Source

NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 31, 2003: The Chhath Puja started on October 31, 2003. It is an agrarian religious festival that migrants from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh have taken with them — some praying to the rising sun on the banks of the River Yamuna in Delhi, others decked in traditional vermillion-bordered yellow saris, conducting the puja on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. Chhath derives its name from the day it is held, i.e., the sixth day after Diwali according to the lunar calendar. It is popular in Nepal, also. People worship the Sun at an important period after the monsoons when the sunlight is needed to dry the ground so that the next crop of wheat can be planted. In fact, freshly cut sugarcane figures in the offerings made to the Sun; devotees will begin to enjoy their first sugarcane only after the puja finishes. Thus, Chhath is a type of thanksgiving for agricultural Bihar. The distinctive prasad (blessed food) during Chhath is thekua — a mix of wheat, jaggery and milk which is deep-fried in ghee (clarified butter).

Post Views: 484