The four-day Chhath Festival which began yesterday, is being celebrated by devotees across the country with great enthusiasm and fanfare. Part of Nepal’s biggest festival season and a cultural symbol of the Terai region, Chhath is dedicated to the Sun God and occurs during the four days from Shukla Chaturthi to Shukla Saptami in the month of Kartik.

Significance of Chhath

During the festival period, prayers are offered to the rising and setting sun to receive blessings of well-being, progress and prosperity from the Sun God, who is considered as the god of life-force and energy. As part of the Chhath puja, devotees undertake rituals such as having a holy bath, fasting and later partaking in a feast with various delicacies.

Home-made products are majorly used during the Chhath celebrations, with a preference for sand and bamboo-made materials. The significance of water in the sustenance of healthy life is elucidated during the festival and efforts are made towards nature conservation by cleaning up the water sources.

Expert Opinion

Dhirendra Premarshi, renowned cultural expert and Academic Assembly member at the Nepal Academy said that, “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.”

This year’s Chhath Festival concludes on Friday, October 27.

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