What is Chhath?
छठ
Chhath is the four-day festival of the Sun from the Madhesh and Mithila: fasting, and offerings to the setting and rising sun from the water's edge.
What Chhath is
Chhath is a festival of the Sun god, Surya, and of Chhathi Maiya. It comes from the Mithila region and is kept most widely in Nepal's Madhesh and in Bihar in India, and it is now marked in Kathmandu and wherever families from the Terai have settled.
It is known for its discipline. The people who keep the fast, called vrati, are most often women, though men keep it too. There are no priests needed: the offering is made directly to the Sun.
The four days
Day one, Nahay Khay: the vrati bathes, the house is cleaned, and a simple pure meal is cooked and eaten.
Day two, Kharna: the vrati fasts through the day and breaks it in the evening with kheer made with jaggery, and roti, shared with family. After this the main fast begins, usually without food or water, until the last morning.
Day three, the evening arghya: families walk to a river, pond or lake. Standing in the water, the vrati offers arghya to the setting sun, holding up a bamboo basket of fruit, sugarcane and thekua, a sweet fried wheat cake.
Day four, the morning arghya: before dawn, everyone returns to the water and the offering is made to the rising sun. The fast is broken afterwards and prasad is shared.
Chhath away from home
Chhath needs open water facing the sunset and sunrise, so families abroad gather at lakes, beaches and reservoirs, or build a small pool where open water is not allowed. If you are joining for the first time, arrive before sunset, dress modestly, and follow the lead of the vrati: the day belongs to them.
Common questions
- Chhath kahile ho? When is Chhath 2026?
- Chhath follows the lunar calendar and usually falls about six days after Laxmi Puja in Tihar, between late October and November. The exact days are confirmed each year from the Nepal government calendar.
- What is arghya?
- Arghya is the offering made to the Sun. On Chhath the vrati stands in water and offers it at sunset on the third day and at sunrise on the fourth.
- What is thekua?
- Thekua is a sweet wheat cake, usually made with jaggery and fried in ghee, offered to the Sun during Chhath and shared as prasad afterwards.
- Who keeps the Chhath fast?
- The vrati, most often women and sometimes men. Family and neighbours help carry the offerings and join at the water.