Importance and Observance
One of the major and significant
festivals celebrated in the northern part of the country is Karwa Chauth.
Married Hindu and Sikh women celebrate and observe Karwa Chauth by fasting for
the long life of their husbands.
The idea behind celebrating the
festival is to pray and wish for the well-being, prosperity, longevity of their
husband. It is a daylong festival celebrated by the women. Like many Hindu
festivals, Karwa Chauth is based on the lunisolar calendar which accounts for
all astronomical positions, especially positions of the moon which is used as a
marker to calculate important dates.
The festival falls on the fourth
day after the full moon, in the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Kartika.
On the day of Karwa Chauth, the
married women observe a fast from sunrise till moonrise. They follow a strict
fast in which they do not consume any food or even water throughout the day,
since sunrise till the time they sight the moon. The fasting is concluded only after
they sight the moon and make offerings to it.
The day of Karwa Chauth is
celebrated close to Diwali. It exactly falls on the fourth day of the month of
Kartika. The Kartika month celebrates the harvest time where it is the time for
meeting people and celebration. Karwa Chauth is a celebration of the beautiful
bond between a husband and wife celebrating love and togetherness.
History of Karwa Chauth
The meaning of Karwa Chauth is offering arghya (offerings) to the moon using an earthen pot known as karwa on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the Kartika month.