Hundreds of Thousands Mark Start of Four-Day Chhath Festival Across India

The four-day Chhath Puja festival, dedicated to the worship of the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya, began with the 'Nahay-Khay' ritual, where devotees perform purification rites and prepare vegetarian meals. The festival involves fasting, offering prayers at water bodies, and sharing prasad, fostering community harmony and spiritual renewal. In Delhi, over 1,000 ghats have been set up to facilitate celebrations, with a public holiday declared on October 27 to mark the occasion. Local leaders including Delhi's Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami extended festive greetings, emphasizing the festival's cultural, religious, and unifying significance. The festival is widely observed with devotees bathing in rivers like the Yamuna despite pollution, reflecting deep reverence for the Sun God and nature. The celebrations showcase a blend of devotion, tradition, and communal participation across various Indian states.