As Deepavali ends, Hyderabad prepares for four-day Chhath Puja celebrations

Chhath Puja 2024 Date & Timings: The four-day Chhath Puja, celebrated across India and abroad, kickstarts on Tuesday (November 5) and will continue till Friday (November 8), with special rituals performed on each day. The festival is dedicated to the worship of the Sun god (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya (Mother Shashti), believed to be the sister of the Sun. The rituals and the fasting procedure of the festival are extremely strict but immense spiritual gains are said to accrue when the devotees observe them successfully.

Chhath Puja takes place on the sixth day of the Kartik month, which typically falls in October-November. The festival's first day is called Nahay khay, followed by Kharna. On the third (Sandhya arghya) and fourth day (Usha arghya), the devotees worship the setting and rising Sun respectively by standing in a water body and completing the rituals.

The first day of the festival is called Nahay Khay where the devotees take a meal (Khana) after a ceremonial bath (Nahana) in a river, sea or a pond. Water is brought from the waterbody and is utilised to make a stove (chulha) where the meals are prepared. The meal prepared is usually a pumpkin sabzi.