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       Happy Durga Puja to MyEC friends!

Durga Puja

Durga Puja is an annual Bengali festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga.It includes the worships of Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kartikeya and Mahishasura also. Modern tradition have come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically depicted idols of Durga exchange of Bijoya Greetings and publication of Puja Annuals.

The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding the festival is called Debi Pokkho. Debi Pokkho is preceded by Mahalaya and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja.Durga Puja is widely celebrated in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. Not only it is the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from Eastern part of India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh. Nowadays, many non-residential Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in the countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Kuwait etc.

Nine days worship in this Puja is called Navaratri.

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped.The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dussehra.


In the 9 nights of Navratris:
the first 3 are dedicated to mother Durga (consort of the anhilator Lord Shiva) as shakti herself is life giving thru health-and-strength;

the next 3 are dedicated to mother Laxmi (consort of the preserver Lord Vishnu) as the provider
of riches for once we have strength we need material wealth;

and the last 3 are dedicated to mother Saraswati (consort of the creator Lord Brahma) as the provider of wisdom to use the strength and the wealth wisely for the benefit of all.

This year: 28 September  to  6 October

I have taken some information from internet here. For more information in details you could visit links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durgapuja

http://www.durga-puja.org/

Durga Puja FAQ