The entire Terai-Madhes region is currently busy preparing for the Chhath festival.
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After Dashain and Lakshmi Puja, the entire Tarai Madhes gets busy preparing for Chhath festival. After worshipping Goddess Durga and Lakshmi, most families in Tarai Madhes worship Chhath with devotion and faith. That is why Chhath has been established as the main and greatest festival of Tarai.
The decoration work of the Chhath Ghats here has already begun. Chhath Ghats like Ghadiarwa, Murli, Ranighat, Nagwa etc. in Birgunj are comparatively more grand and attractive than other Ghats. The number of people returning to Thatthalo to celebrate this festival is increasing day by day. Those who are abroad for employment and studies are also returning home in a hurry.
The market in Birgunj is crowded with people buying Chhath puja materials and new clothes. This festival, even once a year, increases the hustle and bustle in the markets of Tarai Madhes.
Shashibhushan Sah, a teacher from Ashovatika, Birgunj, says that Chhath festival also increases socialization and family unity in Tarai Madhes. ‘When people who have been away from home for a long time due to employment and other purposes return home, an atmosphere of meeting and intimacy naturally develops in the family and society,’ he said. ‘On the other hand, it also increases activity and economic activity.’
Social activist Prakash Tharu says that this festival also increases social unity and harmony. ‘Locals work together to build and decorate ghats in Toltol,’ he said. ‘This plays a role in making locals social beings.’ He said that since not only the rising but also the setting sun is worshipped in this festival, Chhath festival is also an exemplary festival to respect power not only in its strong state but also in its weak state.
On Monday evening and Tuesday morning, Chhath devotees will offer prayers to the setting sun by placing coconuts and other puja items on bamboo poles. Which are called ‘Sajiyaghat’ and ‘Bihaniyaghat’ respectively. On Sunday, under the ‘Kharna’ method The devotees who eat ‘Rasyau Roti’ i.e. kheer (rasyau) cooked with milk and honey and roti/puri will observe a fast without water all day on Monday.
It is customary in the Terai to observe Chhath festival twice a year, in Kartiki and Chaite. Some devotees observe only Kartiki Chhath. Some observe both and some observe Chaite Chhath only after fulfilling their vows.
On the day of the festival, the devotees and all their family members will reach the attractive Chhathi Ghat built on a pond, river, lake, etc. near their homes in the evening and morning. The family members of the devotees, dressed in new clothes, will carry the basket of the devotee’s puja items on their heads and take them to the Ghat.
It is believed that the wishes of the devotees who observe Chhath fast will be fulfilled. In particular, the wishes for the cure of skin diseases and the birth of children for themselves and their family members are also fulfilled. It is customary to observe this fast with a wish. In this festival of sun worship, coconut, ginger, sugarcane and the obligatory prasad of this festival, Thekuwa, etc. are offered to the sun.
In the past few years, Chhath festival has been celebrated with great pomp not only in Tarai Madhes but also in the hilly and mountainous districts and the federal capital Kathmandu. Tarai Madhes people living abroad and unable to return for this festival also celebrate this festival with reverence there.
