Chhat Puja Argh 03 | छठ पुजा |

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Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival native to the Indian subcontinent, more specifically, the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand and the Nepalese Autonomous provinces of Koshi, Madhesh, and Lumbini. Prayers during Chhath puja are dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, to show gratitude for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and to request that certain wishes be granted.
Chhathi Maiya, the sixth form of Prakrti and Surya's sister is worshipped during the festival. It is celebrated six days after Deepavali, or Tihar, on the sixth day of the lunar month of Kartika (October-November) in the Hindu calendar Vikram Samvat, and is hence also called also called Surya Shashti Vrata. The rituals are observed over four days. They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water (vrata), standing in water, and offering prasada (prayer offerings) and arghya to the setting and rising sun. Some devotees also perform a prostration march as they head for the river banks.
Environmentalists have claimed that the festival of Chhath is one of the most eco-friendly religious festivals in the World. All devotees prepare similar prasada (religious food) and offerings. Although the festival is observed most widely in Nepal and the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, it is also prevalent in areas where the diaspora and migrants from those areas have a presence. It is celebrated in all northern regions and major north Indian urban centers like Delhi. Hundreds of thousands of people celebrate it in Mumbai and Kathmandu Valley.