Chhath Puja Songs and Rituals : In truth, this is the holiest among all; perhaps no other can compare to it. Its celebration takes place with utmost formality in places like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and some other neighboring parts because it has the strongest association of a human with Nature. Everything seems to abound in grace: songs flow, prayers rise, and rituals accompany Chhath Puja, while the ambiance falls in rhythm with hope and tranquility. Each year, as the Sun fades into dusk, sunrise emerges from the ghats, mottled with colorful folk songs reverberating from the hearts of devotees to train them in matters of piety, patience, and innocence.
Traditional Songs
Chhath Puja songs are nothing less than dances: soul-stirring songs, graceful in the eyes of the viewer as they make their appeal during the occasion. Quite simply, they are considered the prayers of mothers and grandmothers before the Sun God, rivers, and blessings for the family, sung by women as they prepared prasada or performed puja for the loved ones. These songs speak easily to the minds of all persons, young and old, and convey meanings that transcend time. “Kaanch Hi Baans Ke Bahangiya” and “Uga Ho Suraj Dev” would be heard traveling through the walls around their houses and ghats. The songs comprise deep faith passed over from one generation to another, and in singing together, they create a magical ambience. Even today, the songs are sung in families so that the tradition continues forever and with its purity.
Ritual Significance
Thus, outwardly, Chhath Puja unrolls in four days, with each day loaded with its own beauty, especially. Nahay Khay is the very first day, the very day to welcome all kinds of cleanliness; that is, people bathe in holy waters and take just one meal in utter hygiene. This is the second day, Kharna-in which one averts from eating and prepares jaggery kheer for the deity together with roti and severed fruits.
The third and most significant day is Sandhya Arghya, during which the prayers to the setting sun are commanded, with devotees standing knee-deep in water offering full baskets of fruits, diyas, and so on. Sunrise Arghya is the last day and a morning ritual in praise of the rising sun as an exhibit of thanks and new hope. All such considerations observe that every observance must be conducted with utmost discipline and devotion, that they signify fasts, cleanliness, and silence in prayer.
Divine Connection
The atmosphere that, without distinction, must surely have been created- in musical syncopations, flickering diyas’ glow, fragrant smoke of incense enveloping the brightness-all conjured together within the air, such divinity as the devotees sing along, and join their hearts in folded-hand recitation. It would simply not be a demand, but an abject thankfulness from the bottom of their hearts to Mother Nature-Sun-Life.Love for oneself and belief in the utmost spirit blend with simple expressions of devotion from family members carrying the threads of belongingness during Chhath Puja. Very few of these songs would be heard in stagnancy at home, much more likely against the backdrop of a ghatal celebration.
Chhath, nurtured over the centuries in purity and sanctity, thus shows its beauty in practice. Folk songs and rituals unite humanity in expression before the divine simplicity and gratitude. They show how simple acts of spirituality do not need worldly glamour; spirituality exists in sincere acts of prayer and in simple songs offered with love from genuine hearts. This Chhath, may every heart derive brightness in the morning from the sun with the sweetness, soothing warmth of these songs and rituals, strengthening faith, and joy of being together.