UNITED KINGDOM, September 18, 2015 (Leicester Mercury): Leicester already has the biggest Diwali celebrations outside India and it could now have the largest Ganesh festival, too. The God with the head of an elephant symbolizes good luck and the removal of obstacles for the billion Hindus throughout the world.
Over ten days this month the Shree Sanatan Mandir temple in Weymouth Street, Belgrave, is holding a Ganesh Festival with about 500 guests expected every night to enjoy food, music, dance and worship. Temple president Vibhooti Acharya said: “Like most temples in Leicester, we held a single day of celebration in previous years and there were usually about 200 to 300 people, so this festival is going to be on a huge scale compared to that and we think it should make our Ganesh Festival the biggest outside India.
“Every night from 7pm between September 17 and September 26 the temple is open to everyone and we’ll have lots of food with dancing competitions and singing, traditional clap-dancing, as well as coloring and activities for the children.