In 2025, Chhath Puja festivities will run from October 25 to October 28. (Image: File)
The timings for sunrise (Usha Arghya) in Chapra on the final day, October 28, will be at 6:13 a.m.., with the paran (breaking of the fast) occurring shortly after.
The four-day Chhath Puja celebration adheres to a rigorous and devout set of customs:
Ritual: Devotees begin with a holy bath in a sacred river, like the Ganga.
Food: Devotees eat one vegetarian meal as prasad. Bottle gourd is an important dish for the day and is cooked without garlic or onions.
Ritual: A complete fast is observed all day, without even drinking water.
Food: After sunset, the fast is broken with jaggery kheer, roti, and fruits.
Ritual: The 36-hour fast continues. Devotees stand waist-deep in a river, pond, or lake to offer arghya and prayers to the setting sun.
Offerings: Arghya is given using a bamboo basket (soop) filled with thekua, sugarcane, and fruits.
Ritual: Devotees congregate near the riverbed once again before sunrise to present arghya to the rising sun.
The traditionality claims that the Puja Vidhi for Chhath Puja is a rigorous four-day process. The purification ritual includes bathing, strict fasting, and the basic offerings of Usha Arghya (morning offering to the rising sun) and Sandhya Arghya (evening offering to the setting sun), which are made while standing in water.
Paran is the final and concluding ritual of the Chhath festival. It is the act of breaking the 36-hour-long, waterless fast (nirjala vrat) after offering the morning prayers (Usha Arghya) to the rising sun on the fourth day. The fast is broken by consuming the sacred prasad and water.
The Paran for Chhath Puja in 2025 will take place on Tuesday, October 28, after sunrise.
