Madhes Province CM Raut offers greetings on Teej, Chauth Chandra festivals

Janakpurdham: Chief Minister of Madhes Province Lal Babu Raut has offered best wishes to all Nepali brothers and sisters at home and abroad on the occasion of the Chauth Chandra and Haritalika festivals.

May these festivals bring happiness, peace and prosperity to all Nepali people across the country and the province, he said in a message of greetings today.

The Chauth Chandra festival also known as Chauthchan is celebrated in the Mithila region with high reverence and as per time-honoured tradition.

Especially the Madhesi and the Tharu communities of the Mithila region observe the festival with special significance. The festival is celebrated on the fourth day of the bright half of the month of Bhadau.

On this day, a woman member of the family observing the festival stays on a day-long fast. The woman observing the fasting offers the ritual worship to the Ganesha and the Moon in the evening, said Karuna Jha, a Maithili campaigner.

The festival is concluded with the fasting woman daubing the house courtyard with cow dung paste after sunset and lighting a butter lamp at the altar of the anointed place. The woman shows fruits and cookies to the Moon as an offering. The ritual is concluded after this.

The offerings made to the Moon-god are then distributed to all the other family members. The Chandra Chauth festival usually falls 12 days after the Krishna Janmashtami festival.

This is the second biggest festival celebrated in the Mithila region after Chhath. It is also known as Chaurchan, Chauthichan, Chaurchantha and Chauthi Chandra. It is majorly dedicated to the Moon god.

This festival also has helped highlight the Maithil art and culture.