Day When Married Women Fast

KARVA CHAUTH 2016 DAY WHEN MARRIED WOMEN FAST FOR THEIR HUSBANDS

Karva Chauth is a festival where married Hindu women fast between sunrise and moonrise. Traditionally doing so is said to give their husbands longevity and safety.

Sometimes, women who aren’t married but wish to give good fortune to their fiances or desired husbands also take part in the one-day fast.

One theory as to why the day is believed to have been started, is by women whose husbands had to leave them for long periods of time to fight against Mughal invaders in the northwest of India. While away, the women would pray for the safe return of their husbands by preparing special meals and dressing up in their finest clothes as if about to have a romantic evening with their partner.

Another theory is that it began as a prayer wishing for a good harvest, as the day of the fast coincides with the day wheat should start being sown. Karva Chauth is typically celebrated in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Utar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab (and now all over the whole), which were heavily reliant on a good wheat crop.

Karva actually stands for ‘pot’ and Chauth means ‘fourth’.

Karva is believed to symbolise the large earthen pots used to store wheat and the Chauth marks the date the festival starts – on the fourth day of the month of Kartik.

As well as fasting, married women will exchange clay pots with friends that they will have painted with beautiful designs and filled with sweets, make-up, clothes, bangles and ribbons beforehand.

Women typically wear beautiful saris in red, gold and orange and apply henna during Karva Chauth and pre-dawn meals are often offered by mother-in-laws.

In some areas milk in sugar is drank the evening before the festival and a dish called ‘Fenia’ is usually served during this time too.

Women taking part in Karva Chauth are not allowed to do any housework on that day either.

SOURCE: goo.gl/oLHGtS

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