Chhath, the festival in which devotees worship the Sun God. During the four-day festival, celebrated especially by people from Mithila region, devotees worship and make offerings to the rising and setting sun wishing for prosperity, happiness and longevity of their family members.
During this festival, various delicacies are
prepared. Likewise, purity and cleanliness are strictly maintained. The
festival begins on Sunday marked by Nahai Khai, Kharna, Sandhya Argha and Bihani Argha rituals
respectively on the four following days before the festival concludes on
Wednesday. The name of the festival symbolises its day of occurrence, as
‘Chhath’ refers to ‘sixth’.
There exist different myths as to how Chhath began, People
started celebrating Chhath since
ancient times, showing gratitude to the Sun God for sustaining life on Earth.
Each activity of this festival represents a relationship between human life and
nature. During Chhath, the sun is worshipped as the
protector of life. Devotees worship first the setting sun and then the rising
sun. Water has a special place in nature as well as in Chhath celebrations.
Cleaning
up water sources also contribute to nature conservation and sustenance of
healthy life. The festival also attempts to end caste discrimination and
envisages bringing social harmony among peoples of different caste groups.
Likewise,Chhath gives
priority to sand and bamboo-made materials, which reflect the main occupation
of people with low economic status.
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