Karva Chauth is a one-day festival celebrated by married Hindu women in Northern and Western India in October or November on the Hindu lunar month of Kartika. The festival is based on the lunisolar calendar which accounts for all astronomical positions, especially positions of the moon which is used as a marker to calculate important dates. The festival is celebrated by married women and unmarried women who observe a fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. The fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, and is celebrated as Atla Tadde in Andhra Pradesh. The word Karva Chauth is made up of two words, ‘Karva,’ which means an earthen pot with a spout and ‘Chauth’ which means fourth. The earthen pot is of great significance as it is used by the women to offer water to the moon as part of the festival rituals. The festival is said to have originated when women started praying for the safe return of their husbands who went to fight wars in far-off lands.

The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and preparations start early in the morning where married women wake up before the sun rises and get ready. A night before Karva Chauth, the woman’s mother sends Bayaa which consists of clothes, coconut, sweets, fruits, and sindoor (vermillion) for her daughter and gifts for the mother-in-law. The daughter-in-law is then supposed to eat the Sargi (a meal consumed before sunrise on the day of Karva Chauth) given to her by her mother-in-law. In the evening, women dress up in traditional attire and apply henna on their hands. They then gather together and listen to the Karva Chauth story, which is usually heard by women observing the fast. After the moon rises, women offer water to the moon using an earthen pot known as Karva and then break their fast by drinking water from their husbands hands.

Karva Chauth is celebrated with the belief that it emulates Goddess Parvati, who observed a fast to obtain Lord Shiva as her husband. Married women keep the fast to ensure the longevity of their husbands and an enduring marriage[[4]](https:/...