KARVA CHAUTH FASTING AND FESTIVAL
The fasting women collectively sitting in a circle, while doing Karva Chauth puja, singing song while performing the feris (passing their thalis around in the circle)
A woman looking through a sieve after completing the fast, first looking at the rising moon and then at her spouse.
Karva Chauth is a one-day festival celebrated by Hindu women in INDIA & many countries in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.The fast is traditionally celebrated in INDIA in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon, as per the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Kartik i.e. October Sometimes, unmarried women join the fast for their fiancés or desired husbands.
A similar festival known as Chhath is observed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar. Teej is celebrated in the same style.
Karva is another word for 'pot' (a small earthen pot of water) and chauth means 'fourth' in Hindi (a reference to the fact that the festival falls on the fourth day of the dark-fortnight, or Krishna paksha, of the month of Kartik).The festival originated and came to be celebrated only in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Women begin preparing for Karva Chauth a few days in advance, by buying cosmetics (shringar), traditional adornments or jewelry, and puja items, such as the Karva lamps, matthi, henna and the decorated puja thali (plate). Local bazaars take on a festive look as shopkeepers put their Karva Chauth related products on display.
On the day of the fast, women in INDIA awake to eat and drink just before sunrise. In Uttar Pradesh, celebrants eat soot feni with milk in sugar on the eve of the festival. It is said that this helps them go without water the next day. In Punjab, sargi is an important part of this pre-dawn meal and always includes fenia. It is traditional for the sargi to be sent or given to the woman by her mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law lives with the woman, the pre-dawn meal is prepared by the mother-in-law.
The fast begins with the dawn. Fasting women do not eat during the day. In traditional observances of the fast, the fasting woman does no housework. Women apply henna and other cosmetics to themselves and each other. The day passes in meeting friends and relatives.
In the evening, a community women-only ceremony is held. Participants dress in fine clothing and wear jewellery and henna, and (in some regions) dress in the complete finery of their wedding dresses. The dresses (saris or shalwars) are frequently red, gold or orange, which are considered auspicious colors.
The fasters sit in a circle with their puja thalis. Depending on region and community, a version of the story of Karva Chauth is narrated, with regular pauses. The storyteller is usually an older woman or a priest.In the pauses, the Karva Chauth puja song is sung collectively the singers perform the feris (passing their thalis around in the circle).
The first six describe some of the activities that are taboo during the fast and the seventh describes the lifting of those restrictions with the conclusion of the fast. The forbidden activities include weaving cloth (kumbh chrakhra feri naa), pleading with or attempting to please anyone (ruthda maniyen naa), and awakening anyone who is asleep (suthra jagayeen naa). For the first six feris they sing
| “ | ...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri naa, Kumbh chrakhra feri naa, Aar pair payeen naa, Ruthda maniyen naa, Suthra jagayeen naa, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara... |
| “ | ...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri nee, Kumbh chrakhra feri bhee, Aar pair payeen bhee, Ruthda maniyen bhee, Suthra jagayeen bhee, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara... Thereafter, the fasters offer baayna (a melange of goodies like halwa, puri, namkeen mathri, meethi mathri, etc.) to the idols (mansana) and hand over to their mother-in-law or sister-in-law. |
The husband now takes the water from the thali and gives his wife her first sip and feeds her with the first morsel of the day (usually something sweet). The fast is now broken, and the woman has a complete meal.SOURCE--WIKIPEDIA
Wishing on this most Auspicious, Divine, Sacred, Spiritual and Devotional occasion of "KARVA CHAUTH FASTING AND FESTIVAL" AND , to all my Friends, Near and Dear ones, Family members, Sisters and Brothers, all my Relatives, Loved ones, My Blog Readers, My Blog Visitors, My Blog Voters, Everyone and to All of You Living in Every Nook and Corner of INDIA and also Living All Over the GLOBE " A VERY HAPPY KARVA CHAUTH " AND "MAY LOVE AND BLESSINGS OF ALMIGHTY SUPREME GODS AND GODDESSES REMOVES ALL OBSTACLES IN YOUR WAY AND LADDER OF SUCCESS AND BLESS YOU AND FILL YOUR LIFE WITH HAPPINESS, JOY, PEACE, LOVE, ETERNAL BLISS, PROSPERITY AND A VERY LONG LASTING AND ROMANTIC BONDING BETWEEN ALL THE COUPLES ON THIS KARVA CHAUTH AND ALWAYS."
from Vijay Kumar Verma---Noida INDIA.
I AM INDIA, I LOVE MY INDIA, INDIA FIRST AND I AM PROUD TO BE INDIAN.
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