Ganesh Chaturthi: A Festival Of God Ganesha

By Author: Karann Negi
Total Articles: 17
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Ganesh Chaturthi is the celebration of the birth of lord Ganesh. This was the day when, according to the mythology of India, lord Ganesha was created from the dirt of Parvati’s body to guard her bathing place. Lord Ganesha was given the elephant head by lord Shiva on this very day too. The birthday of lord Ganesha is celebrated by millions of Hindus, especially by the people of Maharashtra, where Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the largest festivals of the year. They celebrate it for 10 days. The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated generally in mid August all over the country and other parts of the world by Hindus.

A large statue of lord Ganesha is made to celebrate the day with rituals. The process of making the life like statue starts months ago so that the statue is prepared in time. There are lord Ganesha statues available which are almost 25 feet large, and these are used by many people who celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi together in their locality. The Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival which is not only celebrated in homes and temples, but the rituals are celebrated all over the country in clubs or in common parks. The ...
... home owners or the community Ganesh Chaturthi organizers decorate the place where the statue will be kept.

On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, the large statue of lord Ganesha is placed on a higher place where everyone can see it. The devotees gather around the area to show their love, respect and devotion to the god. They pay tributes to lord Ganesha and pray for their and their loved ones. There is need for a priest for the Ganesh Chaturthi rituals to be completed successfully. Mass chanting, lead by the priest, is an important part of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Many different foods, sweets and flowers are offered to the lord on this day with prayers. This is the heart of the festival.

The celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi go on for 10 days, with prayers, rituals, music and dancing. At the end of the 10 days, on the 11th day, long processions of devotees go out in the street. They carry the large statues of lord Ganesha, or his pictures, on their shoulder. They dance and sing through their way towards the holly river, where they immerse the statues and images of the lord, which symbolizes the journey of lord Ganesha towards his home. The grace of the Ganesh Chaturthi is then celebrated with food and sweets, and the devotees go back to their home once the statues are submerged in the water.

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with many entertainments too. People gather in large tents where they perform drama, dance, music and other different shows. Many auspicious shows and movies about lord Ganesha are shown on large screen for the masses to take part in the celebrations together. This way all the devotees make their prayers stronger by sharing the wishes and singing aarties together to lord Ganesha.

The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is the birthday of Lord Ganesha, is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada. Today the birthday of this Elephant-faced Hindu god is celebrated in most of the countries. The Ganesha festival symbolizes unity, the Festival ends with the immersion (Visarjan) of the idol on Ananta Chaturdasi day.