Source::Rss
Bertalu observed the Chhath festival this year by worshiping the sun when he rose in the morning on the day of Saptami. Bertalu has been fasting since completing the ‘Kharna’ ritual on Tuesday night on the day of Panchami Tithi. In Chhath, Shashti Tithi is a day of fasting.
This morning, the sun rose in the Mithila region around 6:14 am. Sunrise in Mithila is determined on the basis of Mithila Panchang and Vidyapati Panchang. However, since the weather was clear in the Mithila region this morning, Bertalu of Chhath completed the festival with a sigh of relief after seeing the dazzling sun. Earlier, Bertalu used to wade three times in waist-deep water an hour before sunrise and chanted for the sun to appear soon.
On the day of Panchami, Bertalu, who was fasting all day, only ate kheer cooked in Sakkhar at night. Bertalu performed the ‘Bhorka Arakh’ this morning, after fasting for about 36 hours consecutively since the ‘Kharna’ ritual of Panchami. The Chhath festival ends with the performance of ‘Bhorka Arakh’. This time last Friday, Kartik Shukla Tritiya and Fourth fell on the same day. On the same day, Bertalu decided to fast and started the festival with the ‘Arabarabine’ and ‘Nahay-Khay’ methods.
Similarly, on Chhath, Bertalu performed ‘Kharna’ on the fifth day of Panchami and ‘Sajhuka Arakh’ on the day of Shashti Tithi by offering the first aghra to the sun at sunset in the middle of fasting on Sunday. Bertalu returned home from Chhathi Ghat with his followers after completing the festival of Surya Upasana this morning. As soon as the festival is over, the process of eating/giving prasad from house to house has started.
In Mithila, there is a Maithil tradition of sending Thakuwa (a sweet dish made from wheat flour and cooked in ghee), which is considered Chhath prasad, to the house of married daughters/daughters (daughters, sisters, phupu), mit/mitini and other loved ones. In Mithila, this process, which lasts for more than two weeks, is called ‘Chhatke Sanes’ (Chhatko Koseli). Although the koseli sent in this way is freshly cooked, some of the ingredients shown to Surya on Chhath are mixed to make 'Sanes'.
Chhath, which was considered to be the main festival of the Mithila region only a few decades ago, has now become a national festival in the context of Nepal. Chhath has been celebrated in various places including Kathmandu, the capital of the country, and Pokhara, the capital of Gandaki province, for the past few years. With the cultural mix of hills and Madhes, not only the Chhath festival but many other festivals are becoming common. Maithil intellectuals say that this has helped to strengthen the feeling of national unity._Rss
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