Shemrock Blog

Chhat Festival is mainly a festival celebrated in Bihar twice a year – once, in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winter (September-November) around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath.

This is a ritual bathing festival which is celebrated for 3 days. During this period, the worshiper observes ritual purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket. Once they decide to do it, it becomes their duty to perform it every year. In Hindu religion, sun is worshipped as a god and in Chath, the Sun God and the rivers are worshipped.

On the eve of Chhath, houses and surroundings are cleaned. One the first day of the festival, the worshiper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. This day is called Naha-Kha (which means ‘Bathe and eat’!). The worshiper allows herself/himself only one meal on this day.

On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after Sun down. On this day also, the worshiper eats his/her only meal from the offerings (Prashad) made to the Sun God in this ritual. Friends and family are invited to the household on this day to share the Prashad of the ritual.

On the third day and main day devotees go to the rivers and ponds, singing folk and devotional songs and offering prayers to the rising sun. The same day the devotees also offer prayers to the setting sun.

All city schools will now start their nursery admission after December 15 according to Directorate of Education. The Education Director has stipulated that the admission schedule will have to start from Dec 15 to 31. But some schools in the Capital have already announced the dates for sale of forms. As per the court orders, the schools are free to decide the dates for sale of forms, provided the DOE has no objection to it. But, no school shall start their admission procedure before December 15.

The guidelines for nursery admissions will be finalized in a week and circulars will be sent to the schools soon afterwards. While the schools are within their rights to follow their own admission schedule, they are required to intimate the DOE, in case they plan to deviate from the said set of guidelines. DOE will issue more directives about admissions in early next week. All this is done to ensure the convenience of the parents regarding the admission process, as DOE feels that the parents will benefit more, if all schools issue forms within the same timeframe.