Navratri 2018 greetings: How to celebrate Navratri
NAVRATRI began today, kicking off the 10-day Hindu festival celebrated in autumn each year. So how is it celebrated?
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Navratri is a nine-night festival that ends with Dussehra on the 10th day - this year, that is Thursday, October 18.
The dates of the celebration are determined by the moon, so they vary a little each year and by location.
On each day of Navratri, the Goddess Durga is worshipped in each of her nine forms, with each day having a different ritual associated with it.
However, the festival is celebrated differently and for different reasons in different regions.
How Navratri is celebrated
DAY 1: Pratipada
The first day of Navratri is marked by the ritual Ghatasthapana which is performed to invoke the energy of the Goddess Durga.
The goddess is worshipped on this day as Shailputri is an incarnation of the Goddess Pravati meaning ‘Daughter of the Mountain’ representing nature and purity,
The colour to wear for this day is yellow.
DAY 2: Dwitiya
The goddess form Brahmacharini - the unmarried form of the Goddess Pavrati - is worshipped.
The colour to wear on this day of Navratri is green.
DAY 3: Tritiya
On this day, the goddess is worshipped in the married form of Goddess Pavrati: Chandraghanta.
The name is derived from the half-moon on her forehead, which looks like a bell.
The colour for this day is grey.
DAY 4: Chaturthi
The goddess is worshipped as Kushmanda, who lived in the sun and is believed to have created the universe.
The colour worn on this day is orange.
DAY 5: Panchami
The goddess is worshipped on this day in the form Skandamta the mother of Kartikey.
The colour worn is white.
DAY 6: Shasthi
The goddess is worshipped as Katyayani, the warrior goddess form morphed into a buffalo demon, Mahishasura.
The colour to be worn is red.
DAY 7: Saptami
The goddess is worshipped in the Kalaratri form, or the dark night.
She is the form of the goddess that is fierce and represents the protection trouble.
The colour for this day is royal blue.
DAY 8: Ashtami
The form of the goddess worshipped on this day of Navratri is Mahagauri, who represents beauty, grace and the cleansing of sins.
The colour to wear to worship this day is pink.
DAY 9: Navami
Goddess Durga is worshipped as Siddhidatri who embodies all eight siddhis – the supernatural powers.
he granted Lord Shiva power when he worshipped her and it is believed that she will also bestow them onto her devotees.
The colour to wear is purple.
DAY 10: Dussehra
The victory of good over evil.
Navratri greetings
If you speak English, it’s enough to wish your Hindu friends a ‘Happy Navratri’.
In Hindi, you’d say ‘Shubh Navratri’, which means the same.