So we have all seen it in movies, when the actress pulls out a sieve and sees the moon from it and then the actor. But what is the relevance of this ritual? What does it signify? How do they actually celebrate it? Ever had these question? Well, we are here to answer all of these.
What Is Karva Chauth?
It is a hindu festival where married women fast from sunrise till moon rise and pray for their husbands long life. It is a popular festival in north India and even followed by young girls for getting an ideal mate. This festival is extremely popular because it is shown in a lot of Hindi movies.
Why Is It Called Karva Chauth?
The word karva stand for earthen pots which were commonly used to store wheat. And Chauth means the fourth day, Also called Chaturthi of the krishna Paksha in the hindu kartik month. Women buy these karvas and fill them up with grains, sweets and signs of Suhaag. They later exchange it with women and pray to goddess for the long life, safety and good health of their husbands.
How Is Karva Chauth Celebrated?
The festival involves for a women to first wake up before sunrise and eat a mean prepared by her mother in law, this meal is called as sargi, post that she fasts throughout the day and night until the moon rises. After the moon rises she sees the moon through the sieve first and then her husbands face through the same sieve. After which she breaks her fast by drinking water. Indian women get all prettied up and celebrate it with great joy.
Why Do They Look Through The Sieve?
In the hindu religion elders are respected revered a lot. The young members of the family and women folks don’t look directly at them as a sign of respect, So for the sake of respect women wore veils for ages to show their respect called as the Ghunghat or Purdaah.
On the day of Karva Chauth festival, women are decked up as brides, the young decked up bride should not be allowed to look at her elders. On this day the moon is said to be a form of Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha. So, to keep that purdah, the sieve acts as a symbolic veil and keeps the ritual intact
With the karva chauth approaching soon, women have already started preparing for the coming festival. With colourful outfits and decorated sieves. This year Karva Chauth will be celebrated on the 8th of october 2017. And with better knowledge about this interesting Karva chauth ritual, we hope you have a good time this karva chauth.
