The 2nd good festival of Bihar: Chaiti Chhath Puja

Affter Karthik Chhath Puja, the 2nd superb festival of Bihar is Chaiti Chhath Puja

Dala Chhath – it is an ancient and major festival. It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winters (September-November)around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to prompt without water for more than twenty four hours, is lighter to undertake in the Indian winters.

Chhat is dedicated to the adore of the Sun God and therefore, is also known as Surya Shashti. Chhat is celebrated as thanks to the Sun for providing the necessities of life on earth, and also for fulfilling particular wishes.

Ten things you need to know about Chhath Puja

1) The festival is celebrated as a thanksgiving to the Hindu God of Sun.

Two) Chhath involves devotees asking at the riverbank during sunrise and sunset. Scientifically, the solar energy has lowest level of ultraviolet radiations during this time, which makes it beneficial for the bod.

Three) The devotee who observes quick during chhath is called vrati. They observe rapid for four days.

Four) The very first day – nahai khai – starts by taking a dip in holy Ganges or by sprinkling ganga-jal (holy water) and adoring the sun God after which kaddu-bhaat (pumpkin curry and rice) along with channa dal is ready and eaten.

Five) On the very first day, devotees abstain from eating apart from the morning meal until the next day’s evening (kharna) where they eat kheer, chappatis and fruits. The 2nd day is known as Lohand.

6) The third day is called pehla argha/saandhya argha. Those on a rapid, downright abstain from eating anything on this day. The submerging sun is adored and given offerings (argha) in the evening.

7) The final day – doosra argha/suryoday argha – sees devotees providing argha and adoring the sun early in the morning post which devotees break their swift (paran) by consuming the chhath Prasad including kheer, sweets, thekua and fruits.

8) Rice, wheat, fresh fruits, dry fruits, coconut, nuts, jaggery and portions of ghee go into the making of traditional chhath meals as well as chhath Prasad.

9) Meals during chhath – especially the chhath Prasad – are ready stringently without onion, garlic and salt. Some devotees may use rock salt.

Ten) The festival also marks the celebration of the fresh harvest. The offerings given to Suryadevta include fruits and food prep made with this fresh harvest.

The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath mirror the culture, social structure, mythology and history of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nowadays, modern Chhath songs, largely Bollywood filmy remixes have caught on, but the old tradition still goes strong with a superb degree of sanctity. The three main linguistic regions of Bihar: the Maithili, the Magadhi, and the Bhojpuri, and all the various dialects associated with these, have different folk songs; but all dedicated to Chhath, they have an underlying unity. The minor nuances of the Chhath rituals, such as in the Kharna ritual, vary from region to region, and also across families, but still there is a fundamental similarity.

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