Chhath Puja 2023: Chhath Puja is celebrated six days after Diwali, especially with grandeur in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The festivities for Chhath Puja commenced on Friday, November 17, 2023, with Chhath Vratins observing rituals like bathing and partaking in offerings of pumpkin and lentils after the holy bath.
The four-day Chhath Puja will be observed until November 20. Each day of Chhath Puja involves different rituals. On the first day, devotees take a holy bath. The second day involves fasting, and the tradition of offering arghya to the sun is continued till the third and fourth day. During the evening and morning arghya, devotees and entire families go to rivers, ponds, or ghats.
For offering arghya to Lord Surya and performing the puja of Chhathi Maiya, devotees use a special basket (tokri). Therefore, before going to the ghats, the basket is decorated and filled with all the necessary items. Let's find out how to decorate the basket, prepare the soup or dal, and what to include in it.
Essential Items for Decorating the Chhath Basket:
- Soup, daura, or dalia (made of bamboo or brass)
- Coconut
- Suthani (a type of thread)
- Sweet potatoes
- Honey container
- Betel nut
- Karva (a pot with a spout)
- Amla (Indian gooseberry)
- Big lemons
- Daura (a banana-shaped ornament)
- Red rice
- Turmeric
- Jaggery
- Betel leaves
- Fruits
- Incense
- Sugarcane
- Flowers
- Thekua (a sweet prepared during Chhath Puja)
- Makeup items
- Sindoor (vermilion)
- Red or yellow cloth (to tie the soup)
How to Decorate the Chhath Puja Basket:
The basket used for offering arghya to Lord Surya during Chhath Puja is decorated in a beautiful manner. First, clean and dry the soup or daura. Apply sindoor on both sides, and place betel leaves on each side of the soup. Keep all the fruits and offerings inside. Some people keep 5 or 11 offerings and fruits. Then, tie it securely with cloth. Ensure that jaggery is also placed in the soup. It is considered highly auspicious. Afterward, light incense on both sides of the soup. After burning the soup in this way, family members carry it on their heads to the ghats. A Chhath Puja song associated with carrying the daura to the ghat is sung during this process.