Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: Details about the history, significance & celebration

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the grandest and most celebrated festivals in India. It marks the birth of Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is the god of new beginnings and a fresh start. This year, Ganesh Chaturthi 2020 will be celebrated on August 22, 2020. On the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, here is everything you need to know about the festival.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2020

Ganesh Chaturthi history

Legend has it that Goddess Parvati made baby Ganesha using sandalwood paste and asked him to guard the entrance as she took a bath. When Lord Shiva wanted to enter Ganesha did not allow him to pass. Furious at this, Lord Shiva severed the child’s head. When goddess Parvati got to know about this, she was heartbroken.

Lord Shiva promised her that he would bring back Ganesha to life. Lord Shiva then instructed his followers known as Ganas to search for the head of the first living creature so that he could replace it on Ganesha’s body. The Ganas could only find a baby elephant’s head. This is how Lord Ganesha as we know him took birth. Lord Shiva named him the leader of the Ganas, Ganapati.

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Ganesh Chaturthi celebration

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with great joy all over India and also in various parts of the world. People celebrate the festival by bringing clay idols of Lord Ganesha home and also in public on elaborate pandals. The festival begins on Ganesh Chaturthi with Pranapratishhtha which includes chanting of Mantras to mark the arrival of Lord Ganesha.

During the festival which is majorly observed as 10 days, long festivities consist of prayers and offerings which are known to be loved by Lord Ganesha. Some of the offerings include model, shrikhand, payasam, coconut rice, motichoor laddoo and other sweets.

The murti is usually worshipped in the morning and evening with traditional offerings of flowers, durva and other sweets. The worshipping ends for the day with Aarti for Lord Ganesha and other Hindu gods. On the 11th day after the Ganesh Chaturthi, i.e. on Anant Chaturdashi. The clay idol is immersed in water which marks the ending of the festival. After the immersion Lord Ganesh is believed to go back to Mount Kailash to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva.

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Ganesh Chaturthi significance

The festival holds great significance in Hindu mythology and also in India’s freedom struggle. Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak made a public appeal in the late 19th century to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi publicly. This was done as a mean of a gathering of Indians in British occupied India.

Currently, the festival is celebrated all over India especially in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and people visit their friends and family’s house to pay their respects and pray to Lord Ganesha. The celebration and festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi 2020 might be different this year due to the pandemic situation in India and all over the world.

Image Credits and promo image credits: Unsplash