Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to honor Lord Ganesha. The festival falls in the
Hindu month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the
waxing moon period). This corresponds to the month of August - September,
according to the Gregorian calendar. It is believed Lord Ganesha, the Hindu
elephant-deity, should be worshipped first. By doing so, all the obstacles are
banished, whenever one commences something fresh and new. Therefore, people head
towards Lord Ganesha temple to worship the deity, whenever they are about to
undertake any new thing, say a project, business or education.
Ganesh Chaturthi commemorates the God, who is known by as many as 108 different
names some of the popular names of Lord Ganesha are 'Gajanana' (Elephant faced
deity), 'Ganapati' (Lord of All Ganas), 'Vinayak' (Lord of all). The festival is
also called Vinayaka Chaturthi. It is believed that on the day, Lord Ganesha
bestows his presence on earth to bless his devotees. The festival is celebrated
with great fanfare and religious observance. People celebrated the birthday of
Lord Ganesha (Ganesha Chaturthi) by dedicating the entire day to the worship of
the deity.
Artistically sculpted oversized idols of Lord Ganesha are made out of clay, mud
or Plaster of Paris especially for Vinayaka Chaturthi, few months prior to the
festival. Huge puja pandals (canopy) are raised to offer prayers. The idol is
taken out on a procession during the day, amidst a long congregation of
devotees. The devotees dance to the tune of traditional drums and sing Lord
Ganesha, while they take their deity on the procession. This may take almost a
couple of hours, because the idol is taken to almost every street of the city,
where the puja pandal is set up.
The idol of Lord Ganesha is installed at the pandal in the evening, when prayers
are offered by the devotees. Bhajans are sung either by a professional troupe of
musicians or by the devotees themselves. The puja culminates by an extensive
aarti and feasting. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with great enthusiasm across
different parts of the country. It is one of the very important festivals in
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh. Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest festival for the
Konkanis in Goa. People observe fast for the entire day and break it only after
offering puja to the deity, in the evening.
Ganesh Chaturthi In 2009
In 2009, Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on 23rd August.
Ganesh Chaturthi Dates
2010 - Saturday, 11th of September
2011 - Thursday, 1st of September
2012 - Wednesday, 19th of September
2013 - Monday, 9th of September
2014 - Friday, 29th of August
2015 - Thursday, 17th of September |
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