Karwa Chauth 2022: Punjab to Jammu how it is celebrated across India
Karwa Chauth holds special importance in the lives of married women, especially the newly wedded ones. On this day, women keep a day-long fast for their husbands and break it in the evening. They dress up like a newly married bride, mostly wearing traditional red attires and donning their hands with henna. This year, Karwa Chauth will be celebrated in India on October 13. While it is celebrated mainly in North India, the festivities differ a little in every state. Here is a low down on how women observe the Karwa Chauth fast as per different rituals and traditions across several states of India.
FollowIndian women have started preparing for the celebrations of Karwa Chauth, which will be on October 13 this year. Most women in the Northern and Western parts of India celebrate this Hindu festival, where they fast for an entire day for their husbands' longevity, safety, and prosperity. These days many men also fast for the longevity of their wives. The date of this festival is decided according to the lunisolar calendar. Karwa Chaur is celebrated across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, among many others. There is a slight difference in how this festival is celebrated across the states of India.
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Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh:Â In the state of Punjab, the mothers of the married women send her Bayaa the night before, and the Bayaa is filled with some coconut, clothes, sindoor, fruits and sweets. The married woman have to eat Sargi, or the food that her mother-in-law prepares, before sunrise. While breaking the fast, the married woman are supposed to look at the moon through a sieve (channi). Then their husbands feed them some sweets and lassi, breaking the fast. In many Punjab and Himachal Pradesh households, unmarried women do the Karwa Chauth vrath. These unmarried women celebrate Karwa Chaut to please Lord Shiva, and instead of looking at the moon like the married women, these young girls break their fast by looking at the North Star.
Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh:Â The overall enthusiasm for Karwa Chauth is the same. However, there is a difference in the food eaten on this day. Here the Sargi of women consists of vermicelli made with sweet milk, dry fruits, and sweets. Married women in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi apply mehndi on their hand and receive traditional gifts such as anklets, vermillion, Alta (red paint), toe rings, and other things that make the marital status of the women. Married women also gather together and exchange karwas (earthen pots) seven times. In Rajasthan, the older women in families tell stories about the festival to the younger women.Â
Jammu:Â In Jammu, married women add wheat grains to their karwas and offer water to the moon. They also pray for an excellent rabi season (winter crops). Before the moonrise, women dress like new brides and gather in groups to exchange stories and the festival's significance.
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