HAPPY KARVACHAUTH 2016

Karva Chauth is a one-day festival celebrated by Indian women in many countries in which married women fast from sunrise to moon rise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.The fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan parts of uttarpradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon in the Hindu lunisolar calendar  month of Kartik.Sometimes, unmarried women join the fast for their fiances or desired husband.



Women begin preparing for Karva Chauth a few days in advance, by buying cosmetics (shringar), traditional adornments or jewelry, and puja items, such as the Karva lamps, matthi, henna and the decorated puja thali(plate).Local markets take on a festive look as shopkeepers put their Karva Chauth related products on display.On the day of the fast, women from Punjab awake to eat and drink just before sunrise. In Uttar Pradesh, celebrants eat soot feni with milk in sugar on the eve of the festival. It is said that this helps them go without water the next day. In Punjab, sargi (ਸਰਗੀ) is an important part of this pre-dawn meal and always includes fenia. It is traditional for the sargi to be sent or given to the woman by her mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law lives with the woman, the pre-dawn meal is prepared by the mother-in-law.

The fast begins with dawn. Fasting women do not eat during the day. In traditional observances of the fast, the fasting woman does no housework.In the evening, a community women-only ceremony is held. Participants dress in fine clothing and wear jewellery.The fasters sit in a circle with their puja thalis. Depending on region and community, a version of the story of Karva Chauth is narrated, with regular pauses. The storyteller is usually an older woman or a priest.

For the first six feris they sing

“

...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri naa, Kumbh chrakhra feri naa, Aar pair payeen naa, Ruthda maniyen naa, Suthra jagayeen naa, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara...

”

For the seventh feri, they sing

“

...Veero kudiye Karvara, Sarv suhagan Karvara, Aye katti naya teri nee, Kumbh chrakhra feri bhee, Aar pair payeen bhee, Ruthda maniyen bhee, Suthra jagayeen bhee, Ve veero kuriye Karvara, Ve sarv suhagan Karvara... The women await the rising of the moon. Once the moon is visible, depending on the region and community, it is customary for a fasting woman, with her husband nearby, to view its reflection in a vessel filled with water, through a seive, or through the cloth of a dupatta. Water is offered( ark) to the moon to secure its blessings. She then turns to her husband and views his face indirectly in the same manner. In some regions, the woman says a brief prayer asking for her husband's life. It is believed that at this stage, spiritually strengthened by her fast, the woman can successfully confront and defeat death (personified by Yum). The husband now takes the water from the thali and gives his wife her first sip and feeds her with the first morsel of the day (usually something sweet). The fast is now broken, and the woman has a complete meal.                                            HAPPY KARVACHAUTH Source- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karva_Chauth