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Celebrating Four-day Chhatha Festival In Nepal
By KTM Metro Reporter
November 17, 2012: the Hindu Madheshi community celebrates the four-day Chhatha festival revering the Sun God believing the god helps them to prosper and to be free from any ailments and even grant children to the childless couples. So, the festival is socially, culturally and religiously important to the people of the Madheshi community. Recently, people of some other communities also have started off participating in the festival. The Madhehis community is one of the largest communities in Nepal.
Festival revelers either go early in the morning or pitch a camp on a riverbank or any other water sources one day before, then they spread out the items of offerings to be made to the Sun God, and wait for the Sun to come out of the horizon. As soon as the Sun rises, devotees collect the items of offerings on wicker baskets and hold the wicker basket by two hands, and then go into the water, and submerging their bodies even up to the chest level, and hold the wicker baskets with items of offerings above their heads and speak out some prayers. Some devotees remain in the water for hours.
The final day of the festival is for making offerings to the setting Sun God that is believed to be different deity from the rising Sun God. Devotees with all the items of offerings go to the riverbanks or any other water sources in the afternoon, and spread out the items of offerings on the bank or at other water source. When the Sun is about to set, then the devotees with the items of offerings in wicker baskets go into the water and submerging their bodies up to the chest at the maximum, and hold the wicker baskets with items of offerings above their heads and make offerings. Devotees remain fasting until they complete the offerings to the Sun, as eating and drinking defile the bodies according to the Hindu belief.
