Chhath Puja-सांझी आस्था का इंद्रधनुषी सवेरा

Chhath Puja is way of saying thanks to the Sun which is one of the biggest source of heat and light for all the living things on earth.It is celebrated in Bihar,few parts of Uttar pradesh and Nepal.
It is celebrated on the 6th day of Kartik month by Hindu calender.

Inception of Chhath Puja :

There are different legend in Mahabharatha and Ramayana behind celebrating Chhath Puja.
According to Ramayana after coming back from the exile and defeating Ravana Ram and Sita payed their gratitude to Sun by fasting and giving Arghya(Offering water ,milk ,fruits and sweets to sun by taking a dip in water).The fast is done mostly by women for the prosperity and well being of family members,few men do it too.Earlier it used to be performed on the bank of river Ganga's but the way of offering has been evolved with time and tide according to the convenience and that's what Hindu dharma is about..It is hard to follow like the outer shell of a coconut but as you dip it becomes soft like the tender part of coconut.

While Mahabharata talks about Kunti praying Sun for getting a son which took a form of chhath Puja later..It is also believed that Draupadi did this fasting for Sun to get back the prosperity and the state for Pandavas from Kauravas.

It's a four day event :
Day1: Nahay Khay
On day one of chhath Puja known as Naha Khay the person who does fast eats rice and pumpkin with gram lentils after taking bath and rest of the family eats the same followed by the vrat dhaari(The person having fast).

Day 2 : Kharna : Second day of Chhath Puja is known as Kharana the fasting person fasts for the whole day while in the evening they make food separately as prasad which comprises of Roti,Kheer (made of Jaggery).the preparation is supposed to be done very neatly so everything is done specially for the Puja even the wheats for the same is washed and dried separately to keep the sanity.

A typical Kharna Prasad

Kharana Puja

Day 3 :Pahla Arghya :This is the toughest day of the fasting as the fast is for the whole day without consuming anything edible even water is not consumed. Arghya is paying tribute to the sun with the water,milk,fruits and the home made prasad(specially Thekuwa made in wheat flour,cow butter and jaggery).This is the evening before the last and final tribute to the Sun.The evening salutation to the Sun is one of it's kind as we first salute the dawning sun.
After the 1st Arghya or sandhya arghya some families do the celebration of any new big thing happened during that year(like new baby born,for newly wedded couple,new house bought etc..) and known as Koshi.Where the sugarcane is used with lamps to decorate the place and folk songs are sung by ladies to thank the Sun for the celebration with a hope of celebrating it every year if something new happens in the family.

Evening Arghya

Koshi celebration

Day 4 :Dusra Arghya/Paran:
This is the last and final day of the Chhath Puja where the rising Sun is saluted with the same set of rules (same as the dawning Sun is prayed).After the arghya the Prasad is distributed and eaten by the vratdharies first.