Vinayaka Chaturthi, also known as Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Ganesha, also known as Ganesh.
But what is the history of this festival and how is it celebrated? Here’s what you need to know.
When is Vinayaka Chaturthi?
The festival starts on August 31, 2022 and lasts for 10 days.
The festival will end on September 9, 2022.
The starting date of the celebration is on the fourth day of the month of Bhadrapada, which falls in the sixth month of the Hindu calendar.
In the Gregorian calendar, this event falls between mid-August and mid-September.
In Goa, Vinayaka Chaturthi is known as Chavath or Parva, meaning auspicious festival, and begins in the third lunar month of Bhadrapada.
What is the story behind Vinayaka Chaturthi?
Ganesh is the much-loved elephant-headed deity who is the God of prosperity, good fortune and wisdom. Ganesha is also the Lord of new beginnings and the remover of obstacles.
However, it is not known when and how the festival was first celebrated, but it has been celebrated publicly in Pune since the era of King Shivaji (1630-1680).
After the beginning of the British Raj, the festival lost state patronage and became a private celebration.
But the festival was revived by Indian nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak after the British banned political assemblies in 1893.
The festival is now celebrated all over India.
The festival is also celebrated internationally, with events being observed in Australia, New Zealand, Canada Singapore, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean, South Africa, the United States and Europe.
How is Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrated?
The festival is marked by Hindus installing murtis (idols or statues) privately in homes and on stages.
Often, chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts such as prayers are offered and sweets, such as modaka – believed to be God’s favorite – are distributed to the community.
Modakas are sweet noodles. The steamed sweet is made with rice flour and the filling usually consists of a mixture of coconut, jaggery and saffron.
Often statues of Lord Ganesha, which range from less than an inch tall to dozens of feet tall, are made in the months leading up to the festival.
A day before the festival, a priest performs a Prana Pratishtha to invite Ganesha as a guest, which is followed by a 16-step Shodashopachara ritual where coconuts, jaggery, modaks, durva grass and red hibiscus flowers are offered to the idol.
On the last day of the festival, the idols are taken out in a public procession with music and singing and then immersed in a body of water. The clay idol disintegrates and Lord Ganesha is believed to return to his heavenly abode.
During the days of the festival, there will be many public activities, such as local communities competing to place the largest statue, singing, art presentations and yoga demonstrations, as well as community services including free medical check-ups and blood donation.
The traditional food made for the occasion includes puran poli, a bread stuffed full of chana dal, sugar and nutmeg.
