Chhath Puja is usually celebrated in October-November every year.

About

• Chhath, a four-day festival dedicated to worship Sun god (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya, believed to be the Sun’s sister.
• Celebrated for six days from Diwali (Karthik Sukhla Shasthi).
• Predominantly celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and among diaspora communities in Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Netherlands and the UAE etc.
• The first day of the festival is nahay-khay in which vratis (women who are fasting) have a bath in the morning and offer prayers to the rising sun at home or on the ghats.
• The second day is observed as kharna.
• On the third day, devotees offer arghaya. to the setting sun while standing in water at the ghats.
• Most festivals worship only the rising sun.
  Chhath is special because it honours both rising and setting Sun.

Cultural significance

• Chhath is often considered one of the oldest surviving Vedic festivals still practiced in its ancient form. as the rituals are believed to come from the Rigvedic tradition of worshipping the Sun.
• Chhath preserves these early forms of spirituality, which honoured natural forces as direct expressions of the divine through nature worship, Sun worship and water-based rituals.
• The festival includes devotion to Chhathi Maiya, a folk goddess associated with: children’s well-being, fertility, protection and prosperity. This shows how local folk culture blended with Vedic Surya worship,
• Inclusivity: Chhath Puja stands out for its egalitarian ethos. There is no priestly mediation; rituals are performed directly by devotees, reflecting accessibility across caste, class, and gender.