
It mainly consists of going on river bank and offering 'argha'
(offering of fruits and sweets in winnowing) and worship Surya with folded
hands (namaskar) to the setting sun.
This is the only time setting Sun is
worshiped. offer the evening offerings amid folk songs.
Usha
Arghya:
The fourth day, the next day (exactly 7th day from
Diwali) event of offering argha and Surya namaskar to the rising sun on with
all the rituals done in the evening.
This is the fourth or last day of chhath.
The fast then comes to an end after offering argha to rising sun.
In this way,
total nearly 96 hours of strict penance comes to an end. The devotees go to
the holy waters and offer morning offerings or ‘Usha arghya’ to the sun,
following which they break their fast.
They sleep on the floor on a single blanket.
The main festival is commemorated on the third day of Chhath, when the Sun god is offered worshiped with folded hands and fruits.
It is believed that the ritual of
Chhath puja may date back to the ancient Vedic texts, as the Rig-Veda
contains hymns worshiping the Sun god and describes similar rituals.
The
rituals also find reference in the Epic Mahabharata poems.
This is the only festival which signifies and worships both
the setting and rising sun.
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