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Festival Profile

Chhath Puja

Thanksgiving to the Sun God with offerings in water at dawn and dusk.

All festivals

Chhath Puja is a festival of gratitude to the Sun God, observed with fasting and offering water to the rising and setting sun.

Stories behind the festival

The Sun's grace

Chhath honours the Sun God for sustaining life and the harvest. Devotees stand in water and offer arghya to the setting sun and then the rising sun, thanking him and Chhathi Maiya for health, prosperity and offspring.
Eastern India regional tradition

The Sun's grace

Chhath honours the Sun God for sustaining life and the harvest. Devotees stand in water and offer arghya to the setting sun and then the rising sun, thanking him and Chhathi Maiya for health, prosperity and offspring.
Eastern India regional tradition

Why we celebrate

Chhath Puja is a festival of gratitude to the Sun God, observed with fasting and offering water to the rising and setting sun.
Eastern India Sun-worship tradition

When

Chhath is observed over four days in the month of Kartik (October–November), mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and eastern Nepal.

Since when it is followed

The festival has ancient roots in Sun worship; its current form has been observed for many centuries in the Gangetic plains.
Regional tradition

Who celebrates / for whom

Celebrated by communities in eastern India and Nepal, with women as the primary fasters.

Origin

The origin is devotion to the Sun God (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya, the goddess of the sixth day, rooted in the Kartik month harvest tradition.
Regional tradition; Sun (Surya) worship

Key deities

The Sun God (Surya), and Chhathi Maiya.

How to celebrate

Take a holy dip, prepare offerings in bamboo baskets, fast, and offer water (arghya) to the setting and rising sun at a riverbank or pond.

Rituals & offerings

Arghya (water offering) to the setting and rising sun, fasting (nirajala), and distribution of thekua and fruits.

Key facts

Chhath is one of the few festivals that includes worshipping the setting sun.
Regional tradition
Chhath is one of the few festivals that includes worshipping the setting sun.
Regional tradition