Day 1: Nahay Khay The four-day long Chhath Puja festival has started from today. Today is the first day of this great festival which is called Nahay Khay. According to Hindu Panchang, the fast will concluded by offering Arghya to the rising Sun on Saptami Tithi, that is November 20, 2023. In this great festival of faith, women observe Nirjala fast with wishes for the happiness of their children, their long life and bright future. Nahay Khay means eating food after taking bath. Eating pumpkin-rice i.e. rice has special significance on this day.Tradition of Nahay-KhayThe tradition of Nahay-Khay is performed on the fourth day of Diwali i.e. Chaturthi Tithi of Shukla Paksha of Kartik Maas. Though people follow rituals as per their own family traditions but there are some special customs have to be followed on this day. This time Chhath Puja will start from November 17, 2023. On this day, people clean and purify the house. After this, Chhath vrati starts the fast by taking a bath and eating pure vegetarian food. In Nahay Khay, all the family members including the fasting person consume pumpkin vegetable, gram dal, radish etc. along with rice. The rest of the family members take food only after the fasting person has finished eating.According to Drik Panchang, the sunrise will happen at 6:45 AM on November 17 and the sunset will start at 17:47 PM on November 17.Rules of Nahay KhayOn the day of Nahay Khay, the fasting person should clean the entire house thoroughly, because purity has special importance in this festival. Besides, there is a provision for the fasting people to take bath in the holy river or pond. On this day, fasting people take food only once. Food containing salt (Sendha Namak) on the first day is prepared with cleanliness and purity. Other people in the family who do not observe fast also need to ensure that they consume only Satvik food.This is how Nahay Khay beginsOn this day Chhathavrati starts her fast by taking a bath and eating pure vegetarian food. In Nahay Khay, all the family members including the fasting person consume pumpkin vegetable, gram dal, radish etc. along with rice. The rest of the family members take food only after the fasting person has finished eating.Special importance of eating pumpkin and rice todayPumpkin vegetable is considered completely Satvik. Therefore, Chhath Puja fast is started by eating this. It is believed that eating it increases the transmission of positive energy. From health point of view, pumpkin is an easily digestible vegetable. This is the reason why Chhath fasting people consume pumpkin today.(Disclaimer: This information has been collected from various mediums like astrologers, almanacs, beliefs or religious scriptures and has been presented to you. Please consult experts while making related decisions. TopIndianNews does not hold accountability for this information.)
